Fake ID

Thrillers succeed by injecting anxiety and suspense into the storyline. Here, Nick is beset by constant conflicts: His father cannot stop breaking the law, his mother desperately wants to leave, Nick must hide his WITSEC status, and on top of that there are the typical stressors of high school. More suspenseful than all of these tension amplifiers, however, is the constant threat of violence hanging over the main character. Not only does Nick find himself in truly dangerous situations, but his history of seeing violence results in a hypervigilant, almost paranoid anxiety.

The first line of the book describes the physical attack Nick will encounter in the first hour of his first day: “This is how you get your ass kicked. Bump into the wrong girl. Or have her bump into you” (1). Nick’s introduction to high school is being jumped by four football players. This posse poses a physical threat throughout the narrative, as Zach and his minions corner Nick three times.

Nick often expresses concern that he will fall victim to violence from other sources as well. Nick feels physically inferior to his father, James, a dynamic that underlies his empathy for the seemingly abused Dustin. Nick also feels threatened by Sheriff Hill, who almost strikes him in the interrogation room. When Mayor Burke takes him to the deserted city-center project and opens the trunk, Nick flashes back to a violent scene in his past that he fears will be repeated. Surrounded by a crowd in Eli’s living room, Nick fears Reya’s family will beat him. Face to face with his father after surviving a car bomb meant for Reya, Nick fears that his insolence will provoke his father to violence. Giles uses the specter of violence to add tension and draw the reader deeper into the narrative.