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23rd out of 966 books
—
2,620 voters
The Manufactured Identity (Manufactured Identity #1)
by
Heath Sommer (Goodreads Author)
Months after his mysterious disappearance from a routine fishing trip, no one really expects over-the-hill Texas housewife Lory Latchley to find her missing husband--especially her husband. The Manufactured Identity is clinical psychologist Heath Sommer's ever-escalating immersion into the world of unlikely friends who each awaken to find their faithful companions missing
...morePaperback, 305 pages
Published
June 1st 2009
by Tate Publishing & Enterprises
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Such a good book! Can't wait to start the next one! Excellent surprise ending!
If you like psychological thrillers, this is a great one. it keeps you wondering and intrigued throughout. I highly recommend this book and I'm hoping this author continues with his books! Thanks to Good Reads, I discovered him and I'm trying to spread the word!
If you like psychological thrillers, this is a great one. it keeps you wondering and intrigued throughout. I highly recommend this book and I'm hoping this author continues with his books! Thanks to Good Reads, I discovered him and I'm trying to spread the word!
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I’m an avid reader and love books that will keep you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page….This is that book! Its an exciting suspense novel that moves at a fast pace. Trying to figure out what is going on and how the characters are connected kept me totally intrigued. I ended up reading the book in a day! I liked that there were many different characters to keep track of in this book; it illustrated perfectly how people are linked in many ways and don’t know it. A little creepy —espe...more
The Manufactured Identity is not without the strong, necessary literary elements and techniques that make it a good read. On the surface Dr. Sommer is a commendable writer who blends both the traditional and contemporary in a way that will satisfy the technical reader.
But I believe the unique value of the book is not on the surface, but in its depth. It is the way in which it explores socially suppressed topics. As you read each chapter you can see in it the difficulties and ugliness of life- si...more
But I believe the unique value of the book is not on the surface, but in its depth. It is the way in which it explores socially suppressed topics. As you read each chapter you can see in it the difficulties and ugliness of life- si...more
If your husband went missing what would you do? Heave a sigh of relief? Cry? Call the police after the appropriate 234 hour time limit? Many Texas women did at least one of these. If you lover went missing? Hope he didn’t die of AIDS? Ask around to your other pals if they have seen him? Go into counseling to work out your (and, presumably, his) issues? Many men and women also did one of these.
Through counseling sessions, Pete Mayberry has worked through at least some questions he has had over hi...more
Through counseling sessions, Pete Mayberry has worked through at least some questions he has had over hi...more
I have just reread this series for the third time. I am still troubled, to be honest by the whole concept, but like a car accident that secretly captivates me, I find myself thinking again and again about the themes in the book. Sommer first published manufactured identity in 2009, and I first heard of this book from a friend who had him in Child development last year at ISU. Then, another friend of mine held a massice book club to raise awareness of the series. I kinda joined with skeptacism be...more
I've thought about what single word best describes this book in the weeks since I read it. I can't get away from "diabolical."
That's not criticism. It's pure admiration and envy. I read Dennis Lehane's brilliant "Shutter Island" not long after this book, and if you've read it, you'll remember how completely boondoggled you felt at the end of it. Expect the same result with Dr. Sommer's debut.
The other reviewers have spent a great deal of time and words describing the plot. I don't want to do tha...more
That's not criticism. It's pure admiration and envy. I read Dennis Lehane's brilliant "Shutter Island" not long after this book, and if you've read it, you'll remember how completely boondoggled you felt at the end of it. Expect the same result with Dr. Sommer's debut.
The other reviewers have spent a great deal of time and words describing the plot. I don't want to do tha...more
6 likes · like · see review
The Manufactured Identity tells the story of lives that are connected by deceit of the worst kind.
Imagine if the person that you have spent your life with, and built a relationship with did not even really exist?
Their whole identity simply made-up.
How would you feel?
Would it change your perceptions of your memories of time spent with this person?
Would you begin to even doubt your own existence, if someone squandered your love and time this way?
Suppose you learned there were others involved.
Just...more
Imagine if the person that you have spent your life with, and built a relationship with did not even really exist?
Their whole identity simply made-up.
How would you feel?
Would it change your perceptions of your memories of time spent with this person?
Would you begin to even doubt your own existence, if someone squandered your love and time this way?
Suppose you learned there were others involved.
