Susie Harriot, a psychiatrist in Scotland, has been convicted of murdering a serial killer. Her husband, Lachlan, remains loyal to her as he searches through all her belongings in the home office to prepare for an appeal.

With Lachlan as the narrator, his daily thoughts and actions are shared as he tries to find anything to help clear his wife's name. Some of it became repetitive, but for the most part it drew me into Lachlan's world. I enjoyed that process, but the last quarter of the book contained raw thoughts and language that didn't appeal to me. Also, I didn't care for the ending. Even so, Mina is a new-to-me author and this has piqued my interest to discover more of her work. (3.5/5)

Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy ( )

When prison psychiatrist Susie Harriott is convicted of murdering paroled
Glasgow serial killer Andrew Gow, her husband, Lachlan, embarks on a frantic
search for material that may help with her appeal. He simply does not
believe that she is guilty of the things he's just heard in court during her
trial, and is intent upon proving her innocence and bringing her back home
again. But in going through the files inside her padlocked study, he finds
layer upon layer of nasty secrets. This is Lachlan's diary, Written as
daily journal entries on his wife's computer, unwinding the dark and
complicated story as he uncovers it. In medical school when he met Susie,
Lachlan gave up his own medical career to be a house husband and dream of
being a writer after the birth of their daughter, Margie, now a toddler. But
deception (and self-deception) abounds.

But it's the voice of this story, not the events, that grabs hold of the
reader and won't let go. Lachlan Harriott immerses us in his obsessions,
repeling and commanding sympathy in the same instant. He is a charming,
comic, intelligent narrator-and a man who might happily see his wife rot in
prison, not for murder, but for the greater sin of betraying and rejecting
him. Susie herself is seen as if through a long lens that can barely contain
her beautiful, sorrowful image; what she did or didn't do is less compelling
than what her husband reveals (or invents) about himself in his new life
after her conviction. What starts as a novel of investigation turns into a
journey of self-discovery and finally, revenge, with an ending with a big
enough twist to help it pack a punch.

This was my first Denise Mina novel, but it won't be my last. I was
especially impressed with her ability to write in the voice of a male
character so realistically. She's quite a story teller with a good sense of
timing. This was a good 'un. It gets 5 stars. ( )

wow. i had forgotten fiction could be so good. can i have another, please? ( )

I liked this novel a great deal at the beginning - interesting premise and well-drawn characterizations through the eye of the narrator. By the middle of the book, I was starting to daydream through the same repetitive passages and by the end, I was skimming to finish it. However, I found at the end that I had not been patient enough because the pivotal conclusion was finished in several "meaty" pages. I am left wondering if Mina got a call from the publisher asking for the finished manuscript immediately and she had to end it. By then, I had tired of the seemingly endless navel gazing and preening self-importance of the main character, so perhaps it's just as well it ended when and how it did. In my opinion, this book is not a "keeper." ( )

Deception is a clever psychological thriller. Its narrator is a househusband who's married to a high-powered forensic psychologist who's just been convicted of murdering a suspected serial killer. As wifey lingers in the slammer, hubbie gets the willies, starts nosing around in his wife's papers and effects, and finds that he's on to something that is not what it first seems . . . Oh, and he's suddenly attracted to the zaftig Spanish au pair who sports a tiny mustache.

Sounds pretty silly, and in fact our narrator is a rather silly man -- but somehow it works. Although Lachlan the househusband is ineffectual, whiny and irritating to follow around at points, he's never the less a mostly-believable character. The plot also builds in a plausible arc, with just enough luck/coincidence thrown in.

This is an off-beat book that's a nice alternative read for crime fiction fans. Recommended. ( )