The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity by Axton Betz-Hamilton

"Axton Betz-Hamilton grew up in small-town Indiana in the early '90s. When she was 11 years old, her parents both had their identities stolen. Their credit ratings were ruined, and they were constantly fighting over money. This was before the age of the Internet, when identity theft became more commonplace, so authorities and banks were clueless and reluctant to help Axton's parents. Axton's family changed all of their personal information and moved to different addresses, but the identity thief followed them wherever they went. Convinced that the thief had to be someone they knew, Axton and her parents completely cut off the outside world, isolating themselves from friends and family. 

As a result, Axton spent her formative years crippled by anxiety, quarantined behind the closed curtains in her childhood home. Years later, her parents' marriage still shaken from the theft, Axton discovered that she, too, had fallen prey to the identity thief, but by the time she realized, she was already thousands of dollars in debt and her credit was ruined." (Goodreads.com)

This book was chilling and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. I try not figure out mystery books as I read along because I like to see all the puzzle pieces fall into place at the end however, I couldn't help analyzing all the characters in this story. The difference might have been that these weren't characters, they are real people in this story, and it interested me that such a seemingly average family was targeted. Betz-Hamilton does a fantastic job telling her story and showing how it changed the course of her life.

Kelsey Fitzgerald

Library Assistant

Available at the Langley-Adams Library