Book Review: Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Fake ID
Author: Lamar Giles
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genres: Mystery | Realistic Fiction | Thriller
Released: January 21st 2014
Review Source: Harper Teen

Lamar Giles takes readers on a wild and dark ride in this contemporary Witness Protection thriller, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Harlan Coben, and John Grisham.

Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight. In fact, his name isn't really Nick Pearson. He shouldn't tell you his real name, his real hometown, or why his family just moved to Stepton, Virginia. And he definitely shouldn't tell you about his friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy Eli was uncovering when he died. About how Nick had to choose between solving Eli's murder with his hot sister, Reya, and "staying low-key" like the Program said to do.

But he's going to tell you—unless he gets caught first. . . .

This book is so intense. It’s almost like watching an episode of Scandal; I was almost to the end and I still had no idea who was to blame!

This book follows the story of Nick Pearson, or Tony. Depends on whether we’re talking pre or post Witness Protection Program. Tony’s dad used to work for a very powerful hitman, Kreso; he was the numbers guy. Until he went to the police, and as soon as he did, Kreso disappeared. So now the whole family - mother, father, son - are in the Witness Protection Program. Except they keep getting moved every year because Tony’s dad just loves to make dirty money. As of now, they’re in Stepton, Virginia.

Tony’s making friends, even has a girl he likes (which is strange considering how little time he’s had to act as a normal teen). Then Eli, Tony’s friend, gets murdered, his dad is acting shady, the mayor has sudden interest, and crimes aren’t being reported.Tony and Reya, Eli’s sister, team up to catch a murderer and try to solve whatever Eli has left behind. This story is great.

I feel like it is expected for an author to steer too far off of the actual mystery due to adding twists and turns, trying to make the story more exciting. That didn’t happen here. Giles did an excellent job at getting into the meat of the story quickly, and being consistent, and never steering too far off of the original problem at hand. The ending left me a bit unsatisfied, as far as relationships within the book go.