Just...more
"This book pulled me in instantly. With the end of every chapter I had to know what happens next which made me keep reading for hours on end. Sometimes this book feels like it is not going to resovle itself but let me assure you it does and in the most jaw dropping amazing way. I can't wait for the next book in the series because I have fallen in love with the characters. I have found myself all wrapped up in their lives hoping they all find what they are looking for. Which is what we all are lo...more
One word can pretty much summarize this novel and it has to be amazing! I’ll start my review off by explaining how awesome and creative the cover is! Okie so the cover is solid black with gray; and in the background you can see silhouettes of different people. Some of those people are wearing hats, others are wearing business suits, and it just fits the whole premise of the book. The title completely stands out with the whole white. Anyway, so on to the writing. This novel is written in third pe...more
I really enjoyed the psychological aspects of The Manufactured Identity. Unlike most psychological thrillers, Heath Sommer's debut novel is chock full of actual psychology. Marriage counseling, abnormal behaviors and other real psychological themes are represented in this book. People are represented in this book, not just as characters that drive the plot, but as real, flawed human beings. People that you can relate to in some way, thinking as you may have at some point thought even though you...more
Jan 28, 2013
Meghan Barnes
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of suspense, psychological suspense, mysteries
The Manufactured Identity introduced me to a genre I'd not previously been interested in but now can't get enough of.
Heath Sommer is a master at getting into the heads of his characters. And there are a LOT of them in this book, but each is distinct enough that the story reads smoothly. The characters in TMI are your friends or next door neighbors, which is a little creepy but mostly intriguing. In fact, that might be my favorite thing about this book, other than the general "twistiness" of the...more
Heath Sommer is a master at getting into the heads of his characters. And there are a LOT of them in this book, but each is distinct enough that the story reads smoothly. The characters in TMI are your friends or next door neighbors, which is a little creepy but mostly intriguing. In fact, that might be my favorite thing about this book, other than the general "twistiness" of the...more
Didn't know what to think at first, but hung in there to see how it all ties together. I liked the writing sometimes and didn't like the writing at other times. Some of his phrases made me laugh out loud, as did his sometimes spot-on descriptions of things. Other parts seemed overdone, trite, or amateurish. That said, I really did need to keep reading so that I could see how it would end. Didn't see it coming and was grateful for that. Nothing predictable about this. Don't know how I feel about...more
I read all of the reviews on this one and really didn;t know what to expect. For the first half of the book i was leaning toward the critical reviews, but after awhile Leaned toward the favorable reviews. The problem up front is that there are so many characters, and the writing is sometimes so technical, that it is almost impossible to keep up with the ambience and characterizations.
But with time (and after reading his other books which are all, despite being the same charactes, very different...more
But with time (and after reading his other books which are all, despite being the same charactes, very different...more
Waking up in a park, dazed and confused, an unidentified man tries to remember who he is and how he came to be in this place. At the same time, in different towns, men are disappearing. Their wives and lovers don't understand why they've gone. Some think their men have left them. Others think they have disappeared unwillingly. But all of them are trying to make sense of why they have been left behind.
The Manufactured Identity by Heath Sommer is a unique psychological thriller that kept me turnin...more
The Manufactured Identity by Heath Sommer is a unique psychological thriller that kept me turnin...more
Imagine waking up in an estranged park with nothing but the clothes on your back and a wad of cash in your shoe. You have no clues to your past and nothing to point you in the direction of your future. A young man in the soon to be published book "The Manufactured Identity" must learn to deal with his new identity.
Dr. Sommer's new book is a front row seat to excellence. Sommer delves into the twisted minds of his characters and reveals the complex nature of the mentally insane. Sommer isn't afra...more
Dr. Sommer's new book is a front row seat to excellence. Sommer delves into the twisted minds of his characters and reveals the complex nature of the mentally insane. Sommer isn't afra...more
This is the worst book I have ever read. My book club chose this book based on the multiple 4+ star reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble along with its inclusion in multiple book club lists. We spent our entire book club session making fun of the book, cackling while we read our favorite worst passage aloud. I'm baffled that this book was published - let alone a whole trilogy - and I'm convinced that the author's friends wrote numerous glowing reviews so that it would get its high...more
Not really sure what to make of this book. The synopsis sounded interesting enough, but it was a very confusing read for me. Put this book down several times only to pick it up again, as I was determined to figure out what was going on. This one was a struggle for me to read, and now to review.
We have a prologue with two men in the desert, but I've found that most prologues don't make sense until after you've finished the book, so take them with a grain of salt. The proper story starts off by in...more
We have a prologue with two men in the desert, but I've found that most prologues don't make sense until after you've finished the book, so take them with a grain of salt. The proper story starts off by in...more
1 like · like · see review
This was a book that I knew I would enjoy from the very first page. After I got over the initial confusion of all the characters being introduced, I found myself not wanting to put the book down so I could find out what happened next. The way the author tied everything together in the end was amazing and not at all what I expected. The author was able to keep me guessing, intrigued and excited to keep reading during the entire book. I highly recommend this book to all mystery lovers.
