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Deception

By: Denise Mina
Narrated by: Richard Matthews
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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
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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)

What listeners say about Deception

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Engaging characterization in spite of accent drift

I enjoyed the quick immersion into the character's circumstances and following him through the process of realization / "un-deception". While the reveals of past events are well built, it is the emotional journey which stands out. A native Glaswegian would have helped as the accent veered at times and, having grown up in Glasgow, I found this distracted a little. However the narrator's pace, emphasis and emotional balance of the read meant this audiobook was still enjoyable.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Hang In there

It took me a little while to adjust to the fact that this book would be told in the first person in the form of a journal, but soon I found myself absorbed in this man's dilemma. I started to care how things would turn out for the characters and to wonder about the truth of the murder mystery. Stick with it through the beginning and the story builds. I'll look for other books by this author.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tricky, Tricky!

What made the experience of listening to Deception the most enjoyable?

The intricacies of character development. Is this guy a boob? Is this woman an innocent? wha?

What did you like best about this story?

What I liked best was the way it developed. Some might find it slow. I didn't. I found it more and more involving.

Have you listened to any of Richard Matthews’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't, but he was excellent.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

You won't get no High Concept from me!

Any additional comments?

Denise Mina is a great story teller with a real flavor to her stories. Like I said, involving.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

incredible....

Great story and characters. I could not stop listening to this story. I think this is probably the best buy I have done at audible.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mina is the best

Denise Mina's writing is finely wrought, her novels happen to be about crime, but the well developed characters far outshine their genre peers. This was not my favorite Mina treat, but it is well written and engaging.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Realistic and riveting

It's funny that those stories that are predictable are the most unrealistic. You find you know what the characters are going to do, not because you would do the same in their place, but because you know what this type of character does in this type of situation. Denise Mina has written a good story with a believable twist AND her characters act like real people. The husband goes back and forth between I trust her/I don't trust her, she did it/she couldn't have done it. The reader is superb with no jarringly false voices. I look forward to more books from Ms. Mina.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Give Me More!!

What a fascinating study of human emotion and relationship. I'd read anything by this author, and the narrator was absolutely fantastic. This is one I'm leaving on the iPod so I can go back and get a little fix of Scotland from time to time.
Very highly recommended! Give us more of Mina!

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Well-crafted psychological mystery

With just a few short and very insightful descriptions Denise Mena can capture a gesture, a mood, even a character. The people and places seem to come alive and be so real. This is more of a psychological thriller, with slow building suspense. The character of the narrator, Lachlan, and his constant ruminating is trying, but his account of his efforts to find the killer(s) is engrossing and enjoyable. Well narrated.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

The voice gets you hooked

I'd read Fields of Blood by the same author. This book was quite different, but Denise Mina's writing showed her amazing talent for quick caricature. One or two sentences and the characters are alive.

While there is a twist, I wasn't too suprised, and it's not a traditional mystery. Those looking for a procedural will be disappointed. While the main character does gather evidence, he doesn't know what to do with it--so he wonders over it, slowly becoming more depressed, or oppressed, until he reaches a decision as to what he's going to do for himself and his family.

The narration is of good quality, and though the Scottish accent seems a bit overdone in places, it more often adds convincingly to the story. For example, note the main character's nickname, Lachey: the Scots dialect pronunciation is "Lackey."

In all, very enjoyable and looking forward to more unabridged titles by this author!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic characters

What made the experience of listening to Deception the most enjoyable?

This book had particular importance to me. I have been dismissed unfairly from a position of some importance. I have worked in the prison system. I have struggled with a long term relationship that ruined deceitful. So there was much in this story that I could relate to. It might take a long time to get into the murder plot of this book but I think that is because it takes a long while to realize that the main character and main plot is less about the murder and more about the deception of the narrator.

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