Let me just start by saying that although this is book 2 of Segura’s Secret Identity series, it reads extremely well as a standalone. In fact, I had no clue it was a sequel until I went to add it in my tracker. Also, the book is built around a love for comic books, but you certainly don’t need to be a comic fanatic to enjoy this story. That being said, I now want to read book one, because this one was so fun.

The gist:
Annie Bustamamte grew up loving the art of comic books. It was her sanctuary. Her obsession lied with one heroine - The Lynx - which was co-created by a Cuban woman which gave Annie great inspiration. Many years later, as an accomplished filmmaker, writer and artist, she is given the opportunity to recreate the legend of The Lynx but finds herself unraveling long lost dark and dangerous secrets along the way.

As an audiobook, this was Top Notch! With great character development and dynamics and the coolest comic interludes. This honestly is no where near a go-to genre for me but WOW did I have fun with it. Very much recommended 👍🏼

*thanks to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the arc opportunity*

The second in a duology that is such a love letter to comics. I would say this is a pretty great standalone, however, I believe that Secret Identity needs to be read before tackling Alter Ego, at least for the background information regarding the Legendary Lynx.
Annie Bustamante is a jack of all trades; award-winning director, artist, visionary and she has a chance to bring the Lynx back to life. However, she soon discovers that Triumph Comics (or what's left of it), is just making a giant cash grab and not staying true to the character. They don't even want the world to know that Triumph doesn't actually own the Lynx. Annie will find out more than she bargained for and team up with the Lynx's creator, Carmen Valdez to bring the comic back to life.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

Alter Ego by Alex Segura, I read the Kindle version and listen to the audio narrated by Frankie Corzo, and I do think I preferred the audiobook although I was not a big fan of the attitude Miss Frankie was trying to portray. I know a lot of reviewers didn’t like this book in despite the confusing time distortion a really like the story it was trying to tell. I also found the story somewhat believable because since the 1940s and 50s mobsters have been trying to get in to Hollywood, but for a niche comic, IDK that part wasn’t so believable. I also want to mention instead of a daughter. She could’ve been replaced by a dog for all the importance. She meant to the story. She was almost a non-character. Now having said all that for those who like being entertained and especially those who read the first book I think, we’ll find this one pretty OK if you can keep up with the time jumps the contradictions I must admit I still enjoyed the story. I do believe if the book could be reworked with the more believable reason why an award-winning director became persona non grata then this would’ve been a five story because the main character was an awesome character. In the comics she was trying to push sounded just as awesome. There were just certain things in the book that didn’t jell, but I would be lying if I said, I didn’t like it because I did. #NetGalley, #McMillanPublishing, #AlexSegura, #Alter ego,

Such a good follow-up to Secret Identity. Segura has created a world I want to stay in and hear from again and again; there are so many more characters I wish there were stories for! I love how the characters tie together and everything that connects us to the first book. The story has the high stakes feeling of a detective mystery with characters who are real and unapologetic. Who knew the world of comic books would leave me feeling this way?

Annie is a movie director and comic book writer. Her latest movie is shelved and she is upset. She gets an offer to work with a publisher to bring back the Lynx - a comic book character Annie loved as a child, and who happened to have been illustrated by her father (whom she didn't know). When Annie agrees to work with a disgraced movie director to bring the Lynx to the big screen, strange things begin to happen. Mysterious deaths, murder, and chaos. It's up to Annie to figure it all out.

This was my first Alex Segura book. I really liked it. I know nothing about comics, but even knowing nothing, Segura does an excellent job of explaining without it sounding like expository. I was truly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I really liked Annie and her daughter Margot. The characters were well developed and very entertaining.

I read this book as an audio book. The narrator was so wonderful. Frankie Corzo is so wonderful. Her voice is so rich and she does voices so well. The extra production value with the small clips of the Lynx are also amazing.

This was an excellent mystery.

