The Guise of Another Paperback – October 6, 2015

It's refreshing to discover new authors. Allen Eskens is just that. He has taken mystery/thriller to new levels and I can only hope his fellow authors, particularly NYT best sellers, take notice.Both of Eskens novels are vastly different than other stories of his genre. The best part is... neither of Allen's novels are related. No continuation. No sequel, saga or trilogy. Just original ideas, themes and twists. Even though I read them, I tire of the unrealistic protagonist in continuing series shot up, beat up, and recovering between novels only to throw themselves back in to danger. Like I said, I read them, but only an idiot continuously endangers themselves in real life. Then again, that's why it's called fiction.The characters from each of Eskens stories are realistic as well as the obstacles each hurtles. When you live life in certain circles, sh*t happens. I've watched enough of The FBI Files and American Greed shows to know.

I read the first Max Rupert book, The Life We Bury, some time ago, and really liked it. But in the business of life and SO MANY books (!) I forgot about it until I started reading reviews of this one, which is the second in the Max Rupert series. And it pulled me in from the beginning and didn't let go. It is part mystery, part thriller, part police procedural with the politics of the police department, part cat and mouse game - but all good. We discover very early that a man has been living his life under the identity of James Putnam, but is actually not James Putman. The case could have been closed early on, but the Minnesota detective that I thought was the main character, Max Rupert's brother, Alexander Rupert (we find out more later) cannot let it go. And so the chase and the intrigue begins, taking us to Iowa, New York City, and back to Minnesota. At the same time, a side plot has Alexander in trouble with the law, his career, his personal life, and his marriage. It is briskly paced, filled with greedy bad guys (some unexpected), and the aftermath of a huge secret. The ending blew me away. At a few points in the story I was just stunned. Some things I never saw coming! Eskens can really write...I will look for his books in the future.

Just the right book for a cold winters day read. I highly recommend it. Can't wait to read another by this author

While this book is surely not as good as his first, "The Life We Bury," it is certainly not a bad read. Eskens's debut book was phenomenal. It had everything I love and I'm sure many readers would agree. However, I don't think "The Guise Of Another" is a waste. I love a good mystery and this book did deliver on that aspect. It also had some twists and turns that I wasn't expecting, so that is always a plus.I understand why some readers have the complaints they do such as not identifying with the main character and being able to "like" Alexander. My thoughts on that are that most every book you read you are pulling for the main character. You hope for good things to happen to that character. You want everything to work out for that character in the end. This book was different and I LIKED THAT! When the story unwinds and you find out some things about Alexander, you're not sure how to feel. Eskens makes you think here. And the ending, wow! I liked that, too. It did not work out how I expected it to and that is good! A change is always good.Some readers said the book was predictable. Maybe in some spots, but not all the way through. And the comments that I'm seeing where people won't read anymore books by this author, I think are unfair. I think he has a lot to offer book lovers like myself. I loved his first book and will not stop reading him because of one book that wasn't a "hit." Many of my favorite authors have written books that I turned my nose up at, like James Patterson and Jodi Piccoult.I liked "The Guise Of Another" for its mystery, it's multiple storylines, its twists and turns, and its "out of the box" ending.I will surely read another book by Alen Eskens. I don't think he's done wowing us.

I wanted to read this book because I had just finished "The Life We Bury", and really like the writing style and story. This book is quite a bit different, although it is still a great read. I liked the tie to the first book by involving the detective Max Rupert. The story centers around his brother, Alexander Rupert, who is also a police detective. The story starts out with a rather bizarre car wreck where the driver of one car is killed. Upon trying to identify that driver, it is discovered that he was using another person's identity. The story has some interesting twists, and leads to the discovery of a former crime. This all leads to the involvement of a brutal killer, Drago Basta.. His tactics are brutal, and he is very clever in pursuing his intended targets. Charater and plot development were very good, and you can almost feel that there is no place to hide from such an evil killer.

I loved the book. Different from his first book. To me this was pure noir. Loved the Rupert brothers, both detectives, one getting ready for a grand jury and the other one looking for a way to save his brother. That was just an under lying theme in the book, the major plot was who James Putnam was and how Alexander could figure out the case and be a hero again so the grand jury would overlook his mess he was tangled up in. Loved the twists and turns the characters went through. Liked the intro to Billie, wish things could have done worked out with her and max but that's the way it goes.This guy is writing some brilliant novels. I loved last years book and this one is no let down on the quality of writing, just a different kind of novel IMO. The last few pages really turned it from your everyday mystery/suspense novel to a really great noir book. Five stars is not good enough for me. Could have given it ten.This book was provided to me by the publisher for an honest review and I'm glad to give two great big thumbs up. Thank you