Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong

Deceptions (Cainsville, #3)

by Kelley Armstrong

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Otherworld series and Hemlock Island delivers her most suspenseful novel yet, where the discovery of Cainsville’s dark past and the true nature of its inhabitants leads to murder, redemption, love, and unspeakable loss.

Olivia Taylor Jones’s life has exploded. She’s discovered she is not only adopted, but her real parents are convicted serial killers. Fleeing the media frenzy, she took refuge in the oddly secluded town of Cainsville. She has since solved the town’s mysteries and finds herself not only the target of its secretive elders but also her stalker ex-fiancé.

Visions continue to haunt her: particularly a little blond girl in a green sundress who insists she has an important message for Olivia, one that may help her balance the light and darkness within herself. Death stalks both Olivia and the two men most important to her, as she desperately searches to understand whether ancient scripts are dictating the triangle that connects them. Will darkness prevail, or does Olivia have the power to prevent a tragic fate?

Reviewed by justine_manzano on

5 of 5 stars

Share
When your favorite author comes out with the latest book in your favorite series, you drop everything and read it. And that's what I did when Deceptions was released. I grabbed it up the morning of its release, and devoured it over two days in which I did absolutely nothing else if I could help it. Then, I read it again. And, as usual, I wasn't disappointed. Armstrong is a mainstay for me, so I didn't think I would be.

This book was incredible. While book 3 of a planned 5 book series, Armstrong did a great job of wrapping up the majority of the mysteries involved, while leaving a precious few dangling for the remaining books. And you want to know what will happen. I left feeling halfway satisfied and halfway crying for the next novel.

The best part, and this is saying a whole lot for me, the hater of love triangles, is the love triangle. Armstrong does it in a unique way, nailing the triangle into the foundation of her extremely detailed world building, so it doesn't sprout out of nowhere. Olivia is a strong, well-defined character, as are the men who care for her - Ricky is a nice guy with a tough streak, who is there for Olivia when she needs it, while Gabriel is hard, damaged, and at times unlikable, but is Olivia's right hand, her protection, and her safety net, and in this novel, starts to open up a bit more.

The characters are the best parts of stories from Armstrong, their personalities so carefully built that they feel like real people. A huge fan of Gabriel (he's the side of the triangle I'm rooting for), I found Olivia's choice was a total mystery. She could go either way and it would be a reasonable decision, to me. And I think that's the revelation of true-feeling characters - like real people, their decisions aren't cut and dry and they aren't easy. It's also a great deal of fun watching Ricky and Gabriel become friends and learn to accept the places Olivia has given them in her world.

All in all, this story was just another home run for the Cainsville series, with twists and turns, more mythology, a new mystery, romance, and angst. I will try very hard not to start biting my nails waiting for number 4.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 August, 2015: Finished reading
  • 20 August, 2015: Reviewed