Reading suspense novels by Irene Hannon is always such a treat for me. Her newest novel, Deceived, is the third book in her "Private Justice" series and in my humble opinion it is another winner! The first book in the series is Vanished (read my review here) and the second book in the series is Trapped (read my review here).Deceived is the story of Kate Marshall, a woman who lost her husband and four year old son in a boating accident three years prior to the start of the story. She now lives in St. Louis and while on a shopping trip to the mall she hears a young boy ask his father for a poppysicle. This was a term her son always used for popsicle so it got her attention. She is going one direction on the escalator and when she turns and looks she sees a young boy that looks just like her son with hair the same color as her own going in the opposite direction. She calls her son's name and and little boy turns. Before she can turn around and go after him, he and the man he was with disappear into the crowd. Not sure what to believe, she contacts law enforcement but they don't believe that the little boy she saw was really her son. So she contacts Connor Sullivan, a Private Investigator with Phoenix, Inc. While he is a little skeptical, when he hears her story, he agrees to try to find the boy. This is the foundation for Deceived.
My heart went out to Kate Marshall.While being strong, she was very vulnerable and I was rooting for her throughout the book. As for Conner Sullivan, I loved his character. He is a strong former Secret Service agent who was drawn to Kate from the very beginning. They both are complex characters and I loved how Ms. Hannon revealed their character to the reader.
Irene Hannon's suspense novels are known to have a few twists and turns in the plotline and she doesn't disappoint the reader with this novel. There were times I found myself on the edge of my seat waiting for what was to come next. Just when I thought I knew how it was going to end I was surprised.
Riveting plotline, captivating complex characters and a Christian thread are found in Deceived. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys good Christian suspense fiction. I would highly recommend this book.
On a 5-Star Scale = 5 HUGE Stars!!!!!
I would like to thank Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. I received my copy of Deceived for free in order to read it and give my honest review, which I have done.
Smiles & Blessings,
