Deception : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Dark, intimate, disturbing
Review: After her Glaswegian mean-streets trilogy ("Garnethill," "Exile," "Resolution"), Scottish award-winning author Mina turns to the diary form and the bourgeoisie to deliver a dark, discomfiting tale of murder and obsession.

Lachlan Harriott, 29, is the distraught husband of ambitious psychologist Susan Harriot, newly found guilty of the brutal slaying of Andrew Gow, a convicted serial killer and former client of hers at a prison for the criminally insane. Gow had been released after the killings resumed while he was in prison, casting doubt on his guilt.

The diary begins the day of Susan's conviction. Lachlan, convinced of her innocence and determined to find something to exonerate her, smashes the heavy lock on her study door and helps himself to her computer. Almost immediately he happens on secrets that shake his confidence. He remembers how in love they were, her more than him even, and wonders how things got to this pass, where she tells him nothing, and won't even look at him in court where she's portrayed as Gow's scorned lover. "She was my sweet, soft-hearted Susie, and then, quite suddenly, she was someone else."

Lachlan, a doctor and would-be writer who gave up his career at the birth of their daughter 19 months earlier, may have been clueless where his wife was concerned, but he has full control of this narrative. Truth, objectivity, deception and self-deception are elusive from the beginning, and more so as he explores the darkest corners of his marriage and pieces together a new puzzle picture of the murder. He digresses at will, obsessing about his image in the papers, and enjoying the pitying flirtations of the mothers at his daughter's nursery school. He rants and whines, and gorges himself on sweets and self-pity. He flays himself open on the page, and then admits to agonizing over sentence structure as if crafting a story for posterity.

We sympathize with his plight and his passion while we cringe at his venality and passive-aggressive self-absorption. Lachlan is utterly, nakedly human and his compelling voice drives the narrative to a stunning, fitting conclusion. Claustrophobic and insightful, this is probably too creepy to be Mina's breakout book, but it adds to her considerable reputation.

Rating:
Summary: Very Intelligent Thriller
Review: Denise Mina really is top notch. She and Val McDermid continue to write complex psychological thrillers centered around characters who are substantive and believable.

Deception is no exception. Although I enjoy the Maureen series that started with Garnethill, this is a welcome stand-alone novel that reminds us that every mind and every spirit is complicated, sometimes duplicitous, and capable of fluid change.

At the end of the novel, you're marveling that you didn't see it coming. I, for one, had to stop and think about the chain of events to make sure I knew everyone's motives and reasons for their reactions to a series of gruesome murders.

My only reservation is the likability of the main character. He's maudlin, and it's tiring to hear him ruminate about his depressing situation, even though it's a fascinating conundrum to which he's forced to respond. Overall, it's an excellent psychological thriller, and one that is 100 percent absorbing from the moment the reader opens to the first page.

Rating:
Summary: a compelling read: well worth the "sticking-out" factor
Review: Highly acclaimed mystery novelist, Denise Mina, has, in my opinion, penned another intriguing and compelling read in "Deception." Although, I'll have to admit, this novel may not be every reader's cup of tea. The chief protagonist, Lachlan Harriot, the husband of convicted murderess, Susie, is in turns pathetic, whinny, vindictive and unsympathetic. But, I'll have to admit, when he finally works out what has been happening, and finally took action (of a sort) I was on his side -- which probably does not speak well of me!

When Dr. Susie Harriot, former psychiatrist of Sunnyfields State Mental Hospital, is found guilty of the murder of Andrew Gow (a former patient and paroled serial murderer-rapist), her husband, Lachlan decides to try and discover new evidence that will help in her appeal. Lachlan firmly believes that his wife is completely incapable of having brutally murdered Gow, or having had anything to do with the disapperance of Gow's new young wife, Donna. The prosecution had contended that Susie was having an affair with Gow while he was her patient, and that she had murdered Gow (and by inference the missing Donna) out of revenge for being dumped in favour of Donna. And while Lachlan may not be sure about the supposed affair between Susie and Gow, he knows that his wife is incapable of murder. Or is she? For once Lachlan begins to nose about Susie's papers, in her own private study (one that she had locked him out off), he begins to discover all kinds of things, and comes to the conclusion that he may not know his wife all that well after all. Could Susie have had an affair with Gow after all? And is the mother of his young daughter a vicious murderess? Desperate for answers, Lachlan decides to follow all the clues to the bitter end...

Strangely enough, "Deception" turned out to be a very compelling read. Lachlan Harriot may not always be a very sympathetic narrator, and the urge to kick him in the seat of his pants (not because of his constant whining) because of his frequent non-active stance really grows as the book progresses. But Denise Mina's incisive portrait of a fractured marriage, and of one partner's total obliviousness to what was going on, and the totally unexpected (and completely chilling) plot twist at the end, made "Deception" a book well worth recommending the sticking out factor. The novel may take a while to unwind and to get into, but it is well worth it!



