The dean of the legal suspense genre returns with his 11th novel, set in Midwestern Kindle County. Inspired by the Greek myth of Castor and Pollux, Identical is the story of twins Paul and Cass Giannis and the event that changed their lives forever: the murder of Cass’ girlfriend Aphrodite “Dita” Kronon.
Cass pled guilty to the crime and served time in prison, while Paul rose through the legal ranks to become a popular local politician. Now, 25 years later, Cass is about to be released, while Paul is the favorite to become mayor of Kindle County. Neither fact sits well with real estate magnate Hal Kronon, Dita’s older brother, who feels that the whole truth about her murder has never come out. So he employs his considerable wealth to prove Paul’s complicity in the crime.
Identical soon becomes a case of “Be careful what you wish for,” as Hal’s investigative team of security chief Evon Miller, a former FBI agent, and aged P.I. Tim Brodie, who investigated the original crime, soon find themselves sucked into the conflict between the Giannis brothers and the Kronons. Many characters hold pieces to the mystery of Dita’s death, but no one has been able to put the whole puzzle together.
Scott Turow does a masterful job of blending different narrative points of view, leading readers on a twisting, dizzying ride. Without being heavy-handed, Turow also makes Identical a cautionary tale about how money pumped into elections undermines democracy, and subtly asks what justice is. Few characters find any sense of closure concerning Dita’s murder, but suspense lovers will end up with a rewarding resolution to a complicated mystery.
