User Id: A Novel of Identity Theft

What if someone stole your identity . . . but you didn't want it anyway?

The New York professor Vera de Sica is tired of her life -- it hasn't turned out the way she hoped but, then again, it is her life. At least it is until a trip to Los Angeles, where she becomes the unwitting victim of a con artist when she returns her rental car.

Enter Charlene Cummins -- cosmetics salesperson, Internet surfer, and girlfriend of said con artist. Armed with a stray credit card receipt left in the rental car's glove compartment, Charlene finds her way into Vera's personal records, opens up new credit cards in Vera's name, and begins stealing not only her life but her sense of self.

Now it’s up to Vera and her hacker boyfriend to find Charlene and take back Vera's identity before it’s too late. |

"A riveting, edgy thriller based on a societal concern now in the headlines...astute...frightening." --John Marshall Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Well-researched and absorbing." Publishers Weekly

"A gripping exploration of a new kind of crime: identity theft in the online world." Booklist, ALA

"You will leap from your bed...to change your e-mail password...after tearing through Shute's taut and delectable little thriller." --Jennifer Reese Entertainment Weekly