Identical

July 1, 2013
Bestseller Turow (Innocent) is not at the top of his game in this contrived whodunit. In 2008, Paul Gianis, an Illinois state senator, is leading in the race to become mayor of Kindle County, but a decades-old tragedy threatens to scuttle his political ambitions. In 1982, Dita Kronon, the girlfriend of his identical twin brother, Cass, was beaten to death. Cass pleaded guilty to the crime, but on his release after 25 years in prison, Dita’s affluent brother, Hal, alleges that Paul was also involved in the murder. Paul files a lawsuit for defamation, hoping to minimize the damage to his political prospects, but he can’t stop Hal’s investigators from unearthing deeply buried secrets. Assured prose (e.g., “Mario Cuomo said you campaign in poetry and govern in prose, but as far as Paul could tell they were both trips to the abattoir, just different entrances”) compensates only in part for an overly intricate solution likely to disappoint even diehard Turow fans. 5-city author tour. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman.

Scott Turow's latest novel explores an unlikely series of adventures starring two identical brothers, one released from jail after serving 25 years for murder and the other poised to be elected mayor of a major midwestern city. The gifted Henry Leyva smooths out some of the rough edges of the novel with his enticing performance, but the actor can only go so far with such a weak script. As outstanding as Turow's early works are, this update of the Castor and Pollux legend is too bizarre to be believed. Leyva draws the listener in, and his characters are strong, fully defined, and memorable, but ultimately his work falls on deaf ears and rolling eyes. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine