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A review by samnite
Secret Identity by Alex Segura
4.0
Secret Identities is pitched as a murder mystery, but it’s really the story of a young woman trying to figure out how to be the person she wants to be — a comics creator, openly queer, able to let her guard down — in a complicated world that’s working against, with a murder mystery as an exciting b-plot. And it’s a great, readable story with a strong protagonist in Carmen and a fun setting in the world of 1970s comic books. Triumph comics is rendered with care, and the Lynx is a rare fictional comic book character who feels utterly convincing — I believe the Lynx could have existed and been as popular as she turned out to be.
I’ve gone back and forth on how to rate the book — I found a lot of Carmen’s inner monologue repetitive, almost as if Segura didn’t trust us to remember things from earlier in the story, and the ultimate mystery reveal simultaneously too easy and too complicated. Without getting into spoilers, it derives its dramatic weight from what’s happened to the comics industry since the 70s in a way that makes the villain seem a little nonsensical without a time machine. But at the same time, I couldn’t put it down and found a lot to love. As usual, I err on the side of generosity!
I’ve gone back and forth on how to rate the book — I found a lot of Carmen’s inner monologue repetitive, almost as if Segura didn’t trust us to remember things from earlier in the story, and the ultimate mystery reveal simultaneously too easy and too complicated. Without getting into spoilers, it derives its dramatic weight from what’s happened to the comics industry since the 70s in a way that makes the villain seem a little nonsensical without a time machine. But at the same time, I couldn’t put it down and found a lot to love. As usual, I err on the side of generosity!