Romantic Suspense published by St. Martin’s Press 23 May 23
Identity is a beautiful multi-layered book about murder, relationships, trust, and life coming a full circle that might bring us back to a different place than we expected. I absolutely loved the wonderful three-dimensional characters and how the story played out.
Morgan has a contentious relationship with her parents and is content to create her own life far from them. She has a lot of ambitions and is not afraid to work hard to achieve her goals. Having experienced a dysfunctional relationship with her family, she has no time for men in her life until she lets the wrong man in the door. It’s enough to give you nightmares, since the man is a serial killer and con artist in a totally different class of con artists. When her best friend falls victim, a chain of events is triggered that will have repercussions for both parties.
Drowning in debt from the identify theft perpetrated by her erstwhile wannabe boyfriend/con artist, Morgan finally gives in and returns to her hometown where her mother and grandmother now run a business and live together. She finds herself welcomed warmly and discovers that her mother has grown after heart break, and they might actually be able to forge a lasting relationship.
She finds a job that she loves and gives herself permission to heal and grow, and, lo and behold, she also opens her heart to a new relationship. I love Morgan’s story as she revels in her creative side and develops new friendships and finds love. In the meantime, the identity thief/serial killer is not faring so well. It’s almost as though his failure with Morgan threw him off his game and nothing seems to go right for him, even though he does not stop killing.
I found the story so inspirational as Morgan wrests control of her life again and finds happiness and new strong relationships. I loved the secondary characters and wonder if the author will give us more stories that are waiting to be told for these characters.
Grade: A
Summary:
Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate Nina helps her make the mortgage payments, as does Morgan’s job as a bartender. But after she and Nina host their first dinner party―attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy who’d been chatting her up at the bar―her carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing, her car is gone, and Nina lies dead on the floor.
Soon, a horrific truth emerges: It was Morgan who let the monster in. “Luke” is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder.
What the FBI tells Morgan is beyond chilling. Nina wasn’t his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Morgan’s nightmare is just beginning. Soon she has no choice but to flee to her mother’s home in Vermont. While she struggles to build something new, she meets another man, Miles Jameson. He isn’t flashy or flirtatious, and his family business has deep roots in town. But Gavin is still out there hunting new victims, and he hasn’t forgotten the one who got away.
No excerpt available.
