I’ve heard from a few readers who finished Identity and had questions. And, thanks to the wonders of social media, those readers can ask me, instead of just wondering about it or hashing it out at book club.
(Or breaking it down with your sister, which is what I usually do.)
Some of these questions (and answers) will ruin the book for anyone who hasn’t finished it yet. Do NOT keep reading if you don’t want to know what happens at the end, after Brian turns into a werewolf and Sharlah has to time travel to 18th century Romania to find the secret herb that will turn him back into a human.
SPOILERS AHEAD
OK, you’ve been warned.
Q: Who shot Sharlah, and why?
A: Kevin shot Sharlah, although he didn’t intend to hit her. He wanted to encourage Brian to remain silent by making him think Sharlah had been targeted by people from the drug ring.
Q: What happens to Kevin after the book ends?
A: Brian says that he’ll handle the situation, and he keeps his word. The police will be able to match the DNA. I imagine that Kevin dies in prison, and sooner rather than later. His years of addiction have taken a toll on his health.
Q: Is Russ Zuk, the police officer, in love with Sharlah?
A: Two people asked me this, which I thought was a pretty perceptive question!
The short answer: No, Zuk is not in love with Sharlah.
The long answer: He does feel protective of her, for reasons that have to do with his family background.
The even longer answer: In the first draft of Identity, the second section of the book was told from Zuk’s point of view, not Brian’s, and the time period overlapped with the first part of the book. So first you saw things from Sharlah’s perspective, and then you saw some of the same things from Zuk’s perspective. But my husband read it and thought the repetition was boring, and my agent read it and thought the second section didn’t work. She suggested having Brian carry that part of the story, and she was right! As a result, a lot of Zuk was gobbled up by the delete key, but some of his affection for Sharlah still comes through, apparently.
Q: Does it all work out for Brian and Sharlah?
A: You end up hoping they make a go of it, don’t you? I hope so, too.
Thanks for the Q&A!