The Guise of Another

Why do so many writers make their villains cartoons? The drooling Drago is off the charts with his cruelty, efficiency and humorlessness. Right down to the scar. Oy. I skimmed and skipped a lot of his doings and because he was written with zero subtlety or flair, I didn’t miss a thing.

Alexander wasn’t believable at all. He’s immature and simple. Too simple and emotionally unaware to be a cop, never mind an undercover. Compare him with Frank Mackey from Tana French’s books and you’ll see what I mean. Alexander doesn’t have the wit, guile, suspicion or manipulativeness to succeed there. He lets Ianna play him like a violin. Your live-in boyfriend of three years is suddenly killed and you display no grief, pain, anger, despair show more or any other normal emotion and instead throw your oh-so-perfect body at me? Of course! I’m so manly and irresistible that this is completely normal. Suspect her, me? Why no. Of course not. Some cop. Not to mention his terrible “investigation” into Putnam’s death. The keyring shouldn’t have popped out of nowhere, he should have had it, the bank box key and the stupid thumb drive in his possession in the first day. Bah.

But here’s a funny thing. During the wind up as I was getting to the end I wished out loud that everyone would die at the end of the book (Max aside) and guess what...they do! Yay! I have another Eskens book that I got on the cheap, and I’ll read it eventually, but not soon. Ugh. show less

James Putnam was "a man who walked in daylight but lived in shadows." After Putnam dies in a freak accident, a psychopathic killer scrambles to clean up the mess that Putnam had created. Allen Eskens' "The Guise of Another," is a briskly-paced and engrossing thriller in which greedy, lustful, and arrogant people leave a path of destruction in their wake. Minnesota Detective Alexander Rupert is scheduled to appear before a grand jury; his superiors suspect him of stealing drug money, a charge that he vehemently denies. Meanwhile, Rupert has become an outcast in the police department, biding his time in the Forgery and Frauds Unit, an assignment that he loathes. Adding to his misery, his wife, Desiree, has begun to distance herself from show more her beleaguered husband.

Eskens's descriptive writing is impressive; he paints lively and evocative word pictures. For example, "He wore this new job like a suit one size too small" is a perfect description of Rupert's dissatisfaction with his humiliating demotion. Unexpectedly, a case of identity theft falls into Alexander's lap that turns out to far more complicated than he anticipated. He launches an investigation that will take him to New York City, Iowa, and back to Minnesota. His inquiries lead him on a number of unexpected detours until, at last, he uncovers an explosive and potentially scandalous secret. While Alex is preoccupied with salvaging his shaky marriage and repairing his damaged reputation, he must also elude a deadly adversary who has him in his sights.

"The Guise of Another" is a absorbing, suspenseful, and densely plotted police procedural that surprises us with a number of unexpected twists and turns. The arch-villain is a one-dimensional sadist, but it is fascinating to observe how he plans his moves, like a master chess player trying to stay one step ahead of his opponents. Among the most appealing characters is Alex's older brother, Max, a homicide detective who gives his younger sibling advice that he rarely heeds. Most of the people we encounter in this sordid and bloody novel are self-serving and amoral. This is not a feel-good tale, but readers who enjoy gritty fiction will be curious to learn who, if anyone, will emerge unscathed following the inevitable final confrontation. show less

A detective's life spirals out of control as he investigates a complex case of identity theft, putting him in the path of a trained assassin who has been searching for "James Putnam" for years.
I, and many others, have read and really enjoyed this author's first book, The Lives We bury. This book is quite a bit different, although it is still a really great read. I liked the tie to that first book with the involvement of Detective Max Rupert. This story centers around Max's brother, Alexander, who is also a police detective.

The story starts with a bizarre car wreck. The driver of one of the cars is killed. When trying to identify the driver, it is discovered that he wasn't who his identification said he was...he was using some other show more person's identity. From there the story takes on some other interesting twists that leads to the discovery of a past unsolved crime, which then leads to the involvement of a brutal killer, Drago Basta. His tactics are extremely brutal, and he is also very clever in the manner that he pursues his intended victims.

The plot development of this one was absolutely one of the best I have ever read. You can almost share the victim's feelings that there is no place to hide from this evil killer. As if this isn't enough "adventure", a side plot has Alexander not only in in trouble with the law, but also his career, his personal life, and his marriage. It is a very fast paced story, filled with greedy "bad guys"... some unexpected, and the eventual revealing of a surprisingly huge secret. Some parts of this story will just stun you with things that you never saw coming. show less

The only thing that ties The Guise of Another to Allen Eskens' first book The Life We Bury is the presence of Max Rupert, but this book is younger brother Alex's show-- and it's a scary one. A dead man happens to have used a stolen identity. When Alex starts looking for the man's true identity, up pops an assassin, a veteran of the Balkan wars, who will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals.

The pace is swift, and readers' minds will fill with questions: Who's doing what? Why are they doing it? Who can be believed? Eskens ties all these questions to another masterful characterization. The more readers learn about Alex Rupert, the more they will wonder what, precisely, is going on. Because Alex is a master of revealing very little. show more Once everyone treats you with suspicion, you learn to keep things to yourself. But being one man against the world isn't a good thing when an assassin is headed your way.

