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Deception
Lieutenant Jack Morro has just days to go before being sent home from the war in Vietnam. But after inadvertently learning of evidence of a conspiracy involving his captain, he is hit by the captain's 'friendly fire' in the midst of battle. He is left for dead but is only wounded, captured by the Viet Cong, and imprisoned. When Jack is reported killed in action, his fianc, Diane a rising New York journalist plunges into alcoholism. A media giant named Vidal helps her recover, and Diane falls in love with him. But Vidal has secrets including a connection to Jack's supposed 'death.'
However, Jack is alive, and after a year of imprisonment, he manages to escape. But he comes home to find Diane married to Vidal and his life still in peril from the information he learned in Vietnam.
Vidal, Jack, and Diane find themselves wrapped in a web of romance, deceit, and danger and none of them will escape unscathed.
More twists and turns as the story winds down to a climax.
However, Jack is alive, and after a year of imprisonment, he manages to escape. But he comes home to find Diane married to Vidal and his life still in peril from the information he learned in Vietnam.
Vidal, Jack, and Diane find themselves wrapped in a web of romance, deceit, and danger and none of them will escape unscathed.
More twists and turns as the story winds down to a climax.
360 pages, Paperback
Published November 14, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
February 1, 2026
Deception weaves wartime conspiracy, political intrigue, and romantic fallout into a tightly coiled suspense narrative. Samuel Jay opens with urgency, Lieutenant Jack Morro standing on the brink of survival and homecoming, only to shatter that certainty with betrayal disguised as “friendly fire.” The Vietnam setting is not just historical backdrop; it is the crucible in which loyalty, power, and truth are violently tested.
What stands out most is the dual unraveling of Jack and Diane. Jack’s survival and imprisonment expose the brutal cost of knowing too much, while Diane’s descent after his reported death feels emotionally raw and tragically plausible. Her recovery, aided by Vidal, initially reads as salvation, until his shadowed ties to Jack’s disappearance turn romance into something far more dangerous.
The novel’s strength lies in its triangulated tension. Vidal is not merely a rival but a symbol of institutional power, secrecy, and narrative control, someone who shapes reality as much as he hides it. When Jack returns, the story becomes a high-wire act of deception, where love, truth, and survival cannot coexist cleanly.
Rather than rushing toward action, Deception allows paranoia and emotional conflict to simmer. The result is a layered thriller where the scars of war extend far beyond the battlefield, and no character escapes unchanged.
This book will resonate with readers who enjoy political thrillers, Vietnam-era fiction, and suspense novels where romance is inseparable from betrayal.
What stands out most is the dual unraveling of Jack and Diane. Jack’s survival and imprisonment expose the brutal cost of knowing too much, while Diane’s descent after his reported death feels emotionally raw and tragically plausible. Her recovery, aided by Vidal, initially reads as salvation, until his shadowed ties to Jack’s disappearance turn romance into something far more dangerous.
The novel’s strength lies in its triangulated tension. Vidal is not merely a rival but a symbol of institutional power, secrecy, and narrative control, someone who shapes reality as much as he hides it. When Jack returns, the story becomes a high-wire act of deception, where love, truth, and survival cannot coexist cleanly.
Rather than rushing toward action, Deception allows paranoia and emotional conflict to simmer. The result is a layered thriller where the scars of war extend far beyond the battlefield, and no character escapes unchanged.
This book will resonate with readers who enjoy political thrillers, Vietnam-era fiction, and suspense novels where romance is inseparable from betrayal.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review