Book Review - Deception

By: Lee Nichols

Published by: Bloomsbury

Published Date: June 8, 2010

Source: Purchased

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - This book is a must have. Go and get it and its sequel, too (Betrayal ) which is out in stores now

 Synopsis (from Lee's webpage): When Emma Vaile's parents go missing while away on a mysterious business trip, her brother's very cute best friend, Bennett Stern—Emma's knight in J. Crew armor—arrives unexpectedly to whisk her away to New England. There, Emma settles into his family's museum-like mansion and enrolls at an old-fashioned private school. Emma has memories of Thatcher that she can't explain—it's as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Finally, Emma confides in Bennett and learns she is a ghostkeeper, a person who can communicate with ghosts. Bennett brought Emma to Thatcher to protect her, but now he needs her help tracking an other-worldly murderer.

A few days ago, I was in one of those moods, where I was re-ordering the TBR pile on my nightstand (okay, and around it as well) and I picked up Lee Nichols’ DECEPTION. I remembered that a few of my friends, who are never wrong, recommended it to me and I thought hey, I might as well read it.

HA. Might as well read it? Let’s just say that I read it in a day, mostly thanks to my 5-year-old daughter who woke me up at 2:30 a.m. to tell me that there are ghosts in her room. I immediately thought – where’s Bennett? So wide awake at that early hour, I picked up my half-finished book and didn’t stop reading it until I was done. I then promptly pulled up the Barnes & Noble app on my phone and reserved the sequel, BETRAYAL, at my local store. Listen, don’t judge me. It’s that good. Here’s why.

The story really starts when Emma gets whisked away to an exclusive private school by her preppy and not-that-much-older guardian, Bennett. Plausible? Perhaps. But here’s where Lee’s writing takes off. You see, it’s the lore. Lee’s world-building is so believable. The fact that Emma sees ghosts is something I completely bought into (no wonder my kid is having nightmares, right?). And placing the school in Massachusetts which has a history of witchcraft made the world even more concrete. Now imagine people with special powers who can communicate or command ghosts. See? You’re there with me. And all I can tell you is that Lee’s world gets richer and more detailed with every page as you discover, through Emma’s eyes, what it truly means to be a ghostkeeper.

In just about every review, I get asked, but what about romance (I really do pay attention to the comments section in my reviews)? And boy oh boy, does Lee know how to write romance (a certain dance on page 90 made my heart lose its rhythm for a few seconds). In fact, she brings a plausible Love Triangle into the story. On the one hand there’s Bennett, Emma’s older brother’s ghostkeeper friend. He’s someone she’s known for a while but he tends to ignore her and treat her like a younger sister. On the other hand, there’s Coby, the perfect boy on campus. But is he too perfect? All along, you can’t help feeling that this is only the start and things are going to get way more complicated. And without any spoilers, I can safely tell you, there will be surprises. A quick aside to say if you adore snarky dialogue and banter, you will laugh your way through Emma’s and her friends’ exchanges. Their dialogues in Latin left me smirking.

Don’t let this book sit on your TBR pile, MMs, pick it up now. You will find yourself enjoying Lee’s funny, helpful, troublesome and yes, menacing ghosts. You will be surprised by the turns in the plot and you will be absolutely delighted by the romantic moments. It’s a witty, dark and well thought out story. Now excuse me, I’m half way through BETRAYAL and I need to know what happens next. I have a feeling that, once again, I’ll be reading late into the night.