Miraculous Deception

by P I Barrington

[Stephanie]

Originally posted at Once Upon a Chapter

I'll admit I was incredibly hesitant to read the second book in this series. I won't lie to you, OUAC's readers, the first novella left a pretty bad taste in my mouth and I honestly didn't know how I could possibly read the next book in this series and write a fair review. It's going to actually be a lot easier than I thought. P.I. Barrington really pulled herself up with Miraculous Deception. It is a proper medical suspense novel. I did have the baddie figured out from the beginning but there were a few parts where I did waver.

Payce Halligan is still in a coma from the first book Crucifying Angel. Her partner Gavin MacAllister is now partners with the last person he'd want to work with Nick. Their first case is one no cop really wants to see. It is that of a murdered infant and her mother who committed suicide. The suicide/mercy killing that they are led to believe in doesn't sit well with Gavin and he wants to investigate it further.

Meanwhile, New Creation is ramping itself up and gathering new followers everyday. Payce isn't making any progress and twice now, someone has tampered with the life support machines keeping her alive. No one is sure who the culprit is and no on has the man power to keep Payce's room staffed. Payce is in a semi-coma. She is aware of what is going on but is making very slow progress coming back to herself. Then one day she swings herself out of bed and makes it passed the nursing station and out the door to sweet freedom. It's a matter of life or death and if she doesn't get out, she won't survive. What happens to her though after she gets out of the hospital remains a mystery to everyone in the novel. The reader is shown where Payce is and how she is coming along.

The remainder of the novel is spent amongst the various characters of Barrington's world. New Creation is still just as evil as ever and Gavin and Nick even learn to work together. After all if they don't they may never know what happened to Payce Halligan. If you like medical suspense, this is a great read. The romance however doesn't advance much as the heroine is pretty much MIA throughout the novella.

This is the second novella in a series of four. The first book was really a hard read for me but I can say that I am very glad that I followed through with it!