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Published Mar 2022
368 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
From Anthony Award-winning writer Alex Segura comes Secret Identity, a rollicking literary mystery set in the world of comic books.
It's 1975 and the comic book industry is struggling, but Carmen Valdez doesn't care. She's an assistant at Triumph Comics, which doesn't have the creative zeal of Marvel nor the buttoned-up efficiency of DC, but it doesn't matter. Carmen is tantalizingly close to fulfilling her dream of writing a superhero book.
That dream is nearly a reality when one of the Triumph writers enlists her help to create a new character, which they call "The Lethal Lynx," Triumph's first female hero. But her colleague is acting strangely and asking to keep her involvement a secret. And then he's found dead, with all of their scripts turned into the publisher without her name. Carmen is desperate to piece together what happened to him, to hang on to her piece of the Lynx, which turns out to be a runaway hit. But that's complicated by a surprise visitor from her home in Miami, a tenacious cop who is piecing everything together too quickly for Carmen, and the tangled web of secrets and resentments among the passionate eccentrics who write comics for a living.
Alex Segura uses his expertise as a comics creator as well as his unabashed love of noir fiction to create a truly one-of-a-kind novel--hard-edged and bright-eyed, gritty and dangerous, and utterly absorbing.
"Set in 1975, this outstanding novel from Anthony Award winner Segura stars Carmen Valdez, an obsessive comic book fan...who now lives in New York City and works on the periphery of her dream as an assistant at Triumph Comics...Carmen navigates the shifting loyalties within the industry with aplomb. Segura's infectious passion for superheroes shines in this page-turning mix of murder mystery and coming-of-age story." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Segura's book works on so many levels, it's almost hard to keep track—as a love letter to comic books, it's as powerful as anything since Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2000). And as a thriller, it's smart, perfectly paced, and wonderfully atmospheric—Segura captures the intense, grimy milieu of 1970s New York with aplomb. You don't have to be a comics fan to love this novel; it's a masterful book filled with real heart and soul. A triumph." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Darkest noir meets the vibrant world of comics in the hands of Segura... His reverence for the medium comes across vividly here...A superlative one-of-a-kind novel." - Booklist
"Segura's fond affection for comic books comes through in this mashup of pulpy murder mysteries and 1970s dingy New York streets." - Silvia Moreno-Garcia, New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic
"Alex Segura is one of the great gentlemen of crime fiction. A calm and measured soul who happens to be a firecracker of a writer. Secret Identity is his best yet―a glowing love letter to Serpico-era NYC and the rock and roll frontier of the American comics industry. This is a writer at the top of his game." - S. A. Cosby, bestselling author of Razorblade Tears
"Just as Chinatown forged the water wars of California into unforgettable noir, Alex Segura's Secret Identity excavates rarely mined material―the secret history of the comics industry exploiting underpaid, uncredited creators―and transduces it into a genuinely poignant thriller that pulsates with the lonely claustrophobia and third-rail delirium of city life." - Sean Howe, author of Marvel Comics: The Untold Story
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Alex Segura is the SVP - Sales and Marketing at Oni Press and the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall and the acclaimed Pete Fernandez Mystery series. He has also written a number of comic books, most notably the superhero noir The Black Ghost, the YA music series The Archies, and the "Archie Meets" collection of crossovers. A Miami native, he lives in New York City with his wife and children.
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