Secret Identity

This novel from comics creator and author Segura (“Pete Fernandez” mysteries) works on many levels: it’s a coming-of-age story, a murder mystery, a paean to comic books, and a snapshot of bygone times. In 1975, young Carmen Valdez, an avid reader of comics from way back, flees family drama and a romance gone wrong in Miami. She heads to New York, when the city and the comics industry are both struggling. Dreaming of writing a series herself, she gets a job as secretary to the boss at Triumph Comics, a third-tier comics publisher. Her dreams are thwarted by sexist coworkers and her boss; nobody will give her a chance as a writer. Then her coworker Harvey suggests that they cowrite a new character and reveal her involvement to the world once it’s published. But Harvey starts acting strangely and then he’s murdered. The character they cocreated, the Lethal Lynx, is the first female superhero and while it’s a big hit, Carmen’s name isn’t on the page. She must find a way to get the credit she deserves and find Harvey’s killer, but she also has to deal with a dogged detective, quirky and shady characters, and her Miami troubles following her to the Big Apple.