The Guise of Another

by Allen Eskens
267 pgs

The Guise of Another is the second book by Allen Eskens, an author I'm becoming increasingly more excited about with each book. It begins with a car accident late at night on the streets of Minneapolis. An amorous couple--engaging in some extracurricular activities while driving--cross over the median and kill a man traveling in the other direction. The name on the man's license is James Putnam, but Detective Alexander Rupert soon learns that's not his true identity.

Alex's career is currently falling apart. He, along with the rest of the Joint Drug Enforcement Task Force he was a member of, is being investigated by federal authorities on accusations that they have been steeling money and valuables from drug dealers during arrests. Alex sees the case of identity theft that just landed on his desk as an opportunity to salvage whatever career he has left.

When Alex is given access to the man's computer by his girlfriend, he discovers records of deposits totaling half a million dollars made on the same date going back years. The dates of the deposits all coincide with trips he insisted to his girlfriend that he had to take alone every year. Alex is able to soon discover the man's true identity, but in so doing, many more questions are raised about how and why he assumed the identity of James Putnam. His discover also leads to several more deaths, and he fears even his own life is now in danger.

For a second time now, Eskens has written a story that quickly grabbed a hold of me and didn't let go. This was one of those books I found myself picking up to read, even if I only had a few minutes available. The story is compelling and the characters are all strongly written. It's worth mentioning that Alex's brother, Max Rupert, a minor character in the book, was the police officer from his first book, The Life We Bury, and I believe he's the central character in Eskens' third book, The Heavens May Fall, which I'm looking forward to reading soon.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The Life We Bury

by Allen Eskens
300 pgs

Joe Talbert is a 21-year-old student at the University of Minnesota. He saved up enough money to move out of his home and leave his alcoholic and verbally-abusive mother and autistic younger brother in Austin, Minnesota to attend school, where he's working hard, trying to get good grades and make ends meet. When he's given an assignment in his English class to find someone and write their biography, he decides to visit a nearby nursing home to find an interesting subject for the assignment.

It's there that he meets Carl Iverson, an old man who had been convicted of raping and killing a 14-year-old girl thirty years ago. Carl now has pancreatic cancer and was recently paroled in order to live out his remaining weeks under the care of the nurses there.

As Joe begins interviewing Carl, he learns of the two Purple Hearts and the Silver Cross he was awarded for his military service in Vietnam. He meets Carl's friend Virgil, who served with Carl, and whose life Carl saved. Virgil is the only friend Carl has, and is convinced Carl is innocent of the crimes he was convicted of committing. Carl maintains his own innocence as well, but has resigned himself to accepting the way his life played out. he tells Joe he agreed to let him write his biography as a "dying declaration," promising that everything he tells him will be the truth, but he must promise to write it.

As Carl tells Joe his story, Joe becomes increasingly convinced of Carl's innocence, and the writing assignment becomes secondary to trying to prove his innocence and exonerate him before he dies.

The Life We Bury is the first book written by Allen Eskens and I strongly recommend it. It's a solid mystery. At times, it's edge-of-your-seat reading, at other times, it's thought-provoking and emotional. Eskens is an author solidly on my radar now. I'm looking forward to picking up his next two books and hoping they're as good as his debut.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