Friday, January 28, 2022

Random Things Tours: Deception by Helen Forbes

 


Lily Anderson is living a lie, but how much from this lie she accepted to build herself? How much of this could have been stopped long before, if she would have had made the right step towards giving up the bad habits? But if so, we would not have had this book, isn´t it?

Deception by Helen Forbes has a bunch of bad and very bad characters. If everyone is good there is no sense to write a crime fiction novel, isn´t it? Based in Edinburgh, it leads to the underground of both humans and cities, as far as until Poland. 

Although from outside one may say that Lily Anderson has it all, her deep web of lies not only is about to destroy everything, but it risks to take with it everyone she loves, including her son. Sam, her homeless friend, is also in a high risk situation as he is also literally hunted by a scrupleless policeman. 

The book includes a big range of characters which are not all clearly developed and defined. However, Lily is by far the most complex character, faced with her weaknesses and will to go beyond her past mistakes - at last! In her carelessness, she is taking risks, including by going out of her comfort zone, both in terms of the people she will meet and the situations she has to face. 

The story is reflected through the various points of view of the main characters and this technique allows an in-depth vision of their intentions and their interpretation of the story. Most of the characters do have in common a very bad anger management and a visceral temptation to solve most - if not all - of the problems they are faced with in a very aggressive manner. Maybe they are not my favorite cast, but interesting nevertheless.

Deception is an interesting book to read, for both the situations created and the reactions of the people who created them. It reveals the dark side of us, as humans, which is sometimes only one choice away.

Helen Forbes is a lawyer by day and an award-winning crime writer, living in the Scottish Highlands. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own

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