I love it when a book is a little complicated and this is what the manufactured identity gives in spades. It starts out with you thinking that the author maybe is just going to give too many charcters and just when you are frustrated and about to give up on the novel, you realize that it is done on purpose and is what makes this novel really cool and a must read. By then you ride the plot throgh the end and end up a little stunned. Looking very forward to reading the next now.
My book club picked this based on the Goodreads stars, and we all 5 agreed that we're now in serious doubt about the validity of the ratings. There was consensus that this is one of the worst books we read. Our "discussion" involved reading aloud the parts we thought were the worst written and laughing. I'm leaning to believe our theory that the author had everyone in his life go on Goodreads and amazon.com to give it a good review. There is no other plausible explanation for such a horribly wri...more
This was a really interesting book. I read it because a girl I work with is related to the author and she recommended it. It isn't your usual suspense novel because most of the characters have mental issues, but that is what kept me guessing. It was a little hard to keep the characters straight for the first half of the book and I had to keep referring to earlier parts of the book. But, I liked it and was sucked in by the end.
i was SO pleasantly surprised with this book. my brother's girlfriend lent this to me because she's actually working for the author, who is a professor at ISU. i honestly didn't plan on liking it so much, but i could NOT put it down. it's definitely confusing at first, there are a lot of different stories going on, but keep at it because it all ties together in a very interesting and scandalous way. i will definitely be looking into the next two.
This book is in need of an editor. Some of the sentences were very poorly constructed. I read it b/c it had such a high number of stars in the reviews. It took most of the book for the characters to come together but read quickly. The characters were likeable but the story a bit predictable and unbelievable for me.
That said i may read his next novel b/c I am sucker for books with high star ratings.
That said i may read his next novel b/c I am sucker for books with high star ratings.
I hate psychology books and so these were not for me. The rest of my book club members seemed to rave over this series but for me a pass, although I do think the author was a talented writer and at parts i found the prose very compelling, despite my disinterest. I do think the concept made for an interesting discussion, but I like books I can escape life. Naive or not I am happy in my own little bubble!
Um, not sure how to start. I think I liked it. I had to create a cheat sheet to keep all the characters straight. I would say it's definitely a page turner because I couldn't wait to see where the story was going. Felt a little let down by the ending, that's it?!
Wasn't surprised like I would hope I'd be, especially based on the other reviews.
I will go on and read the next book in the series, prequel.
Wasn't surprised like I would hope I'd be, especially based on the other reviews.
I will go on and read the next book in the series, prequel.
I really hated this book for the first ten or so chapters, but I knew of who the author was becuase he is a proessor at my college and so i kept readng it anyway. I am so glad I did. What seems like an amatuerish litany of characters turns into a complicated and intense plot that leaves you dumbfounded by the end. Really, really good novel. And i enjoyed the next two probably just as much.
I was intrigued from the first couple pages of The Manufactured Identity. I love psychological mystery/thrillers, and have to say that this is one of the best. I’ve found most doctors turned writers try not to show too much of their psychology backgrounds in a story they’ve written. But, I found this book was the opposite and I loved every minute of it. But, then I have a B.S. in psychology so I sort of revel in this kind of stuff. I wasn’t sure were the story was going for a while and there are...more
1 like · like · see review
Feb 05, 2011
Joann Smith
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who love psycological thrillers
Recommended to Joann by:
a friend
What a mess of a book. Way too much psych babble. Written from an angry and choppy point of view. I felt like I was being yelled at for the majority of the book. Interesting idea I just felt the execution was not my style. I had another book from this author (I think it is part of a series) in my "to read" list...that will be getting removed.
Initially confusing, this novel has multiple characters that at first seem disassociated, but later are pulled together and explained through multiple identities. Perhaps because of the multiple identities, I never felt as though I got to know any of the characters well. They felt superficial.
The storyline was compelling however, and I did find myself wanting to read more to understand who these people were and how they were all connected. Heath Sommer opens the book with an interesting prologue...more
The storyline was compelling however, and I did find myself wanting to read more to understand who these people were and how they were all connected. Heath Sommer opens the book with an interesting prologue...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| who should she choose? | 1 | 11 | May 30, 2009 07:04am |
Dr. Heath Sommer is the author of The Manufactured Identity psychological suspense series and runs a developmental disability and mental health clinic in southern Idaho.
More about Heath Sommer...
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