Rating: 
Summary: The Best Book I've Read This Year
Review: Although I don't usually read spy thrillers, this one was really good. A friend suggested it to me and I thought I'd try it. It was very fast moving and I could hardly put the book down until I finished it. thank you, John Altman. You've got a new fan!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and Well-Written
Review: Altman is a new favorite author of mine. I began with his "Gathering of Spies" and have just now finished "Deception." I think its a close call between which two is the best book. Both stories are good and compelling.Hannah, like the character of Katerina Heinrich before her, is an ambivalent woman whose motivations and longings are not the typical heroine's. It makes her all the more human, all the more realistic, because she isn't some grand, holy protagonist, but just a young woman who's made some bad choices in her life and is now mixed up in a situation that ordinary people aren't suited for. I liked the dichotomy between Hannah and Keyes, as each character is pressured further and further by the events that bombard them. It was interesting to watch how they each responded and how they dealt with what was before them.
Rating: 
Summary: The Adventures of Hannah Gray
Review: At last, a modern heroine with a slightly sordid past.Hannah Gray, by chance, find herself propelled into an adventure that spans continents . Pursued because she has unwittingly ended up with a valuable mathematical formula, Ms. Gray discovers resources she never knew she had. It's an atmospheric ride, and pure escapism, but presented in a thoughtful as well as entertaining way.
Rating:
Summary: Escape with deception
Review: Great escape reading. This is my favorite of J. Altman's books. It's easy to relate to Hannah, her transgressions and unwitting involvement in this spy chase. Then it's just plain fun to be accompanied by all sorts of "interesting" characters and race along toward the solution. Thanks for the good read. Definite movie potential.
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Summary: uncompelling characters weaken adventure
Review: Hannah Gray is on the run from the law after committing fraud. With a fake passport and false identity, she's on a cruise trying to escape trouble when she runs into far greater danger. One of her fellow passengers is a scientist who has discovered a formula that can create miniature black holes--and possibly destroy the planet. When the scientist's wife accidentally gives the formula (in the back of a book) to Hannah, and then the couple is killed, Hannah must somehow escape and stay ahead of the killers. Government bureaucrat Jim Keyes has given his life to the secret government project. Now, so close to success, a key scientist has deserted, possibly taking his formula to the highest bidder. In the hands of a terrorist, the miniature black hole would be the ultimate weapon of complete destruction. Keyes intends to pull out all of the stops to get that formula back, even if it means killing a slightly innocent woman. Keyes has sacrificed his family and health to the project--more sacrifice doesn't scare him. What scares him is the possibility of failure. Author John Altman's writing is somewhat reminiscent of John Le Carre in the morally ambivalent world of government and spies. DECEPTION almost works. If Hannah had been a little more sympathetic, the coincidence of her getting the formula a little less far-fetched, and the story provided a bit more action in the first hundred pages, I would be happy to recommend this novel strongly. Instead, DECEPTION can only be seen as interesting but flawed. Although Keyes was definitely a jerk, I spent most of the book hoping that he'd get to Hannah (although any reader would know that that wasn't going to happen). Altman may have sensed Keyes becoming too sympathetic and pushed him over the edge late in the novel, but he never got the idea that we would have to like Hannah for us to care whether she manages to escape the clutches of international terrorists and U.S. government spies (the two are often hard to tell apart) in Altman's novel. DECEPTION is worth the read, but uncompelling and unsympathetic characters make it fall short of its potential.
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Summary: AN AUTHOR TO WATCH
Review: i was not familiar with this author when I was choosing a book for a quick read, but i am a fan of the genre and the quality of this thriller excited me. The book is not without flaws, mainly that I didn't find the main character, Hannah, particularly complex or engaging. However the overall plot is engaging enough to overlook this weakness and overall I was very happy with the book and am pleased to recommend it highly. Expect more from this new author.
Rating:
Summary: Another Altman winner!
Review: I've been a fan of John Altman's since "A Gathering of Spies" and his latest book continues the scenic, fast-paced writing which is his trademark. I liked this one even better than the first two. If you've ever been on a cruise ship, the opening scenes will really resonate!
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss It!
Review: Intrigued by the cover, I bought this book never having heard of the author. Now I'm going to look for his prior novels. This book is clever, fast-moving, never dull, and thoroughly entertaining. Despite the math formula at the heart of the novel, you don't need to know higher mathematics to enjoy the book. It's just a plot device by Mr. Altman to take you to a series of exotic locales. I thought the ending was a tad contrived which is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Ordinary Woman In Extraordinary Circumstances
Review: Ms. Hannah Gray, an ordinary woman living in Chicago with job and boyfriend problems, escapes her humdrum life by going on a cruise where all hell breaks loose. This fast paced thriller has it all - plot, characters, suspense, good writing - and is the perfect beach book or vacation bring along. Angelina Jolie should play Hannah (or Vicky, her pseudo identity) is the movie version. Highly recommended for a fun read!
Rating:
Summary: Deception
Review: Oh no no no no no NO! No, please! This is not a satisfying thriller at all! Well, okay, I'll stop with all the indignation, but how can this book be looked on with so much favour? Yes, it has a fast pace, is done up in a nice, clean style, and the characters are somewhat well depicted--and then, I'm done with the good things to say, and it's all bad. The plot is extremely simple; a woman travelling under an alias, because she flees fraud charges, comes into possession of a book with a valuable secret equation jotted on it. This puts her in danger because people with guns--plus a child-sized assassin with a taste for exotic weaponry--pursue her throughout Turkey and the Greek Islands, trying to eliminate her to get the Maguffin...uh, the book. People who have handled the book have suffered grave misfortune, and if she doesn't watch herself, this woman pretending to be "Vicky" somebody-or-other, will also die for failing to relinquish sensitive, and stolen, reading material that pertains to cooking up a Black Hole. Thrillers like these trumpet their exotic-location content proudly on the back cover; but don't expect to get a feel for Turkey or the Greek Islands from whizzing through this plotbroiler. Similarly, dismiss any idea that the plot moves beyond its simple premise, to include anything new or different. It doesn't. Woman on the run, while nasty men converge on her to get the book. There are only vague references to what the precious formula she carries actually relates to--so, techno-thriller fans beware. This is never more than a cat-and-mouse scenario, and I wouldn't even say the action scenes are particularly fizzy, or that numerous. Here are all the fundamentals, adorning nothing. The book seems to be missing something--like a better story.
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