Talk Talk

April 17, 2006
Bestseller and PEN/Faulkner Award–winner Boyle recasts the battle of good and evil as an identity theft suspense story in his 11th novel (following The Inner Circle
). Dana Halter, a "slim, graceful, dark-eyed deaf woman of thirty-three," runs a stop sign and is hauled off to jail when a routine police check turns up multiple pending felony charges. As Dana disappears into the criminal justice system, her earnest and willing boyfriend, Bridger (on deadline doing a sci-fi film's special effects), isn't much help. Meanwhile, William "Peck" Wilson—a social parasite whose lifestyle includes Armani, a house in Marin County and a shopaholic bombshell girlfriend imported from a former Soviet republic—is actually the man behind the charges against Dana. Finally out on bail and reunited with Bridger, Dana lacks the resources to clear her name, but in the best tradition of the good guy willing to sacrifice everything for justice, Bridger chucks his job, and the two set off on Peck's trail. Boyle, always a risk taker, neatly manages the challenge of a deaf protagonist and a bad guy who is a gourmet cook, genuinely loves his bombshell and has a soft spot for children. As Dana and Bridger hurtle across the country and the tension mounts, Boyle drops crumbs of wisdom in signature style, and readers will be hot on the trail.

April 15, 2006
In his latest work, Boyle ("Drop City") explores the nightmare of identity theft as deaf teacher Dana Halter is pulled over for running a four-way stop sign and suddenly finds her life turned upside down. After days in a California jail, Dana is released when it is discovered that the -Dana Halter - who committed various crimes in various jurisdictions is a man. Dana and her digital filmmaker boyfriend, Bridger Martin, piece together information on the other Dana (né William -Peck - Wilson) and follow him across the country in order to exact retribution for what the justice system deems a -victimless crime. - Dana's childhood insecurities resurface as others react to her as a deaf person in a hearing world, and she questions her ability to communicate who she really is. Even her relationship with Bridger, who learned to sign after they met, begins to fray as their odyssey turns into a vendetta and listening to each other takes a backseat to rage. Alternating chapters offer Peck's take on how easy it is (is this fact or fiction?) to reinvent oneself from a local outcast into a successful (fill in the blank) via the Internet and a bit of time on a library computer. The continuity errors distracted this reviewer, and missing details make the novel more frustrating than riveting. Still, Boyle's many fans will probably want to go along for the ride. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 3/15/06.]" -Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2006
Boyle sculpts his bold but meticulous new novel out of a frightening premise, a case of identity theft, which, with terrorism, is one of the twin (and random and anonymous) threats faced in today's world. In fact, the case of identity theft here is an extreme version: identity " takeover." The storyline he so carefully, intelligently, and knowledgeably crafts starts innocently enough when hearing-impaired college instructor Dana Halter is stopped on her way to the dentist for running a traffic sign. The witnessing policeman is quickly joined by a whole troop of cops, and Dana is led off to jail in handcuffs and treated like a common criminal. As it turns out, she has a rap sheet and a list of warrants a mile long--obviously (obvious to " her," that is) a case of someone else using her name. This person has stolen her identity to construct an entire, false life, from purchasing a house and car to marrying under the assumed name. Dana and her boyfriend embark on a dangerous journey not only to discover the identity of the thief but also to stop him, and here the novel develops into a transcontinental----and breathtaking--thriller. Boyle never loses touch with his primary intention: a dual exploration of temperaments; namely, how particular environments can produce entirely different ways of coping in life. Readers can only say to themselves upon finishing this exciting novel, "Don't let this happen to me."(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)