Genre City Review: Deceit
Title: Deceit
Author:Brandilyn Collins
Publisher: Zondervan
Genre: Suspense
Date: June 2010
ISBN: 978-0310276449
Reviewed by: Holly Wolfe
A web of deceit has been spun around Joanne Weeks—and the spinner’s name is Baxter Jackson. Joanne knows that, despite his being an elder in the church and being given the all clear sign by the police, Baxter killed his wife, Linda, Joanne’s best friend, six years ago. Her mission is to prove his guilt.
To untangle the web, Joanne needs to find Melissa, the Jacksons’ former foster daughter, and the only possible witness to Linda’s murder. As a professional skip tracer, she is adept at finding lost people, but her skills are strained as she hunts for this girl who made herself disappear.
Keep in mind that not only is Collins’ writing suspenseful, she’s sneaky.
Brandilyn Collins does a smart job of weaving Joanne’s story, enough so that you’re smack in the middle of it before you have a chance to breathe. Keep in mind that not only is Collins’ writing suspenseful, she’s sneaky. Deceit doesn’t clobber you over the head with a faith message; instead, Collins slips it in so subtly that those reading just for the pleasure of the story might miss it. However, a little reflection nets a message that is loud and clear. To repeat my mom’s often-said quote of Sir Walter Scott: “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”
It’s always a pleasure to read Collins’ stories—this one is no exception. Pick apart the lines and you’ll find Deceit layered with truths that will make you evaluate your motives and think twice about deception’s lure.