I thought this book was great. It was a great inside look into the comics and entertainment industry. At times it read like a John Grisham novel but was also an interesting family drama. Will definitely be going back to read the first one.

Novel Concept: 5/5
Execution of Novel Concept: 4/5

Title: 4/5
Characterization: 4/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Atmosphere: 3/5
Theme: 5/5
Prose: 4/5

Does this pass the Bechdel Test: Overwhelmingly Yes

Before I get in it, I just wanted to say that if you were wondering if you could read this book without reading the first book and still have a good time, the answer is yes. No idea this was a sequel, which is fully on me.

Title
Alter Ego is a term borrowed from the super-hero genre itself, which I think is good. However, it really is a general title and I can see this struggling to stand on its own as there are several books with this same title and The Alter Ego Effect is the first to show up in a web search.

Additionally, the first book in the series is called Secret Identity and while I could understand that there's nuance between the two words, that doesn't change the fact that Secret Identity and Alter Ego are basically interchangeable.

Characterization
All of the characters are interesting. Annie's struggle through alcoholism was an interesting thing to explore. It fit naturally in the story and created a natural sense of tension as people interacted with each other. Most of the characters are fully fleshed out and well articulated.

The character who struggled the most seemed to be Margo. Consistently she seemed to a little all over the place. I could not tell you if she was supposed to be 17 or 13.

And in terms of characters I just did not care about it was Danny. I'm sorry--I just could not bring myself to care about that man.

Dialogue
While for the majority of the cast, their dialogue seemed natural, Margo again is where it seemed to struggle the most. She at times felt less like a character and more of a "I'm telling you" font of exposition. She'd repeatedly tell the audience things about Annie and happens so often that I found it a little annoying.

Plot
This book seemed undecided in what it wanted to be. At times it felt like a general fiction about the comic book industry, and at others it wanted to be a thriller with a comic book industry backdrop. Both of these sides were entertaining, but I wished they were blended together a little bit more. I think part of why I didn't care about Danny is because the flashbacks did not serve the thriller, it served the general fiction ambiance, and I felt like it was more of a distraction than anything else.

I was totally sucked into the evil capitalist overlords verses the passionate artist. The greed, the underhanded tactics, the complete inability to understand how business works. I was totally here for it. The most natural stress I had about this book was Annie Vs The Man(tm) more than any of the real dangers impressed upon her.

Aside from that it's a fairly cohesive narrative.

Atmosphere
Even when characters were in danger, it never felt like a dangerous situation to me. The only time I was really feeling it was the subway scene. It was hard for me to connect to the action of the narrative.

I'm not a comic book person, so I cannot attest to the accuracy of this novel but it's enough that I'd buy into it being well researched. There is clearly a lot of heart and love put into bringing the comic book aspects of this novel to life.

Theme
This book is about the artist how to navigate capitalism, which the book argues is where creative ideas go to die. Annie wants to create with passion and leave her mark on the world, but she's got to pay the electric bill. She needs money. And to get money as a creative, you have to make do with a bunch of vulture capitalist's think is a good idea. The pivot to AI at the end was very good in solidifying a good thesis about the importance of human made art that's made by passionate people. The themes are theming in this book!


Prose
The prose is easy to read and flows naturally.

In terms of structure, I, again, I did not like the flashbacks. The jumping through time was generally more distracting than helpful. I thought my audiobook skipped ahead or maybe the POV changed when we went from freshly fired to living in a new town with a kid. I think that I would have liked it better if we kept a synchronous timeline as much as possible, while also having the far back flashbacks sprinkled throughout. I think the drama between Danny and Annie would have been a natural buffer in the set up so that way we can nose dive into the thriller at the midpoint.

The Lynx bits were phenomenal. I was listening on audiobooks and the musical cues to signal we're in comic book land was truly phenomenal and I absolutely ate that shit up.


Conclusion
I think, though I am a more critical voice, it's important to state here that I did have fun, and I would recommend people pick it up. I think that if you're really into comic books this is the book for you. I also think that the themes and messages of this book is very important and very well spoken. The author is very good at illustrating how capitalism can sometimes ruin artform. If I wanted to explain to someone how exactly artists get screwed over by executives, this is the book I'd tell them to read.

