Nora Roberts has had over 230 books published. I’ve only read a small fraction of this impressive number and very few of her thrillers, and yet, Identity is so similar to the ones I’ve read that I struggled to differentiate them. It’s probably proof that she does write her own books and doesn’t have a secret conglomerate of ghostwriters pumping out titles for her, but it does defeat the purpose of reading new releases if they barely differ from previous books.

I love a good thriller, and Identity started very promising. When we first meet Gavin as Luke, he is very convincing as a travelling IT consultant falling for Morgan. Unfortunately, once his true nature is revealed, the ‘thriller’ aspect of this book is pretty much over. I understand that we’re meeting him pretty far along in his life of crime, and he’s starting to devolve, but the climax of this particular thread of the narrative is more than a little underwhelming.

True to form, Roberts did an excellent job writing the rehabilitation of the relationship between Morgan and her mother and grandmother. It may have been incredibly cringey every time Morgan felt the need to call her own family members her ‘ladies’, but the rest of it was very well written. It was nice to see Morgan reevaluating her goals, rebuilding her life, and finding happiness in a way she may not have expected.

Overwhelmingly average, there may have been a few enjoyable moments, but nothing very memorable. Identity is just not one of Robert’s more unique endeavours.