Fatal Identity

by Joanne Fluke

A woman steps into the shoes of her murdered twin sister, and her glamorous new life brings more than she bargained for, from the New York Times–bestselling author.   Except for their gorgeous faces, identical twins Mercedes and Marcie Calder are nothing alike. Mercedes is a movie star in LA with a sexy husband, two beautiful children, and an exciting, glamorous lifestyle; Marcie is an art teacher in Minnesota with a shy disposition and a quiet life alone. But when Mercedes is found dead—mysteriously drowned in her swimming pool—Marcie is the only person who can step into her shoes and finish her latest movie.   On a Hollywood sound stage, she will take on her sister’s greatest role. In her Beverly Hills mansion, she will play mother to her children. In her sister’s bed, she will make love to her husband. But there is one part of Mercedes’ life that Marcie isn’t prepared for—until it’s too late. A deranged psychopath is hiding in the wings. Watching her every move. Waiting for his chance to kill . . . and kill again.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1993

About the author

Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota where her neighbors were friendly, the winters were fierce, and the biggest scandal was the spotting of unidentified male undergarments on a young widow's clothesline. She insists that there really are 10,000 lakes and the mosquito is NOT the state bird.

While pursuing her writing career, Joanne has worked as: a public school teacher, a psychologist, a musician, a private detective's assistant, a corporate, legal, and pharmaceutical secretary, a short order cook, a florist's assistant, a caterer and party planner, a computer consultant on a now-defunct operating system, a production assistant on a TV quiz show, half of a screenwriting team with her husband, and a mother, wife, and homemaker.

She now lives in Southern California with her husband, her kids, his kids, their three dogs, one elderly tabby, and several noisy rats in the attic.

Series:
* Hannah Swensen

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really like the way the plot went. Too predictable that shy, naive twin sister falls for her sister's husband. the 10 year olds had more sense.

[Indy Mitra]

no stars...Marci was very annoying... so disappointing....Please bring back Hannah Swenson.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this when driving to and from work. It was an interesting book. But I found myself yelling at Marci. She wasn't very smart! I wondered what people thought about the crazy driver next to them on the road and yelling into the speakers of her car? Oh well... onto my next book.

[Mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like JF's books and this did have a great mystery and some interesting characters, which is why I gave it three stars. Unfortunately, the main character is so dumb. So so so stupid. Her twin sister dies and within days she's madly in love with her sister's husband and despite everyone's discomfort with him, sleeps with him and agrees to marry him asap - and write and sign her will to give him all her sister's property - that the sister didn't leave him probably due avery good reason - if she should die. Everyone is warning her it's not a good decision, but she's in looooove and her twin sister was wrong about him and everyone who knows him is wrong about him and all the warning signs that point to him as having had an affair and stealing her sister's money and on and on and on... all can easily be explained and everyone else is so unfair to be against him and aarrrrggghhh!!

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apologies to the author but that undoubtedly was one of the worst books I have ever read. That woman was so stupid there are no words! It was like watching a train wreck, cannot stop watching as it gets worse and worse.... I will go back to the Hannah Swenson books that are unbelievable enough, but at least are readable. Sorry, but it was that bad.

[SalScamander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok I can't say this book was a bad one. I did find the dialog a little annoying as most of the characters seemed a bit dim, and I just felt the dialog really bad. The book felt very clichy too. Like with the twins thing, where the twins finish each other's sentences and they know what each other is thinking, or having their own language. I normally don't mind that stuff, but in this book it felt a bit irritating. I normally like this author's work and her writing, so I was a bit surprised the characters, especially the main character not being too intelligent like. But saying that I guess it kind of worked for the story.

The story in itself was a little predictable. I knew half way through who the killer was, but I just couldn't understand how. So in a way the author did do well in keeping some suspense. I liked the idea of the story and I did find it was clever how she wrote the murderers personality. That part of the story was good. It kept me hooked because although I knew who the murderer was, I wanted to know how he would be caught and what would happen. I wanted to see what would happen in the end. So I guess it wasn't too bad at all.

[Cheri Sitton]

Zero stars. Well earned. This book is a mess. So many things to detest in this book, it’s hard to know where to start.

The fact that the sensible sister “falls in love” with her twin sisters’ widower in a week? Preposterous. We’re supposed to believe a major actress dies while filming a movie, and the production company just lets this art teacher from nowhere step into the roll? Sure. Happens everyday in Hollywood.

The story starts out fairly interestingly but when the sister dies the book plods along. Hinting at sexual abuse, because the plot wasn’t meandering enough with a husband never at home that doesn’t get to know the stepchildren, yet stays in the home the sister inherited after the death? Sure. Probably happens, right? I know my sentence was ridiculously long. So is the telling of this story.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was just okay for me. . .not great. It seemed disjointed. I’m not sure if it was the story or the narration making me feel that way. I definitely didn’t care for the sexual child abuse flashbacks. The only thing that stopped me from turning the book back in was the fact that the details were the bare minimum. Still though, sickening. The main character, Marcy, was so naive and simple minded. That was mind numbing. And then there were the twins who finished each other’s sentences but the narrator didn’t given much definition in their voices to tell them apart. I best stop or this is going to turn to 2 stars.

[Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly bad writing, wow. This book goes on the list of worst books ever read. I've enjoyed a few of Fluke's other books but this one was just annoying right down to the end. Her twin sister dies and she's not affected in any way even deciding to marry her sister's husband a month after she dies. Before sleeping with a man, she thinks, wait! "She couldn't remember if there was a danger. But it wouldn't be a danger. It would be a blessing. A baby to love." Wow again.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like other reviewers, I found myself rolling my eyes often at how stupid and naive Marcie was. That aside, I enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing until the end. I wouldn’t call it a “page turner” but it was pretty good. While I thoroughly enjoy the Hannah Swensen novels, I will give Ms Fluke’s other stand alone novels a try if I come across them in the future.

[Julie Mink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think this was an earlier book by Joanne Fluke. I enjoyed the quick read but felt their seemed to be an inevitable ending and it was a little tiring getting there. The psychological element was interesting. I love the Hannah Swenson series a lot better but I am going to check out the other early mysteries also.

[Amy Phelps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as I thought I had things figured out something comes upon& ruins my theory. If I say too much it will give it all away. A partially sappy ending but thankfully not full blown Hallmark movie time. I recommend reading this especially if you like books with twists.

[Kiante · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a quick read and the story moved along well. It's hard to enjoy a book, when the main character Marcie is completely naive to the point where it is annoying. While I understand the role the abuse played in the story, I could have done without it.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent mystery by Joanne Fluke. Highly recommend!

[Agatha Donkar Lund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snow days are great to read a whole bunch of bad mysteries.

[Becky Cheryl H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was good. Wasn't great. Had some twists that kept you guessing, but a little predictable.

[P.J. Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the book, the premise is not quite believable. The writing is good, however, and I found myself liking the characters in general. The story held my interest until the very end.

[Lyn Soulia-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different from the Hannah books but still enjoyed this title.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always enjoyed Joann’s cozy mysteries and this book is no exception either. A good mystery.

[Beverly Victoria]

Did not finish

[Abdullah Samir]

enjoyable and easy read .
The plot is simple and very Hollywood but it is fast paced and written elegantly and with a good end .

[Jodi Pentico · Rating 4 out of 5]

definitely kept u guessing!!

[Abdul Azeez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting and certainly kept me on edge...but in my opinion could have been in order to get a full five stars from me. Here are a couple of the things that I like and the things that weren't that amazing about Fatal Identity

Everything great about Fatal Identity
-Compelling Storyline
-Step by Step Reveal
-Misdirection

Everything not so great about Fatal Identity
-Unrealistic
-Progonist should have seen the red flags early on
- No one is going to sign all their property over to someone they barely know
- 10 year olds in the book act like full-grown adults
- The short description
- What's up with red?

For an in-depth dive into the review check out the full review on my website!

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is full of suspense and it kept my attention from the first page to the very last.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Movie star Mercedes Calder received threatening letters before she was killed in her swimming pool. Her twin sister Marcie, an art teacher, comes to Hollywood for the funeral and to care for Mercedes' twins. Marcie inherits most of Mercedes' estate. Then she becomes the target.

One of Joanna Fluke's earlier works, this book was re-issued in April, 2015. In Fluke's standalone novels, I like that she creates a character who is a nice and kind-hearted person, which I find refreshing. I had narrowed the killer down to 4 people when I saw a definitive clue near the end. I thought this book was an easy read and I liked the mystery.

[Teresa Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all of the Hanna Swensen books by Joanne Fluke and was expecting something along those lines. Who knew that Ms. Fluke could write something other then that series. This book was a page turner. The storyline kept you interested and intrigued. The main character irked me a little by being so naive, but if you can get over that, the book is actually well written. This book has encouraged me to look into some of her other non-Hanna novels. I would recommend this to anyone who loves suspense.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ummmm I like Joanne Fluke's other stories and this one had an interesting premise, however, it was very predictable and at one point I did want the main character to die as a change up (plus it was annoying how she never 'believed' anyone but we were suppose to believe pretty smart lady). Anyway if it wasn't an audio book and I wasn't killing time in traffic it with it would have given up.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The majority of the characters in this novel besides the children were delusional beyond belief; so much so that I found myself frequently rolling my eyes at their antics. What twin would no less sleep with her murdered twin's husband and go even the step further and marry the guy while he's under investigation for said murder?! It made no sense to me.

[Kathy Laflen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had potential but the female lead was so ridiculous to the very end that it was difficult to stick with. This author can do so much better. Don't waste your time on this book, but try her other ones.

[P.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prefer her Hannah Swenson books. Although the mystery in this book was exceptionally good, didn't like the gratuitous sex scenes.