Alex Segura delivers a masterclass in storytelling with Alter Ego, a gripping thriller that celebrates the creative process while diving deep into the murky waters of the comics industry. Annie Bustamante is a compelling protagonist, balancing her artistic integrity with the pressures of fame and corporate greed. The narrative crackles with tension, thanks to anonymous threats, shadowy deals, and an unraveling mystery around the Lethal Lynx’s history. Segura's love for comics and storytelling shines through every page, making this a must-read for fans of thrillers and creative arts alike. Smart, suspenseful, and utterly unputdownable.

Thank you Alex Segura, MacMillan Audio, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Alex Segura’s Alter Ego dives into the comic book world, where Annie Bustamante—a big-shot filmmaker and comic artist—finally gets a shot at reviving her favorite superhero, the Lethal Lynx. But things get shady fast when the offer comes with strings attached, plus some creepy anonymous warnings to boot. Annie’s tired of cash grabs and ready to tell this story her way, no matter what dark secrets she uncovers.

I've been wanting to read Alex Segura's books since his last book, Secret Identity, so I made sure to prioritize this one. You do not need to read Secret Identity to follow this book as I was easily able to follow. This book was such a freaking blast! I highly encourage you to listen to the audiobook as it felt like I was listening to a Marvel movie on my headphones. They really go the extra mile in this narration. This story really dives into the world of comics and superheroes, but also about mothers and daughters and some other themes throughout the story. If you like X-Men, Marvel, The Boys, or comics in general, Secrety Identity is a MUST READ. I cannot wait to read the next Alex Segura novel!

Alter Ego is a great love letter to the comics industry, and especially it's recent resurgence thanks to Marvel and what that means for bringing obscure characters from the margins to the limelight, with nods to the office politics around credit and rights that have sometimes hounded the late Stan Lee and others' reputations.
Some of the real life intrigue was a bit hard to grasp -- as in the same sentence the Lynx is both completely forgotten yet has people clamoring on social media for a particular person to revive, but I guess that speaks to the vocal niches that the comics inspire who can mobilize through social media.
Annie Bustamante uncovers her own fortitude and power much like the mind-wiped Lynx in her revival, sleuthing out the mysteries of the publisher and investors behind the revival of the character she loved and identified with as a child.
There's great dialog and action, and just a taste of the comic book she's writing as it parallels with her journey through the business.
It is a true standalone, as I had not read the previous book and jumped right in to the action.

First, I got an ARC of this in exchange for my honest opinion and I did so without knowing this was a sequel. That being said, it read like a stand alone to me and I don't feel I missed much of anything. There is some mention of the first book's title and I assume those are elements that tie the two together but my reading experience didn't suffer because I hadn't read the first.

I think the premise is interesting and I liked seeing more about comics and how they do or do not work. The aspects that had to do with the physical composition of comics were some of my favorite stuff.

That being said, this is slow and not terribly thrilling. There's a mystery, kinda, but things don't really come to a head until about 96% of the way through the book. There's a small pop of action near the end.

My biggest struggle was with the idea that The Lynx is so obscure that Annie may be its only fan, but also so important that people are willing to kill over it. The idea doesn't seem to jive. Why are people banking on a comic no one knows anything about?

This is the sequel to Secret Identity, a book I actually discovered through my book club. This is another mystery associated with comic books. Now I didn't grow up with comic books at all and don't have any particular attachment to them and I still really enjoyed this. I definitely loved the "story within the story" moments where the comic came through.

Anna Bustamante, comic book artist who has been living her life since her project was shelved, is given the opportunity to direct a movie about her favorite superhero, the Lethal Lynx. But the IP for the Lynx seems to still be owned by the long-gone Triumph Comics. Anna starts getting messages almost immediately after taking the offer telling her not to trust anyone...

