Identical

By: Scott Turow

Narrated by: Henry Leyva

Identical, based loosely on the myth of Castor and Pollux, is the story of identical twins, Paul and Cass Giannis, and the complex relationships between their family and their former neighbors, the Kronons. The audiobook focuses principally on events in 2008, when Paul is a candidate for Mayor of Kindle County, and Cass is released from the penitentiary, 25 years after pleading guilty to the murder of his girlfriend, Athena Kronon. The plot centers on the re-investigation of Athena's murder, carried out together by Evon Miller, an ex-FBI agent who is the head of security for the Kronon family business, and private investigator Tim Brodie, 81, a former homicide detective. The complex web of murder, sex, and betrayal - as only Scott Turow could weave - dramatically unfolds, and the chilling truth is revealed: People will believe what they want to believe.

©2013 Scott Turow (P)2013 Hachette

SOMETIMES A STORY GETS OVEREXPLAINED

What did you like best about Identical? What did you like least?

I LIKED MOST OF THE BOOK. UNTIL THE LAST CHAPTER OR SO. IT WAS FINE. I THINK THE CRIME WAS OVEREXPLAINED. IN DOING THIS THE BOOK GOT WATERED DOWN. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A FOUR STAR BOOK OTHERWISE.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I LIKED THE WAY IT WAS TOLD. EACH CHAPTER WAS AROUND A CHARACTER, I LIKED THAT. SO YOU KNOW WHAT WHAS HAPPENING TO EACH CHARACTER. I DID NOT LIKE THE WAY THINGS GOT OVEREXPLAINED IN THE END. LEAVE SOMETHING TO THE IMAGINATION.

Have you listened to any of Henry Leyva’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I DON'T KNOW BUT I LIKED HIS READING.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

YES I THINK IT WOULD MAKE A GOOD MOVIE.

Great story. Didn't see the twist coming.

Couldn't stop listening. Story was well-written and we'll told. Looking forward to another tale soon.

Worthy followup to his other Kindle County dramas

I enjoyed Identical a lot -- liked the information about twins, about DNA, and Turow's understanding of family and love. After Presumed Innocent and Innocent, I was ready for more courtroom drama, which I enjoy, but Turow takes a different approach here. A ruminative description and contemplation of the dynamic between two families, and an interesting plot that involves a 25 year old murder, and what it does to all the people in the dense world Turow describes. I read Jacqueline's review above with care before beginning, and went back to it a couple of times in the first third of the book, while I was getting the intricate characters and plot fixed in my mind. Also, I liked the performance fine: the reader reads the words with proper inflection, and otherwise stays of out the way. I also like past Turow readers, and was disappointed not to hear the familiar voices from other books.

Fiction or political statement

I have read 3 or 4 of Scott Turrow's books before and I enjoy the creative twists and turns, but he spent so much time during the first quarter of this book discussing his idea of the "good" Democrats and the "evil" Republicans, I almost did not finish reading it. I found all the political party references distracting. . I feel sorry for Mr. Turrow if the only people he ever met who were kind and generous with high ideals are Democrats.
Truth is, the story could have easily been told without all the references to the Dems and the R's. I am sure if the D's are so good and the R's are so bad, an intelligent reader could have chosen the correct party without having been told who was who. Yes, yes I read the whole thing, but got distracted by all the political party diatribe, and I have now subscribed to railing on myself.. LOL

Turow Fans: Don't Get Stuck.

Yes, "Identical" presents us with a bit of a departure for Turow, particularly if you love his wonderful courtroom scenes; but try to keep your mind open to something new from Turow. You will still find some good courtroom scenes here -- actually, some pretty brilliant legal thinking from Judge Du Bois Lands -- but mostly, in "Identical," Turow is branching off into something like Jeffrey Archer territory: a family drama enacted over decades. For example, if you liked Archer's "Sons of Fortune," then you might enjoy Turow's "Identical." Of course, identical twins present a wealth of plot possibilities for a novelist; and Turow takes full advantage of them to create an intriguing mystery. For instance, did you know that identical twins do not have 𝒆𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 identical DNA, nor 𝒆𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 identical fingerprints? Turow uses this phenomenon to construct a legal puzzle. I would not call "Identical" a legal thriller, like Turow's previous offerings. Rather, I would put it more into the legal mystery/drama genre, á 𝘭𝘢 Jeffrey Archer. Although I wouldn't rank narrator Henry Leyva among my favorite narrators, he does have a nice voice, and does an adequate job of reading "Identical" for us. Overall, I would recommend "Identical" to mystery-lovers, and even to Turow fans, as long as you keep your mind open to a departure from form.

Twins and the spin

Eh, it was ok. Any story involving crime and identical twins has elements that you can expect; one covering up for the other, extreme devotion or hatred, one taking the place of the other and fooling the people they know, living life as one person interchangeably, etc. The application of those elements will depend on the rest of the story and it does here. It got bogged down in a lot of family history and personal insights that didn’t move the plot forward or heighten any sense of mystery, suspense or drama. It felt weighty and torpid. I did like that the primary investigator was brought back at 81 years old and proved effective. Usually those old dudes are relegated to porches and parlors, reeling off their tale of frustration or triumph to the new investigator who will no doubt, stand on his shoulders. This time Tim goes back over the evidence and shows that what he found could have been spun to damn or exculpate, but also that what he didn’t find was just out of reach. Nice touch, but it couldn’t save the book for me and while I remained interested, I wasn’t really riveted.

Scott Turow at his best

I have now read enough of Turow's work that I usually get the punchline before I get to the end of the book.... But not so with this one. The tale is believable and complex and holds the reader's attention all the way through. I recommend it highly!

Identical

This book was really hard to follow on Audible. At least I felt it was. I normally listen while doing housework etc but found this one hard with the jumping back and forth from current time to 25 years ago. Great story, I wish I would have read the actual book instead.

Interesting...

This was an interesting book, but not one that kept me on the edge of my seat. Although not a page turner, it was worth the credit. It had some unexpected twists and turns. Scott Turow is a very talented author. I will continue to buy his books.

This is probably one book better read in print

For a non-Greek, the names, nicknames and random and constant references to Greek tragedies, this book is more difficult to follow. Especially the female character whose odd name sounds like another English word, and the two were used in way too many sentences together, putting a listener at a disadvantage. It seemed to be an allegory for a Greek tragedy, and not the Turow I expected. It is not the mystery I thought I would get from this master.