Rating:
Summary: should be a zero number of stars
Review: I can't believe that there were no bad reviews available. This was the worst book I have ever read. No suspense, No plot, Poor writing and bad sex. I'm glad I took it out from the Library and didn't spend money on it. I waisted my time and it took a long time to read, since I looked for other reasons not to sit down and read. But the good news is I did get all my Christmas shopping done, my house is clean and my bills are paid and I didn't owe a late fee to the Library. I did finially finish, but wish I had taken it back before the last page. What a complete waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: What did I miss?
Review: I liked this novel a great deal at the beginning - interesting premise and well-drawn characterizations through the eyes of the narrator. By the middle of this book, I was starting to daydream through the same repetitive passages that I had already read and by the end I was skimming to finish it. However, I found at the end that I had not been patient enough -the pivotal conclusion was finished in several "meaty" pages. I am left wondering if the author got a call from the publisher asking for a quick end, so Denise Mina finished it immediately. By then, I think we had all tired of the seemingly endless navel gazing and preening self-importance of the main character, so perhaps it's just as well that it ended when and how it did. In my opinion, this book is not a "keeper."

Rating:
Summary: disappointing suspense novel
Review: I was surprised that this novel received such positive acclaim as I found it to be frustrating and disappointing. I probably would not have finished reading it except that it came so highly rated that I wanted to find out if I was missing something. I found the narrator to be insipid, whiney and annoying, and could barely tolerate his level of denial and pathological dependency upon a woman who clearly had no attachment to him. I think the idea of allowing the reader to see things that the narrator is unable to perceive (e.g. that Susie is not the "innocent" that she claims) is a good technique, but it was overused, and I found myself feeling like I was watching a bad suspense flick where the audience cannot believe the stupidity of the characters. I love a good psychological suspense novel, but this one did not measure up.

Rating:
Summary: Layer upon layer of deception
Review: Susan Harriott has just been convicted of the murder of Andrew Gow and of his new wife, Donna McGovern. She was Andrew's court appointed psychologist, and it is suspected (though not proven) that they were having an affair. Gow, a convicted serial killer and rapist, was released on appeal and murdered shortly thereafter, apparently by Susie in a jealous rage

Susie's husband Lachlan is certain that she would not and did not do such a thing. He is searching through her study for anything that might could be used during an appeal. The novel is the journal he kept of his findings, his interpretation of what he finds, and his emotions, fears, doubts as he uncovers layer upon layer of Susie's deception.

All that is given is Lachie's view; we see the world only through his eyes. We are surprised, shocked, and deceived along with him-and possibly, just possibly, surprised, shocked, and deceived by him. When the conclusion arrives, it is not a package of neatly tied-up ends. It is another question, leaving the reader wondering what really IS the truth?

Deception is masterfully written. Any flaws that I might have noticed reading were so minor that I'd forgotten them by the end of the book. There is no question that it a full five star book, and it comes highly recommended to those looking for an atypical suspense/mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Mina takes a new tack and gives mighty good book!
Review: Terrific, creepy mystery by the Scots writer who also wrote three other very good ones: Garnethill, Resolution and Exile. Mina is a cross between the creepy Minette Walters of The Sculptress and the surprizing procedurals by P.D. James. Mighty tasty reading.

Rating:
Summary: chilling tale
Review: The evidence was overwhelming as Andrew Dow's DNA linked him to the victims and he confessed to being a serial killer. However, the close and shut case falls apart after the conviction of Andrew when he is in prison and additional murders using the same signature occurred. On appeal, the court frees Dow. Two months later, Dow's new wife is missing and his prison psychiatrist Dr. Susie Harriot is found near his mutilated body.

At Dr. Harriot's trial, the prosecution painted a picture of revenge claiming that Susie loved her patient, but when Dow married someone else, she went over the edge and brutally killed him and probably his spouse. Susie is found guilty. As much for himself and their nineteen-month-old child Margie, her husband Lachlan vows to appeal the conviction and uncover the truth, but he will find much more than he bargained for when he started his quest to free his lively beautiful wife.

Using diaries written by Lachlan as he makes one shocking discovery after another, fans will see the peeling away of the mask to the inner essence of several cast members. Especially shredded is Susie who hides a dark nature and Lachlan who hopes to recapture his Camelot, but feels as if he ventures into Dante's realm as he interprets finding after finding to make it fit his reality. Denise Mina provides a stupendous stunner that will fascinate, entice, and shock readers who, like Lachlan, will continually hold to perceptions even as the chilling truth surfaces.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Well written but uninspiring
Review: The plot of this novel was interesting, and certainly presented a few surprises, although on the whole, it was predictable. I loved the narrative style, and found that Mina was extremely effective at creating the main character's psyche.