Upon release of his debut novel, former Lee County Commissioner Harry Rodda has immediately earned the praise of Kirkus Reviews. Writing as H.E. Rodda, the author has officially celebrated the launch of Identity Crisis, which Kirkus has just named to its Best Indie Books of 2016 list and its Indie Books of the Month for December. In addition, the book has earned a Kirkus star, reserved for “books of exceptional merit.” Dubbed “A mystery with more twists and turns than an old country road,” the prestigious reviewer calls Identity Crisis “A thoughtful tale of mistaken identity, fraud, sex, murder, and transcendent friendship.”
American soldiers Mason Dillon and Adrian Wylde are wounded and isolated during the Vietnam War, thought dead by the rest of the world. These best friends are so alike that they are almost identical. When they finally have the opportunity to go home five years later, Mason has established a happy new life in Cambodia. Wanting his friend to escape his ordinary past, Mason encourages Adrian to take his place, enjoy his late mother’s fortune and assume his position in his father’s multi-billion-dollar business.
Adrian takes great pleasure in his new opulent life, but a tragic accident robs him of his memory. As far as he knows, he is the true Mason Dillon. To escape an ensuing tumult of seduction, grossly illegal business practices and prosecution for crimes he didn’t commit, Adrian’s only hope for redemption is to remember his identity—which is nearly impossible when nothing is as it seems.
The Kirkus review effuses, “Rodda’s thriller is just that—thrilling, a fast and fun read that almost casually grapples with some of the most profound metaphysical questions: are we the people we pretend to be? What sits at the center of the self? What obligation do we owe to our own prior lives? And what duty do we owe to our friends?”
Kirkus Reviews, founded in 1933, is billed as the most authoritative voice in book discovery and calls Identity Crisis “a sterling debut” that contains “echoes of both Patricia Highsmith and Randy Wayne White.” Readers wishing to discover this rags-to-riches thriller for themselves can find it in paperback and Kindle formats at amazon.com/1532892667. Distribution at book stores across Southwest Florida and nationally is pending.
About Harry Rodda
H. E. Rodda was born in Washington, D.C., and by age 21, he’d already sampled a half-dozen careers, been on active duty for six months with the Army Reserve, and lived in the Bahamas as a construction worker. He later specialized in residential design and construction before becoming active in local politics. Rodda resides in Fort Myers and has lived in Southwest Florida since 1956. He served on his county’s planning commission and as Lee County Commissioner in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
Rodda’s writing ranges from short stories to opinion pieces to satirical nonfiction, and draws on the author’s experiences as a traveler, entrepreneur, widower, father and grandfather. Identity Crisis is Rodda’s first published novel. Learn more at www.amazon.com/author/herodda.
