Identity, re-invention and whether or not you can truly know the people in your life—or even yourself—are themes that are great to explore in mysteries and thrillers. Can you trust the narrator? Is everyone who they say they are? And how do our perceptions affect our understanding of events?
In my latest novel, You Can’t Catch Me, a woman with a common name becomes the victim of identity theft. Rather than leave it to the police, she goes looking for the thief herself, and discovers a path of other women with the same name who have all been robbed by the same person. Over the course of the novel, Jessica Williams has to confront the nature of identity in numerous ways. She was brought up in a cult that she escaped from at eighteen and had to build her life from scratch. Now at 30, she finds herself starting over again, trying to figure out if she is more than her name or trapped by it. Meeting a series of women with the same name is a ‘sliding doors’ version of her life: other paths she could have followed and other identities she could have assumed. But not every Jessica Williams is what she seems.
If you love themes of identity and re-invention, here are some other books you might enjoy:
Miracle Creek – Angie Kim: On the surface, this book is about a grizzly and unique murder of a child in a compression chamber meant to treat his autism. But it is so much more than that. One of its central themes is about an immigrant family and how they have had to reinvent themselves in America. They were one thing before they left Korea and another in their new country. They are also identified as outsiders, and easy to blame for the tragedy. A great exploration of what it can be like to be in America these days.
How to Save a Life (out July 14, 2020) – Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke: A man keeps reliving the same day over and over again as he attempts to keep his first love from dying. Each version is slightly different, and each day presents a different view of Dominic and his relationship with the past. It’s only once he figures out who he’s supposed to be that he manages to move on from the time loop he’s stuck in. A fun exploration of what-ifs and what happens when who we are now collides with who we were and who we want to be.
The Stranger in the Lake (Out June 9, 2020) – Kimberley Belle: Charlotte marries a man from a rich family in their small town, but how well does she know him? When a body turns up in the lake near their property everything she thought she knew about her husband, herself and her town is upended. Charlotte also can’t escape the town’s perception of her, even as she re-invents herself on the other side of the tracks. A great mystery and a deft look at how class and privilege can work in a small town.
The Whisper Network – Chandler Baker: When their boss dies suddenly, a group of women who all work in the legal department for a large company come under suspicion. On the surface they are professional and put together. But each of their exterior personas masks something darker underneath. And the woman at the center of it all recently moved to town to get away from another scandal which she tries to keep hidden. A book that challenges your perception of the #MeToo movement, while also confirming the reason for its existence.
The Other Mrs. – Mary Kubica: Kubica is at the top of her game in this twisty thriller about a family that moves to a small town to rebuild their life. But something dark is stalking them. No one is who they appear to be in this cat and mouse game. You will be guessing at what is going on until the end and you will be wrong!
Opium and Absinthe – Lydia Kang (Out July 1, 2020): A historical occult mystery set in 1899. When Tillie Pembroke finds her sister dead with what appear to be two punctures on the neck, her mind immediately goes to Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, which was recently published. But vampires aren’t real, are they? Tillie appears at first to be a dedicated researcher, but she’s also a laudanum addict. Can she be trusted?
Untamed Shore – Silvia Morena-Garcia: A Mexican woman gets lulled into a helping a group of American women tourists, but when one of them dies, her new fun lifestyle gets upended. Were her new friends telling her the truth about themselves or were they masking important aspects of their identity? Set in 1979, this novel addresses many questions that are still plaguing America right now.
