Review of Lost Identity

[Sarah Schmidt]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Lost Identity" by Karl Braungart.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Lost Identity is a spy fiction novel written by Karl Braungart. It is the first book in The Remmich/Miller Series, kicking off a plot of manipulation and espionage that continues in the succeeding books. Using tactics grounded in hypnosis, an Iraqi group, called the Tariq’Allah, recruit a captain in the US Army, stationed in Germany, to help carry out their plans.

Captain Eric Miller is being transferred for his protection after an attempt on his life. His attackers’ intention was to coerce him into betraying his country by providing them with much-needed intelligence on a scientific research project; his refusal meant his death. Miller’s destination is Würzburg, Germany, to become a part of the 32nd Security Intelligence. There he meets Captain Paul Remmich, an old friend of his. Their union and safety are in jeopardy, however. Two Iraqi secret service agents are sent to secure control of Miller’s mind. A strange twist of fate leaves Captain Remmich in their hands instead of their intended target. Much to their surprise and delight, he seems to be the better pawn, bringing to them more information than they thought possible. Meanwhile, a Russian spy stalks the agents, and an old enemy of Eric’s waits in the shadows for a chance to exact his revenge.

I liked that this book took an alternative path to most spy novels. Instead of going the overused route and using Iraqi forces as antagonists with terroristic ambitions, they seemed more multidimensional in capacity. Though they were using underhanded means, a part of their motives seemed reasonable (not the part where they wanted to monopolize global energy sources, of course). There are still some of the common tropes, such as double agents, backstabbing, assassinations, and so on – which I think are somewhat unavoidable considering the genre of the book – but these mostly took a backseat to mental manipulation and information gathering.

The ending of the book was abrupt. To call it a cliffhanger is a bit of a stretch. No suspense was really built in the story, inciting nothing greater than a reader’s natural, run-of-the-mill curiosity about the events that will follow. The characters didn’t find themselves in a desperate situation or the story didn’t end on a note that had me chomping at the bit to know more. In fact, I feel as though I could go on without reading the next instalment in the series.

After a certain point, it became hard to dredge up interest in the story. Not much conflict is present in the main characters’ lives or in the story in general. The most interesting part of the story is the action scene in the beginning. The path the plot took from then on followed Remmich being hypnotized, responding to summons from the Iraqs, and gathering intelligence, all the while trying to maintain a normal life in the face of what’s going on – rinse, repeat. This was a major dislike of mine while reading.

I did see several errors in this book. The frequency and number of these errors led me to believe that the book has not been professionally edited. Profanity only made minor, occasional appearances, so that shouldn’t be a deterrent for wanting to read or enjoying the book. There are also some sex scenes, but none of them gets too explicit.

I rate Lost Identity 2 out of 4 stars. Two stars were taken away due to both the number of errors found and the pedestrian quality of the narration and the plot. I think improving on the narration style in a way that revs up the suspense or deals with more sub-conflicts would greatly benefit how appealing the book seems. Performing another round of editing to correct the mistakes is also suggested. I would recommend this book to readers looking for books about spying and hypnosis. People who wish for action-packed or fast-paced reads would not find this book entertaining.

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Lost Identity
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[Kingsley Emodi]

I admire Eric Miller's courage. Great review you have here. Well done.

[marta baglioni]

I was interested at first. Too bad for the flaws you highlighted. Thank you for the review

[Nonso Ok]

The author could work on making the ending less abrupt. Thank you for the amazing review.

[Shivali Y]

While I like spy novels, I think I'll pass on this because of the lack of suspense. Thanks for a great review!

[collinsogw555]

This would be an excellent and interesting book to read as Miller is being targeted for not betraying his country. I will need to read this book to find out more. Thank you for your review.

[Amy Luman]

The cover art and title of the book made me want to read this spy novel. I’m glad I read the review, however. Now I think I won’t bother. Eric and Paul’s relationship intrigues me, though.

[NetMassimo]

This seems like a novel with potential not properly developed. A professional editor might help the author with it and with proofreading. Thank you for your honest review!

[Fab47]

It's a very good thing he was being protected firstly. And then, he was very brave to say no to the very people who tried killing him for turning down their proposal. The whole story is all about loyalty to the roots which is a very expensive to come across this days."

[Shivansh_007]

It seems like quite an interesting novel, but as the reviewer mentioned there are plenty of errors and tha narration is not so good either. So I'll pass this time. Thanks for the review.

[Ahñ Mèiã]

The plot seems interesting and attracting for me as a mystery novels lover. However, from your review I understand that the narration lacks mystery and the thriller element is weak Thank you for your review

[Rizki Pradana]

Love this review because I really like the thing related to spying, which indicates there was a lot of action that would thriller me throughout the book.

[Katso Puku]

If there is spies then there certainly has to be some action and thrilling scenes. It sounds like a great book that has to be checked out, great review