Deception

By: Denise Mina

Narrated by: Richard Matthews

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

From Scotland's most exciting up-and-coming mystery novelist comes a story of Lachlan Harriot, a man who refuses to believe his wife, Susie, is a killer, even though she had been working with Andrew Gow, a paroled serial killer, as his court-appointed psychologist, when she was found covered in blood near the spot where his and his wife's bodies were discovered. Desperate to clear his wife's name, Lachlan searches her home office for proof of her innocence. What he finds in this formerly off-limits place is an unimaginable world that makes him question his wife and their life together. But something continues to trouble him, and he, believing that this is where the truth lies, follows his hunch beyond all reason and hope.

©2004 Denise Mina (P)2004 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"It's voice, not event, that grabs hold of the reader and won't let go. Lachlan Harriott immerses us in his obsessions; like Nabokov's Humbert Humbert, he repels and commands sympathy in the same instant. He is a charming, comic, intelligent narrator....Mystery lovers have lately been looking to Scotland, in part because of Mina's fast-growing reputation; this stunning new work can only bolster the trend." (Publishers Weekly)

not a wow but good stuff

I liked this book as I look back on it. It is not like most mystery stories, but more subtle and nuanced. You don't know at first who is bad and who isn't. It keeps you guessing as you hear the reflections of a man who has been left with ababy to care for while his wife has a) disappeared and b) is then charged with murder. I got a little tired of the voice of the husband/father and he tells the whole story, but overall, it was good!

Good surprise ending

Although this book was a bit slow-moving in the middle, the ending was worth the wait and the character development was, in retrospect, excellent. I really enjoyed the narrator's brogue; he truly brought Lachlan Harriott alive!

This book would have merited 5 stars had the middle moved faster and had the action not shifted back and forth in time quite as much. I didn't have trouble following the plot, but I can see why other reviewers might well have.

Definitely worth a listen!

Still my favorite book of all time

I have 1183 titles in my audible library and 750 linear feet of books in my physical library. This book is still my all time favorite. I read it once a year. Never disappoints.

Denise Mina is my new favorite mystery author!

Having just listened to two of her mysteries, I am going to binge through the rest-we’ll all those that are unabridged, anyway. She has intriguing plots devices, and fascinating characters. Deception is written in a unique format-it is the “discovered” diary of the spouse of a woman serving life for murder. She takes you right into the relationship, and into the agonizing conflict of trust vs distrust. The whole thing is extremely satisfying beginning to end. And despite the psychological thriller elements, there is enough crime and courtroom to feed those who like that element in their mysteries. I’ve just downloaded another by her and will continue to do so. She writes smart, fast-paced, compelling stories with characters who are believable and whom you grow to care about.

Narrator

Worth listening. Draws you in and kept me hooked. The narrators accent sounded Irish at times. I’m from Glasgow and it seemed fake especially the female roles.

Get to the story!

The story was interesting and everything but it takes ages to get to the good stuff! You spend so much time inside the protagonist jumbled head. If I wasn't the kind of reader who really, really needs to know what happened I'd have quit after the first hour. I'd only recommend this book if you're patient reader who doesn't mind listen to the inner thoughts of the protagonist for hours at a stretch.

Hard to follow.

I stayed to the end in order to see how it would end and if it would end. It was a bit hard to follow. I found the husband rather irritating and wishy washy.

Wow

A bit of a slow start but a wow of a finish. I am still having ambivalent feelings about the outcome. Quite the story!

My first Denise Mina but definitely not my last

What did you love best about Deception?

The structure of the story. The mystery unfolds through the diaries of a house-husband and father. He's desperately searching for evidence to provide grounds for an appeal of his wife's recent murder conviction Since the husband is as clueless as the reader, the process of his discoveries and his emotional journey are very organic and relatable.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Very much. The author does a masterful job of creating a sense that there is much more to the story than the diarist (or the reader) realizes. I couldn't wait to find out what clue would be revealed next.

Which scene was your favorite?

There's a scene where the protagonist is in shop considering splurging on a new coat. The simple act of trying on the beautiful jacket and thinking about how it makes him feel frees him, if momentarily, from the terrible circumstances in which he's stuck.

Don't Be Deceived . . .

. . . by good reviews. This book is ALL (and I do mean minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day--sprinkled throughout with descriptions of various and sundry bodily excretions) all about how a house husband with no income ends up living happily ever after--after his gainfully employed wife is convicted of murder. Sadder and wiser now, I should have paid attention to the previous reviewer who warned that "deception" is an excellent title.