Thursday, September 1, 2011

Book Review - Double Deceit by Stephanie Humphreys


Back Cover Blurb
Someone is watching...
As a young widow, all Elaina Bryant wants is a fresh start. Determined to put ten painful years behind her, she returns to her hometown and moves in with her sister, Natalie. Elaina soon accepts a job working at a small bookstore owned by the handsome Ryan Hill and his mother. Despite her reluctance to become romantically involved with anyone, she is drawn to Ryan and finds herself falling in love.
But someone isn't happy with Elaina's new life and is watching her every move. Her tormentor seems determined to destroy her sanity and her future, but Elaina can't convince anyone the threat is real. Natalie is preoccupied with her own blossoming romance, and Ryan and Elaina's friend Peter seem to believe the threat has been manufactured in her own mind a result of her guilt and grief.
Now Elaina's plans for a new start are crashing down around her. She knows she will have to find the answers on her own before she can ever overcome the past and enjoy love and happiness again. But how can she protect those she loves when she doesn't know whom to trust?

Double Deceit grabbed me from the first sentence and held me until the last! Stephanie is expert at raising the type of questions in the reader’s mind that kept me turning the page to find answers. She has created the perfect blend of suspense and romance, as well as showing realistic consequences of emotional abuse. Multiple twists and turns caused me to change theories here and there along the way. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Stephanie blindsided me. It’s not too often that I find myself saying, Whoa, I didn’t see that coming! But Stephanie pulled it off.

The only downside: While the author was vidid in her discription of the tasks of day-today-day living, leanding a real quality to the characters, the overabundance created slight lulls in the story.

Overall:
An excellent read. I would recommend it for ages 14 and up.

Have a taste—an excerpt from chapter one:
I turned my car onto the side street that led to my childhood home. Unease settled into the back of my throat, and I didn’t know if I could get a coherent word out. I pulled into the driveway and slammed the door, hoping the noise in the otherwise quiet afternoon would draw someone out of the house. But nobody ran down the sidewalk with outstretched arms ready to welcome back the prodigal child. I wasn’t surprised.
A disturbing thought crossed my mind as I stepped away from the car. What if strangers lived there now? I pulled the packet of letters from my purse and looked at the date on the last one. It had been sent over a year and a half ago. As I unfolded the letter, the accompanying obituary fell to the driveway. My sister’s handwriting spelled out the tragic loss of our beloved mother and pleaded for me to come home—at least for a visit. I eased the letter back into the envelope and picked up the newspaper clipping. What would she say when I told her I had come back for good?

Visit Stephanie's Blog for information on her blog tour contest, and check out all of the stops on the Double Deceit blog tour:

You can also purchase Double Deceit at Amazon

13 comments:

Gail said...

Great review. I can't wait to read this.

RaShelle Workman said...

Lovely review!

Cathy said...

Wonderful review of an excellent book. It's so nice to review a book that you can recommend to teens.

Canda said...

I like the review--especially the "have a taste" part after your thoughts.

Vivien said...

Really enjoyed the excerpt. I'm loving the sound of this novel.

Vivien
deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

Stephanie Humphreys said...

Thanks Shelly.

Jeri said...

Hey! Are you on goodreads.com? Will you be my friend so I can always see what you've read?
Jeri

SHELLY said...

I'd forgotten that I signed up for goodreads. I think I never went back because it was mean to me. It said I don't have any friends:( But if I can figure out how to add you, I'll have a friend!

Melissa Cunningham said...

I like it. I'll have to check it out. I don't see a followers list on your blog. Do you think you'll put one up? I'll follow if you decide to!

SHELLY said...

Thanks, Melissa. My followers are at the top right of my blog. The button says, "Join this site" and has photo's below. I've noticed that sometimes my followers don't show up and I close my browser and reopen it and there they are!

Shelley Sly said...

Hi there! New follower here! I'm glad I found your blog, and it's always nice to meet another Shelly! :)

Elizabeth Morgan said...

I can't wait to read the book.

Christy said...

I'm a new follower. Great job on the review. I've never heard of this book. It sounds intriguing!