Deception
By Denise Mina

     Lachlan Harriot watches in dismay, shock and possibly denial when his wife Susie, a psychologist, is convicted by Scotland’s courts of murder. Andrew Gow is a paroled serial killer and he and his new wife Donna are found dead. When Susie is found near the scene with blood on her hands and her colleagues had already previously questioned the inordinate amounts of time she spent with Gow and Donna, she is charged and then convicted of murder.

     At the onset of Deception, Susie has been convicted and is being led away in handcuffs. Lachlan is beside himself over his wife’s conviction because he staunchly believes she is innocent. Lachlan wonders what will become of their marriage as Susie is cold and distant. Who will be a mother to their two-year-old daughter, Margie, whom Lachlan struggles to drop off at the nursery where the questioning and concerned looks of mothers are imminent after Susie’s murder conviction.

     Lachlan has a medical degree but became a stay-at-home father to Margie with aspirations to write. Yeni is their Spanish-speaking nanny who helps Lachlan with Margie as he muddles through his days after Susie’s conviction. Feeling desperate and confused, Lachlan throws himself into finding information to assist Susie’s attorney for the upcoming appeal of Susie’s conviction. Susie has a home office that she has always kept locked and private. Lachlan begins going through the documents in the office, both on Susie’s computer and case files of Gow in addition to viewing videos and any other information in the office. What Lachlan uncovers creates more questions and Lachlan begins to wonder whether Susie is innocent; is Lachlan deceiving himself by telling himself that his wife is not a murderer?

    Deception is an intriguing and taut trail with ingenious layers of mystery, deceit, passion and surprise. The suspense lies in the inner workings of the psychological mind of Lachlan and Susie’s former relationship with Gow and Donna, which is revealed in the contents of Susie’s home office and Lachlan’s accompanying “investigation.” Also, the author does an excellent job of developing the characters of the major players in the plot, which is essential for a well-written psychological thriller. Fans of crime novels and psychological thrillers will love Deception.