It is Labor Day week-end, September 5, 1982, and Lidia Giania and her twin sons, Paul and Cass , twenty-five years of age, are accompanying her at a large party given by Zeus and Hermione Kronin and their children, son Hal, fortyish, and daughter Dita. Neither Lidia nor Paul normally attends this annual function, but Cass is head-over-heels in love with Zeus' daughter, Dita, and he will be anyplace that she is; Paul is there to keep his eye on Lidia since she obviously plans on making some kind of trouble, and she does not like Dita one iota. But Lidia's best friend since they were seven-years-old is Zeus' sister, Teri, and hopefully Lidia just wants to visit with her friend. Paul will be sworn in to the bar in November and has a job with the Kindle County DA's office as a deputy prosecuting attorney; Cass will enter the police academy in about two weeks. Everyone's lives changed that day when Dita's body was found later and Cass pled guilty to the murder.

Flash forward to January 8, 2008, the day the Pardons and Parole Board will hear Cass's parole hearing. Hal Kronin has a statutory right, as a family member of a homicide victim, to demand a hearing before a convicted killer is released. Since Cass has served all but six-months of his sentence, he will be released on good time. Paul has been in politics about fifteen years, and is now running for mayor. Hal is so bitter and emotional about the twins that he publically libels Paul. Hal's motive is clear -- he wants Paul to sue him and give Hal just cause for reopening Dita's murder and this time proving that Paul was somehow involved.

Scott Turow knows how to twist an ending, as anyone that has read a book by him or has seen a movie adaptation from a story by him, and man, the twist to this one is sort of like playing "Twister". When you choose to read IDENTICAL, you will be gifted with outstanding characters, wonderful story plotlines, and rapid fire page turning. Thank you very much, Mr. Turow, for your wonderful way with words!