This was a fun mystery. Not amazing but solid and enjoyable. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thank you netgalley and Macmillan audio for giving me an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have been obsessed with superheroes since I was a kid, but funny enough, I'm not really into reading superhero comic books. All of my superhero consumption has come from TV shows and movies. Still, that didn't take away from my enjoyment of this book, and I was honestly surprised by how intriguing I found this book to be.

The story primarily focuses on Annie Bustamante, a talented Oscar-winning filmmaker and comic book artist. Bustamante's passion for the iconic superhero Lethal Lynx - a character she may have closer ties to than anyone realizes - is what thrusts Annie back into the spotlight after lying low for a while. When the opportunity arises for Bustamante to finally revive her favorite superhero, the offer seems a little too good to be true, but Annie has had an idea brewing for years, and she desperately wants the story to be told. Annie agrees to the deal, but when anonymous messages warn her to tread carefully, Annie begins to uncover some shady happenings - something that may be connected to the death of one of her closest friends.

It was really nice to see a strong female leading the charge in the male-dominated world of comic books. Annie was definitely a character I rooted for the entire way.

What I really enjoyed was how the author weaves together elements of filmmaking and comic books with shady deals, secrets, and a compelling mystery to create a plot that was completely unexpected. Though the synopsis hints at obstacles along the way, I wasn't expecting the stakes to be as high and certainly wasn't expecting murder and secrets and intrigue along the way. All of that was a pleasant surprise. Segura's writing is engaging, the pacing is pretty tight, and the characters are strong and relatable.

A few minor complaints were that I felt like the few chapters after the opening scene dragged a bit, though once everything was set up, things picked up a lot. Another thing that made me scratch my head is that it's mentioned several times that Lethal Lynx (the comic book character) was this long-forgotten character that hardly anyone remembers, yet the studio felt they would make millions off rebooting her. You'd think they'd make more money off rebooting a well-known superhero first and maybe reintroducing this character in that reboot, but what do I know? I guess I'm just going on how many times Spiderman, Superman and Batman have been rebooted.

This was another book that I alternated between reading and listening to, and once again, I have to give high marks to the narrator. Frankie Corzo handles all of the characters effortlessly. I also really liked the production value and the way they handled the comic segments peppered throughout the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, mostly because I went in expecting one thing and ended up getting much more action and intrigue than I initially expected. If you're looking for a book with a strong female lead, Annie Bustamante is your gal.

This is the "lowest" 5 star review I can remember giving, but I just couldn't bring myself to drop it to 4. Why? Because what appears on paper as a straightforward, but fun mystery-adventure novel set against the backdrop of the comic books industry is so elevated by the author through the interweaving of plot, social commentary, and thematic resonance. Add a few characters that truly feel alive, and you've got a story that can take you by surprise with its quality if not the bare facts of its narrative.

The narrative is well explained in the book descriptions, so I'll assume if you're reading a review for this it's because that description caught you're attention and you'd like to know more. One of the first things that will stick out to readers is that the author clearly knows what he is talking about. For those in the know, it is no secret that many aspects of the business side of "geek culture" are hideously unlike the worlds they bring to life - filled with grubby old men reluctantly working to survive for corporate overlords who don't care about art but about squeezing any cash left to be squeezed from overmilked IPs while all their dreams of making the comic books like those of their youth pass beyond recognition or desire. The author is similarly unkind to geeks themselves and yet, I never felt that that it was mean-spirited. As unflattering as these portrayals of the world of comics may be, they are sadly accurate for those of us who have spent time in them.

But of course, like any good story, you don't need to be intimately aware of the particulars of the world in which it is set to enjoy it to the fullest. At its heart, Alter Ego succeeds in being about a lot of things without feeling overstuffed: it's about legacy, generational trauma, paths not taken, being true to oneself, moving forward, and in true comic book superhero fashion, standing up to injustice. It tackles issues of representation of media and women in male-dominated fields with a deft hand that never gets preachy or overwrought. Segura weaves these threads through the narrative like a director conducting a symphony, allowing each to have their share of the story but ultimately contributing to the whole. They all feed into each other as we learn how Annie Bustamante's past informs her present, made her who she is, and why it is so important to her to get to the bottom of this mystery.

