Title: Deceive Me
Author: Karen Cole
Release Date: July 1, 2019
Rating: 5 Stars
I’ve read hundreds (possibly thousands) of thrillers/mysteries, and I’ve written several of them as well. In other words, it takes a lot for a thriller to truly shock me, but Deceive Me did exactly that. And I don’t just mean in a ‘that was a great twist,’ kind of way, but in a jaw hanging open, ‘wow, I can’t believe the author went there’ kind of way. Not just once, either. The last portion of this book is full of several twists and turns that I defy anyone to honestly say they saw coming.
The basic setup is this: Grace, a 16-year-old living in Cyprus with her mother, step-father, and brother, disappears from school one day. Her family launches an exhaustive search to try to find her, but their efforts only seem to make things murkier. Grace’s friends and boyfriend are evasive and, in some cases, flat out hostile. The authorities take a much closer look at the family than either parent is comfortable with. And soon, Grace’s mother can’t help but cast a suspicious eye on pretty much everyone.
What happened to Grace? And why? These are questions that set off an explosive chain reaction of stunning revelations. Most of the book flows in a way that’s easily familiar to thriller fans and could have gone down any of a long list of easily guessable, mundane solutions. Karen Cole’s ending gives readers so much more than the norm, though, and that makes this one of 2019’s must-read thrillers.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.
Pre-order a Kindle copy of Deceive Me for only $1.99!
April A. Taylor 
Wow, what a compelling review for Deceive Me. I’ll have to check it out.
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