Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links; thanks for your support!
I read a LOT of books. Sometimes for fun
Oh. My. Goodness. What a KILLER book, pardon the pun. This is the third book in the Private Justice series and while I read the first one, I haven’t read the second and don’t feel like I missed anything. While it shares characters, it’s totally an independent book. Deceived is the story of a woman who loses both her husband and 4-year old son in a fishing accident. She goes through her grief and moves to St. Louis. A small boy catches her ear when she hears him use a phrase her son used to use in a crowded mall…poppysicle. She looks up at him and yells her sons name. She swore she saw some sort of recognition and her doubts about the “accident” make her crazy.
She visits a PI who cautiously agrees to take the case. She hopes that it’s her son since his body was never found but is prepared to accept the dead end she assumes the PI will get to. Except that he doesn’t. Over the course of investigating the case, sparks fly. And things get tense as a series of events lead them closer to discovering the truth.
What a good read! I should have had this review up by the 8th, but for some reason I thought I had until yesterday. I was torn between blasting through the book because I had a short deadline (some family stuff last week put me behind) and savoring it. I chose to savor it and didn’t get it finished in time. It was awesome.
I will admit, there were some things that would almost NEVER happen in real life unless it was an honest to God Miracle (capital M intended). But it IS fiction, right, so who cares. She did a fabulous job of weaving the story and tying the different elements and story lines together. The motivation was masterfully unraveled and was totally enjoyable. I liked the characters and really want to check out the middle one, which I missed.
If you like suspense novels, but can’t take normal mainstream fiction due to the level of gore and detail, you will LOVE Deceived or any novel by Irene Hannon. She does a fabulous job of making suspense have umph without gore. If you are looking for a new book to read, you should really check it out!
