First Lie Wins

The malleability of identity is an essential theme in First Lie Wins. The novel plays with the assumption of a fixed protagonist identity by giving Evie multiple identities and revealing these in non-chronological order. Evie’s various identities, therefore, become the means through which the narrative withholds and reveals the essential mysteries of the thriller plot.

From her childhood, Evie is primed to see identity as something malleable—an artifice that can be constructed and deconstructed to benefit the user. Evie’s mother’s work as a costume seamstress allows Evie to mold how others perceive her physically. This power is at play in all of the jobs Evie recounts, from her failed job infiltrating the fundraiser in Raleigh, in which she dresses to assume the identity of someone wealthier than she really is, to the Johnson job, in which she dons a wig to assume the identity of someone younger (102). Evie says that when her constructed identity is successful, “the adrenaline rush never gets old” (45). This suggests that, for Evie, the ability to mold other people’s perceptions of her is a source of pleasure as well as power.

Evie’s work with Mr. Smith spoils the pleasure she finds in constructing temporary identities, showing the importance of personal autonomy.