Deception, Genetics, and Thrills!! REVIEWING: Identity X

Hello! I've got a whole bunch of treats coming your way and today's review will be the first of many. What is today's treat? A book review....and not just a review for any ole book. This review is for an AWESOME book! A Two Thumbs-Up, Roller-Coaster thrill of a book! How good is it? Well, I'll just let the rest of this review do the job of letting you know. Let me just end here by saying: WHERE IS BOOK NUMBER TWO?!?!?! I want another one...and I want it in my hands.....NOW.

Identity X

Author: Michelle Muckley

Genre: Thriller

Year of Publication: 2013

This book is brand new!! It just came out in September. Rather surprising for me to have read it already then, since I'm usually behind a couple years.

 Why Did I Read This Book?

Simple. I was asked to. I logged onto my facebook page and to my surprise, I found a message. First message ever to come to me through my facebook page (to access that page just click here: The Real World According To Sam on Facebook). Ms. Muckley personally asked me to review her book and was kind enough to send me a physical copy. However, let it be known far and wide that this does not at all pertain to the rating the book got in the end. All my reviews are completely honest!!!! Everything I write in this review (minus this how I came to read it) is based on the book and its literary merits alone. So there. I agreed to read it, and I read it, and I enjoyed it.....greatly. I'd like to thank the author for asking me to review this book. It will be on my bookshelf, positioned with other books I have found marvelous and delightful to read.

But Sam, What is it Even About?

Good question!!! This book is intended for adults. Make note of that really quick.

This book follows Ben Stone. Who is Ben Stone? He's a man on a mission. He is a scientist who has discovered a cure for genetic disease, called NEMREC. Its a major scientific discovery that will certainly turn his life around. In this case however, that turn may be for the worse! Within the first couple chapters it is pretty apparent why Ben is striving to achieve this goal. Ben goes out with his coworkers to celebrate and have a drink or two. He goes home and gets to bed, feeling rather sick. When he wakes up in the morning he is surprised to discover several things:

                       1) His wife is gone

                       2) His son is gone

                       3) The laboratory he worked in is completely empty

                       4) NEMREC is gone

This is where conspiracy and betrayal and craziness start. His identity card doesn't work. Its almost as if Ben doesn't even exist.

All Ben has now is his best friend, a girl from work he was kind of into named Amy, and his wife. What is the truth? What really happened? Is anyone who Ben thinks they are? What in the world is going on and is his life ever going to be the same? (NO.)

That's All Fine and Dandy...are the Characters Any Good?

Are they ever!!!! I love the characters in this book. Mostly Ben and Hannah (the wife). They are the most developed and are the two center leads in this book. I couldn't have picked two better characters to follow for this story. I was a little nervous when I picked it up, to be honest, because of the Amy angle (Amy being the girl Ben has a kinda thing for at work). I despise infidelity plots, but thankfully I didn't have too much to worry about and I'm very glad about that. Mark is Ben's best friend since high school. He was an interesting character....to say the least. You'll just have to take my word for it!

Can You Tell Me More?

I sure can! There are so many thrills. I know I've said the word thrill a lot already, but its true. From chapter 4 on, there are many spots of nonstop action. I loved the way everything unfolded. It's such a domino effect. Ben finally gets NEMREC right, the lab is mysteriously missing, his friends and wife aren't what they seem, he gets shot at, and more and more things come to light unexpectedly in that same manner. That was absolutely fantastic. Its such a roller coaster and is very satisfying when it's all said and done. But that ENDING!!!!! I desperately need to know what happens next. It was all so sudden and slightly frustrating, but frustrating in a positive way because I want more. I want to know what happened to Ben and Hannah and Matthew. There's a small little taste, but I can't be totally happy with that!!! It just leaves too much for me to wonder...which if you haven't caught on is an epic positive when it comes to books and me.

Also, if this tells you anything at all, I was taking this book with me everywhere in the hopes that I'd get to read it and hopefully get to the end (because I wanted to see what happened, not because I was desperate for it to end. Excited for the end to come, not praying for it to end sooner.) I even got in trouble with my parents because I had it so much when we went out. Apparently, it isn't good to be reading books in restaurants...even if the food hasn't come yet. I hated having to stop at all!! I wanted to keep on reading and when the book finally ended, I was sad because I wanted another one to continue the story.

What are the Defects?

There aren't many, to tell the truth. There isn't much that I would change! Its a wonderful book as is. The only things I would like to have more of....are scientific jargon and specifics regarding NEMREC. Then this would be a bit more of a technothriller....I just love when science gets paired up with action to make a beautifully evil and chaotic match of brilliance. However, it is a perfectly good book even without a whole lot of science involved, aside from the beginning. The action keeps it going well and the characters are all well developed.

OVERALL

Identity X is a wonderful book. It's thrilling, chilling and epic. It deals with the issues of family vs. work and where a person's time would be best spent, the idea that you should be aware of your surroundings and be careful who you trust, as well as the classic "everything is not as it seems". There's adventure and evil plots. There are guns and plans and death. I highly recommend it to adult or mature audiences, its a rollercoaster of fun and dark surprises. Read it, I bet you won't regret it. My only regret is that I didn't take a chance to get my copy signed.

 I give Identity X a Lone Star rating of ✯✯✯✯. Great book, great characters, great concepts, one fun book.

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Thanks for reading another review here at The Real World According To Sam. Hope to see you again soon!!!!