Title: Identity Thief
Author: JP Bloch
Publication: September 18, 2014
Publisher: Bacon Press Books
Source: Direct Contact PR
Genre Category: Mystery
Pages: Paperback – 258
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Out of work, down on your luck, desperate for cash. What if you could get rich with a few strokes of the keyboard? All you have to do is become someone else.
But nothing’s that simple in this fast-paced, psychological thriller. As the story dangerously snowballs downhill, the characters discover how losing themselves can lead to duplicity, blackmail, and sometimes murder.
JP Bloch’s darkly comic, edgy exploration of the mystery of the self will keep you guessing until the last word. You’ll come away agreeing with the identity thief that “the biggest mistake you can make is thinking you know who you are.”
REVIEW:
Reading a mystery book written by someone with a PhD and teaching Criminology had me on edge. What if I hated it? Would that be an insult of their intelligence to them? The good news is, I did not hate this book. “Identity Thief” is written by JP Bloch and is the tale of multiple people who become connected because of one stealing another’s identity and how identity theft effected their lives. I promise you… when you think you know the outcome… you don’t.
Identity Thief follows the story of thief and victim as both try to stay two steps ahead of the other. With a twist or turn (or both) around every corner, there was a constant barrage of shocks and new information to keep you guessing. Dr. Jesse Falcon, the victim in the story, shows the true colors of someone desperate for information.
Bloch was able to keep me interested, even at times I was falling away from the book. I found the constant “bad news” in this book was a bit unrealistic, but never having been in this situation, I can’t say it could never happen. I like reading stories and watching movies of things that could really happen, and parts of this story did not make me a believer. However, this was also written from experience, so it’s possible I simply can’t fathom something so horrible happening to me.
With that being said, the story hooked me and made me want to keep reading. The sick and twisted minds of people today could probably pull something like this off. Bloch kept the story interesting and switched between characters so you had a realistic timeline of what was happening and how one’s behavior caused chaos in the others’ lives. All in all a good story. Kind of terrifying if you imagine this actually happening to you or someone you know.
I give this three stars, as it was interesting and held my attention, but at points made me think the multiple scenarios couldn’t all happen to one person. Almost unrealistic. A major benefit was I was not able to guess the ending, which is hard for me to find. Expertly written, flows smoothly, and intriguing to the very end. Even with 3 stars I would definitely recommend this to friends and followers.
Make sure to pick up “Identity Theft” on Amazon and make sure to mark it as TO READ on Goodreads. You can also check out an interview with JP Bloch about his book HERE!
