Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong

Posted August 11, 2016 by Karen in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Deceptions by Kelley ArmstrongDeceptions by Kelley Armstrong
Also by this author: Betrayals, Omens (Cainsville, #1), City of the Lost (Casey Duncan, #1), A Darkness Absolute (Casey Duncan, #2), This Fallen Prey (Casey Duncan, #3)
Series: Cainsville
Also in this series: Betrayals, Omens (Cainsville, #1)
on August 20th 2015
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, General, Suspense
Pages: 464
Format: eBook
ISBN: 9780748129850
Goodreads
four-half-stars
five-flames

TRUST NO ONE. Olivia Jones is desperate for the truth. The daughter of convicted serial killers, she has begun to suspect that her parents are innocent of their crimes. But who can she trust in a world where betrayal and deception hide in every shadow.
RISK EVERYTHING. Liv does have one secret weapon: a mysterious sixth sense that helps her to anticipate danger. The trouble is, this rare power comes with its own risks. There are dark forces that ant to exploit Liv's talents - and will stop at nothing to win her to their side.
FACE THE TRUTH. Now Liv must decide, before it's too late. Who does she love? Who is really on her side? And can she save herself without burning down everything that matters most?

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~Karen Thoughts on Cainsville~

 

I re read Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong in anticipation of Betrayald which released this week. Deceptions is the third book in the Cainsville Series and it is the first to take place mostly away from the small town of Cainsville IL. The series centers around Olivia Taylor-Jones, Chicago heiress, whom shortly after her beloved father’s death from a heart attack, discovers she is the biological daughter of an infamous Illinios serial killer couple the Larsens. Her life up until the discover had been parties and charity work. She is then thrust into a world of shady dealings, death, magic and welsh mythology, whilst trying to prove her parents innocent of the crimes they were convicted. In this book the deceptions that have taken place during the books and prior in character recounting come full circle and the ‘real’ killers are unmasked, which is stunning and sad at the same time. Armstrong writes a very intricately detailed story and this isn’t a book I would consider a ‘light read’ , as Armstrong is a thinking persons author. She makes liberal use of Welsh mythology and because those Mythos have never been clear cut she can take dramatic liscense with them without diminishing her story. The book is written from Olivia perceptive with several  other chapters written in third person, to give me, the reader, a wonderfully well rounded story and character study. The two main characters are Olivia and her lawyer Gabriel! <<< See that exclamation point it means that to me as a reader I am shouting at the author of these magnificent books. As Olivia also has a boy toy in Ricky Gallagher bad boy motorcycle heir. He might be considered another main character. ARGH!!!! Okay he is a main character that is just my pettiness coming out. Don’t get me wrong, I like Ricky, and metaphorically he could scratch my itch anytime. BUT, Gabriel is my ‘go-to’ anti hero, wounded, emotional stunted and a rock! Olivia may sleep with Ricky, but when she is in danger it is Gabriel who fixes it. Gabriel has had the most character growth in the series. He is the perfect anti-hero, the defense attorney that will do anything to get his client off, he is supposedly al shades of grey, a hell of a lot more than fifty. The Cainsville stories are not erotic romance, but when it comes to wounded messed up males, Gabriel is more screwed up that that very famous book character Mr. Gray CEO.

Olivia the female protagonist she is mature beyond her years. I have always felt I was reading about a woman in her mid thirties to early nineties, rather than the characters age of almost twenty five. Olivia doesn’t have one flighty bone in her body; as if the ‘past’ impacted her long before she discovered her heritage. She is the culmination of all the ‘Matilda’s’ that came before her incarnation, but she is strong enough to hold onto her sense of self.

The sexual content of this installment is ramped up as Olivia and Ricky are very healthy in their sexual appetites, which is on a very visceral level.  Okay I will mention the fair  haired golden boy Ricky. He is an all around good egg, and if this was real life I would want, Mr. Bright and Sunny; but it’s Cainsville and I need both of these men in Olivia’s life, how that is going to translate is up to the author.
Overall this is an installment that should not be missed.

four-half-stars

About Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids, and far too many pets.

Rating Report
Plot
four-half-stars
Characters
four-half-stars
Writing
four-half-stars
Overall: four-half-stars

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