Jonathan Stride is a detective for the Duluth police department. Stride is married to Serena, who is also a cop, and they have a foster daughter named Cat. Stride has solved many cases, including one of worst, involving women who were kidnapped and kept in cages. While he did save one, Lori, but three other women died, and the killer left a chilling message to Stride: "better luck next time."

Time passes, and a movie is being made of Stride's life. Stride reluctantly goes along with the movie and is fearful of reliving the events of discovering Lori's captivity. Filming begins in Duluth, but soon dead bodies start showing up around town. Are these murders connected to each other, or two Stride's movie?

One of the victims turns out to be a private investigator named Peach Piper, who was in town spying on the big Hollywood actor playing Stride in the movie, but no one knows why. After much investigating, it seems that everything is leading back to the actors... The movie seems to be causing a lot of problems for everyone.

This is the first novel I have read by Brian Freeman, and now I must go out and find the other books in the Jonathan Stride series. I loved ALTER EGO. Freeman had me guessing as to who was the real killer. Have to say I was shocked. I thought I had this book figured out, but I was completely wrong on who I thought it was!

I really liked all of the characters in this book. One of my favorites was Maggie, a tough little cop who really didn't know what she wanted. This is another reason why I have to find more of Freeman's books. So if you really love murder mysteries, get ALTER EGO and see how long it takes you to figure out who done it...

Book Summary

When a freak auto accident kills a driver on the remote roads outside Duluth, Jonathan Stride is disturbed to discover that the victim appears to be a "ghost," with a false identity and no evidence to suggest who he really was. Alarmingly, a gun is found in the car--and the gun has recently been fired.

The next day, Stride learns that a Duluth college student has also vanished, and he worries that the two incidents are related. But what would have put an ordinary young woman in the crosshairs of a man who has all the hallmarks of an assassin for hire?

Stride's investigation of the girl's disappearance leads him into the midst of a film crew in Duluth, where a movie is being made based on a case in Stride's own past. The actor playing Stride is Hollywood royalty, an award- winning icon who has charmed his way to the top of the box office.

But Stride soon hears whispers that his cinematic alter ego has a dark side . . . and in trying to expose the truth, he makes a powerful enemy who will stop at nothing to protect his reputation.