I mentioned some excellent characters. I won't lie, there are some caricatures in this story, but there are caricatures in my life as well. Sometimes, people really are just cartoon versions of themselves, and the way Segura refuses to shy away from that is admirable and rings true. Our corporate overlords are appropriately bullshitting their way through the story to try and make a quick, dishonest buck, and when coming from Segura's pen, you get the sense that he has a few specific people in mind. But our protagonist, Annie, is a very likeable character. Not because she is good, or sassy, or has the heart of a hero, but because she is simply a person. She has a troubled past that simultaneously informs who she is, but does not define her. You understand why she is how she is and does what she does because of AND in spite of her past. She's complex, but relatable. She isn't a larger than life figure that we'll be talking about for years to come, but she's real, and that elevates the story a great deal.

Then there's Arturo Espinoza, the #metoo'ed disgraced film director tasked with bringing a comic book character nobody cares about to the big screen. This is a character I feel we don't see enough of, and I understand why. It can be difficult to stomach that someone capable of sexual harassment or assault is still a human being with thoughts, emotions, fears, and desires, yet Arturo has all of them. Not quite the prototypical tortured artist, Arturo thinks deeply and romantically about the films he creates as art. He has a backstory that explains his hatred and fear of guns and he is afraid that this comic book movie is his one last shot at continuing his career after all the allegations about him surfaced. People who do bad things, even vile things, are still people; they look and act like your friends and family 90-99% of the time, right up until they do their evil. Uniformly portraying them as lecherous, disgusting perverts, misogynistic, douchebag frat-boy tech-bros, or creepy weirdos does us all a disservice: most predators don't wear their ill-intent on their sleeve. They eat and shit and sleep like the rest of us.

Finally, there's lifelong-friend Danny, perhaps the weakest of the characters in my opinion. It's a bit frustrating to reckon with a character like Danny in a story that is partly about Latin identity written by a Cuban American. Danny is written as a fair-skinned, blue-eyed Latino while sex predator Arturo is written as a schlubby dark-eyed, aging Latino. I can't now recall if he specifically has darker skin or not, but it rubbed me the wrong way. I am 100% sure that Segura did not mean to set up a "light skin/colored eyes good" "dark skin/dark eyes bad" dichotomy (especially since this is not a love triangle), but I couldn't help thinking of the Boondocks tear-down of Tyler Perry's love stories featuring darker-skinned black men abusing their women until a nice light-skinned black man saves them. I say this not to criticize necessarily, but to call to attention a potentially unconscious, and almost certainly unintentional bias for such coded imagery. Danny's blue eyes are not in and of themselves a problem of course - the Latino diaspora is immense and colored eyes are common among our people - and they are even relevant to an admittedly incredibly underwhelming plot reveal. Frankly, the blue eye clue would have been better used elsewhere for a different reveal more central to the main character and plot. This feels like a huge misstep even without the potentially problematic/unintentional colorism, but c'est la vie. Finally, Danny just isn't all that interesting of a character. He's around in the background in a tepid will-they-won't-they that eats up page time and doesn't add enough to the story. It provides good insight into Annie as a character, but it feels like he either needed to be better integrated into the plot or left out altogether.

This is not a perfect book, but it IS a great one. Across so many words I haven't even mentioned the wonderful parallelism between the comic book character at the heart of the story - The Lynx - and the protagonist. The way Segura manages to make a superhero character with amnesia at the mercy of a supervillain resonate with the real trials and tribulations of the everyday lives of our characters, and about women more broadly, was fiendishly clever and deftly done. And all of this is accomplished in a tidy and enjoyable 300ish pages. This is an easy recommend.

