Identical, by Scott Turow

Scott Turow has carved out a niche in legal fiction.  As a practicing lawyer who has several novels that have been made into movies, he has a great feel for translating legal concepts and arguments into an interesting story.  In Identical, one brother confesses to murdering his girlfriend, while his twin brother establishes his legal and political career.  As the story begins, with the first brother's release from prison after his 25 year sentence, it becomes clear that there is more to the story.

When the lawyer brother ends up facing the murdered girl's brother in a political campaign, the old case takes center stage again, and the rest of the story slowly comes out.  Much of the development of the novel reads like an episode of CSI or some other TV crime drama.  Turow may be found guilty of abusing the readers' credulity.  A couple of allusions are made to Shakespeare's use of confusion between twins in his plays.  Those plays always frustrated me for their silliness.  There is an element of that silliness in Identical, too.

Silliness aside, Turow moves the story along nicely, with occasional flashbacks to the scene of the crime, told from different characters' perspectives.  The truth comes out, eventually, in a not terribly surprising conclusion.  Ultimately, the family drama, long-held secrets, and the twin-swapping detracted from the strength of the legal and investigational strength of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!