Author: Andrew Klavan

Title: The Identity Man

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 

The Identity Man is a tale of two men on opposite sides of the law who ironically share the same desire for authenticity. Each wants to be his true self. But to discover the nature of his identity, each must fight demons within and without. Will either of them find peace?

John Shannon wonders if he is permanently stained by his past. Can he escape what he's always been? Or is it "once a criminal, always a criminal"? Shannon is a talented carpenter who can't resist the allure of thieving. He knows that one more conviction will send him away for good. So when he is framed for a murder he did not commit, he knows there's nothing to do but run.

At the height of Shannon's despair, he receives an anonymous gift—a new identity. Someone is willing to change his face, his past, and his future. He's free to do the work he loves without fear of arrest or incarceration. And when he meets an honorable, lovely woman and falls in love with her, he wonders if he can ever be worthy of her. Part of him believes it's impossible—she may not know his true past, but he does—and the other part of him can't help but hope.

Police Lieutenant Brick Ramsey works overtime trying to retain his position and protect his life by fulfilling the wishes of powerful politicians. The corrupt nature of his job drives him to do things he never would have imagined doing when he first joined the force. But, hey, it's the job, and you do what you gotta do to survive. But no matter how often he tells himself that, Ramsey can't escape the sense of guilt that has been building inside. A sequence of events causes him to suspect that Shannon—in his new, law-abiding identity—is a threat.

Readers who finish the book will find a surprising thread of redemption, a silver lining to an otherwise dark and ugly tale. I would not have finished this book if I had not been required to, but I admit that the end helps the difficult and confusing beginning (and middle) make sense. Klavan does eventually circle back to his overall theme of "identity like stain"—and we discover what it means for Ramsey and Shannon.

Filled with expletives, unnecessary references to carnality, and disturbing scenes of violence, Identity Man does not make for easy reading. Klavan beats a dead horse in his attempt to paint a dreary, desperate place in which hopeless men will stop at nothing to survive. They don't even expect to thrive—they are just hoping not to die.

Klavan has some valuable thoughts to communicate about the nature of a person, and the inevitability of one's destiny. But it felt as if he slathered a thick layer of superfluous slime over what could have been an intriguing, thoughtful story.

*This Review First Published 1/3/2011