Thanks to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for early access to this audiobook. Book to be released Dec 3, 2024.

Alter Ego by Alex Segura sums up the novel in the acknowledgements when he writes, “Alter Ego - a book I wanted to be about grappling with the obsessions of your past while struggling with the adult responsibilities of your present, like death, parenthood, and getting older…” The novel also tackles the difficult balance of art vs. commercial monetization.

I found this book heartwarming, nerve wracking, heartbreaking, and thrilling. Annie Bustamante taps into her inner strength as Claudia Calla realizes her own forgotten identity as the Lynx.

Frankie Corzo’s narration is fantastic and brings an excitement to the pages.

Excerpts from the comic are included on audio but not in ARC text. I regret that the ARC did not have the artwork of Sandy Jarrell and the lettering of Jack Morelli as I assume the final edition will since they are thanked in the acknowledgements. I believe the inclusion of their work will bring another dimension to the story - literally and figuratively. Minor spacing issues between dates and places in chapter headings.

Thank you to Flatiron Books for providing an advanced review copy of this title as well as Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an audio version of this title for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. From the richly nuanced characters, whose every move rings true. The shady, slick executive who will do anything to get his project made, to the acclaimed director who needs to make amends to get back into the Hollywood fold to our protagonist, the kick-ass feminist comic book artist and writer making up for bad choices the journey was a wonderful, engaging story and I greatly enjoyed Segura’s journey.

In addition, the audiobook’s narration and the insertion of the unpublished, and therefore imagined, future superhero comic in the beginning of many of the chapters added a joyful depth to the book.

I’m a comics fan insofar as I picked up some odds and ends growing up with a comic loving brother, and I’m a huge Marvel nerd. While many of the comic references were beyond my scope it didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the story. The author’s love and dedication to comics comes through with every word making for a wonderful, engaging story for comic fans and non fans alike. Four stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

Loved this audiobook! I am not a fan of superheroes or comic books, and I know nothing of that industry, but that did not get in the way of being wowed by this amazing story. Annie is a film director and one-time comic book artist, she she is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime—to revive the character of the Lethal Lynx, a comic book she loved as a child. Yet, there are so many problems, ranging from the shady characters involved to the deaths of almost all of the people connected to the original project, and the fact that no one wants to talk about the Cuban woman who supposedly created the character long ago. Of course, none of this dissuades the intrepid Annie, who manages to wade through the muck to figure out what is really going on. I read this not knowing it was a sequel, and it was absolutely not a problem (but now I really want to read Secret Identity!). Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook—highly recommended!!

This book was so good and I loved it so much!

Every character is super compelling, the scenarios leave you hungry to know what is next, and at the end you are left asking, "Was this a real story? The comic is real, so was this... real?" Our main character is a fascinating woman who is far from perfect, but so fun to hang out with. Her daughter and friends are all great characters too. Everyone connected to the mystery is really well-written, and I was questioning what was fully going on till close to the end.

I will definitely be picking this one up to reread, I really enjoyed it.

I'd recommend this to anyone who loves a good superhero comic and mystery/thriller stories. If you like heist-style stories, this would also scratch some of those itches. The adventure of this story makes it fit a lot of genre styles, so if you like a good adventure with a solid mystery and really great characters, this one is for you.

Thank you MacMillan for the review copy! I really enjoyed this ode to the creative spirit and hard work behind superheroes and comics, a celebration of the relevance and importance not just of comics and superheroes but also of the ways these characters are part of individual identity, of lore, and reflections of artist's imaginations. Segura builds nicely on Secret Identity with Alter Ego and the plot and characters are rewarding; I loved the story of Annie and how it was blended with mystery, self growth, and a strong female voice. Frankie Corzo provided a great voice and style for this most welcome change of pace read for me!

this is book 2 out of a series but I listened to this audiobook as a standalone so I do feel as though I missed a bit of context and background information here. I would rather have read this/ listened to this audiobook with the first book already read/listened to. So that made it a little bit less enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!