The Guise of Another. Allen Eskens. Prometheus Books. October 2015. 269
pp. ISBN#: 9781633880764.
Nothing
is more embarrassing than being an excellent detective respected by your peers
in Minnesota and now shunned. Alexander
Rupert hears kind words from his former peers but the conversation is always
laced with the shadow of his awaiting a corruption hearing. Now he’s working in the Fraud Division and at
least he now has a case to sink his teeth into, one to distract him from the
tension regarding the charges against him and wondering what his future holds –
or doesn’t hold.
Even
worse is the fact that his wife treats him like a stranger now, cold and
avoiding him on a daily basis. Is she fooling
around with another man? Rupert fears
the worst which makes him even more forlorn. What ever happened to
unconditional love and support? At first he spends his days replaying the past,
both about the job and his wife. But now he’s got a chance to prove himself and
he proceeds, as he always does, with everything he has in his powers and
skills.
This
then is the story of searching for who stole the identity of James Proctor and
then wound up dead. To say more would be
to spoil one tension-riddled story that involves a hit man who seems to have
killing in his genetic makeup. It will
be Rupert’s brother who is truly there for the search and then the grand finale
of this mystery!
Criminal
fiction is often predictable and stereotypical – not so here. Allen Eskens knows exactly when to lay on the
mystery and when to insert scenes of careful thought and planning. Well done, Allen Eskens – great read for
those who love mysteries, adventure and crime stories with a punch!
