False Identity

False IdentityFBI Special Agent Jack Kelly is running for his life. Jack shrugs off a threat after his testimony against a New Orleans mob boss results in a guilty verdict and a 15-to-25 year sentence in Federal penitentiary. But after Jack's date and best friend are brutally murdered in a Louisiana bayou, it becomes obvious that the murders are a botched revenge killing with Jack the intended victim.In an effort to protect him, Jim Becker -- Special Agent in Charge and Jack's boss --...
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False IdentityFBI Special Agent Jack Kelly is running for his life. Jack shrugs off a threat after his testimony against a New Orleans mob boss results in a guilty verdict and a 15-to-25 year sentence in Federal penitentiary. But after Jack's date and best friend are brutally murdered in a Louisiana bayou, it becomes obvious that the murders are a botched revenge killing with Jack the intended victim.In an effort to protect him, Jim Becker -- Special Agent in Charge and Jack's boss -- relocates Jack to a small, Arizona ranch, where a second narrow brush with death renders that ploy futile. A hastily contrived meeting in a Phoenix hotel room between Jack, Jim and a fellow agent, Terri Nicholson results in a unique solution: that Jack go into hiding as a woman. Although he resists the idea initially, Jack finally accepts that it is his best -- perhaps only -- hope of remaining alive.Haunted by persistent recollections of his friends' slaughter, Jack takes on the identity of Shawn Andrews, a deceased female police officer, and relocates to Northern California's beautiful and rugged Monterey Peninsula, where the balance of the story takes place. Under tutelage of a gender therapist, Jack undertakes a difficult and gradual transition.The transition finally complete, Shawn signs on as a detective with the Monterey Police Department where she partners with Sergeant Joe Stagnaro who runs the small Investigations Section.The story follows Shawn and Joe through the business of police work as they cope with the tension of Shawn's transition. Although Joe knows that Shawn is not a woman, her emulation is so convincing that he cannot help treating her as one. And, as Shawn contends with her false identity, Joe wrestles against a growing attraction. Although Joe's boss, Lieutenant Mike Leahy, sees what is happening to both Shawn and Joe, he is powerless to do anything about it. Matters become more complicated when another detective, Vic Coracelli, expresses an attraction to Shawn. Finally, an incident on Joe's boat causes Shawn to question, not just her gender, but her very essence.In addition to the death threat, three cases provide excitement and suspense: the abduction and rape of a fourteen year-old girl; an offshore, narcotics trafficking operation; and the unknown-causes death of a young woman.Underlying police work and the difficulties imposed by Shawn's cover, the threat of vengeance hovers always in the background. Finally, the hit man locates Shawn and quickly discovers her identity. The brutal message that accompanies his discovery is terrifying and effective.The novel's suspenseful climax takes place in the old Basilica of the Carmel Mission where Shawn confronts both the hit man and her self-doubt. The violent encounter's outcome is as surprising as is the story's ending.Although a work of fiction, False Identity is based on the author's own transition and experience working with police agencies and the federal government, and was thoroughly researched with the Monterey Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Justice Forensic Laboratory, the Medical Examiner of the City and County of San Francisco, and the Monterey County Coroner's Department.Victoria Galante