I enjoy the way Eskens writes. The pacing, the setting, and the action are all vivid, and he has a way of getting into his characters' heads that draws the readers right in, too. I'm looking forward to his next book. show less

The Guise of Another by Allen Eskens is the follow up to his award winning debut novel The Life We Bury. And he's crafted another great read!

There's a clever tie in connecting the two books. Detective Max Rupert was the homicide cop in The Life We Bury. But it is his younger brother Alexander who takes the lead role in The Guise of Another. Alexander is also a cop, but one demoted down to the Fraud Squad, pending the outcome of an internal investigation. A possible identity theft case that crosses his desk is much more involved than it appears on first glance.

"That night, James Erkel Putnam - a man who walked in daylight, but lived in shadows, a man who thought he had all the time in the world to seek forgiveness for his many sins - show more never stood a chance."

Alexander dives in, determined to salvage his reputation and his job by solving the case. And this reader also dived in and didn't look up 'til the wee hours of the morning! I desperately wanted to know who this man was and why he was living under another name. What did he do?

Eskens' first book was lighter in tone with innocent protagonists. This time, it's darker, with a decidedly noir feel to the story that I quite enjoyed. Is Alexander truly the innocent he proclaims? His self destructive behavior leaves the reader wondering.

I was kept on my toes the entire tale, not sure where Eskens was going to take his story. Throw in a nasty hitman, something quite valuable that everyone wants to get their hands on, more than one duplicitous woman and the plot thickens. But amongst all that, Eskens explores the relationships between the two brothers, between Alex and his wife and a few others.

The title is quite apt, applying to the dead man, but also to almost every other character, most who seem to be hiding something. Even 'good' brother Max Rupert, who is hands down my favourite character. I'd love to see him in another book, even in a peripheral role.

Another excellent page turner from Eskens. I highly recommend his books. Eskens is firmly on my must read list - I'll be eagerly awaiting his third novel. show less

“The Guise Of Another” was a very disappointing read. It was a book I persevered with rather than savoured.

It started as a fairly conventional police procedural novel, albeit with the original premise of finding that the victim of a fatal car accident had been living “in the guise of another”. The police procedural part lasted for a (very slow) first hour or so and then the book took a left turn into thriller land.

The idea was interesting but the characters were so clichéd I’m sure you’ll have met them before. Imagine a gone-to-seed, corrupt, American arms dealer, running a decades long scam on the Department of Defense. Then add the stone-cold killer from Serbia who acts as his muscle. Got a clear picture of both of them? show more Not hard is it? Not that interesting either, sadly.

The book livened up a little when our policeman hero goes to New York and meets a woman detective who at least feels real on the page.

After that, the plot moves along with the heroes slowly pulling together the pieces of the puzzle while the Serbian killing machine follows behind them like the Terminator, wiping out various people I’m supposed to care about.

Part of what kept me at arms length from this book is that the main policeman is a difficult man to sypathise with. He's under investigation for corruption. His marriage is falling apart. He is easily distracted by women and has a moral compass that switches off for long periods of time. He is only interesting because his brother, who he describes as: "a better version of me", is an effective cop, unsullied by corruption.

The plot devices are clever. The action scenes are engaging. The pacing is often a little off. The characters read like a first draft rather than real people. The language and the imagery are functional and pedestrian.

Apart from the satisfaction of solving the puzzle and seeing if any of the good guys manage to survive, I really didn’t care about the events in this book or the people they were happening to.

What made this so disappointing is that I bought "The Guise Of Another" because I fell in love with Eskens' first novel, "The Life We Bury", which was a beautifully written thriller with well-rounded characters.

“The Guise Of Another” is listed (I think, wrongly) as the next book in the series. In reality it shares one character with the previous book and nothing much else.

If “The Guise Of Another” had been the first Eskens book I’d read, I wouldn’t be rushing to buy the next. Now I’m undecided as to whether or not to buy the third book in the “series”, “The Heavens May Fall”. If it’s as good as “The Life We Bury”, then it’s a must read. If it’s like “The Guise Of Another”, then I have a whole TBR pile that I will read first. show less

Oh my heavens! This book was way over the top. It was filled with intrigue, with people turning out to be not what they seemed, and complete with lots of blood and gore. I read this book because I was intrigued by the debut novel of this author. This book was completely unlike his first book. People who enjoy crime fiction will surely love this book because its plot is so complex. I personally did not like following its complexity, but tried to do so to the best of my ability so I could find out what happened.

Some of these complexities seemed too much to be believed, but I gave this novel the benefit of the doubt because it was written to entertain.

One of the things I disliked about the book (which did not make it bad, only show more disagreeable to me) is that I didn't like any of the characters. I was actually happy when bad things happened to them! Be that as it may, the book was entertaining, but I think I might stay away from crime fiction for a while now. :) show less