Deception!

Suzanne Jones #2

by Elizabeth Ducie

Deceit is a dangerous game and it seems like everyone’s playing.

Athletes fight for no apparent reason. A sprinter disappears – no-one knows why, no-one knows where. Is a new health drink to blame? Regulator turned investigator, Suzanne Jones, flies to Sao Paulo to check it out – and finds herself the centre of threats.

Suzanne’s sister, Charlie, is also in Brazil, chasing counterfeiter Michael Hawkins to make him pay for the pain and suffering he’s caused. It’s Mardi Gras in Rio – and danger stalks the streets.

New Friends. An old adversary. Faces and voices from the past. Will it all be too much for the Jones sisters to handle?

247 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2017

About the author

I was born and brought up in Birmingham. As a teenager, I won a holiday to France, Spain and Portugal for writing essays and poetry in a newspaper competition. Despite this promising start in the literary world, I took scientific qualifications and spent more than thirty years as a manufacturing consultant, technical writer and small business owner, publishing a number of pharmaceutical text books and editing a technical journal along the way. I returned to creative writing in 2006 and since then, I have written short stories and poetry for competitions — and have had a few wins, several honourable mentions and some short-listing. I am also published in several anthologies.

Under the Chudleigh Phoenix Publications imprint, I have published four solo collections of short stories and co-authored another two. I also write and lecture on business skills for writers running their own small business. My debut novel, Gorgito’s Ice Rink, which was published in 2014, was Runner Up in Writing Magazine's 2015 Self-Published Book of the Year Awards. In August 2018, it received a Chill With A Book Award. My second novel, Counterfeit!, was published in 2016. It is the first in a series of international thrillers. It came third in the Literature Works 2015 First Page Writing Prize. The second in the series, Deception!, came out in September 2017, and Corruption! came a year later. The fourth and final part of the series will be published in September 2024. In the meantime, I have written the Coombesford Chronicles, a series of cosy crime, set in and English village.

Having left Birmingham to study in London, I lived for more than twenty years in Wilmington, Kent. In 2007, I moved to the South West of England, where I live with my husband, Michael, in a converted granary sited picturesquely on the banks of, and occasionally within the path of, a small stream. In 2012 I graduated from Exeter University with an MA in Creative Writing and closed down my technical consultancy in order to concentrate full-time on my writing.

I was editor of the Chudleigh Phoenix Community Magazine, a monthly online newsletter for fourteen years, finishing in 2023. I am a member of the Chudleigh Writers' Circle and was one of the organisers of the annual Chudleigh Literary Festival which ran from 2011 to 2019. I was Director of the Exeter Literary Festival for 2020 and 2021. I am also a member of Exeter Writers, South Hams Authors' Network, Teignmouth Writers and the Women in Publishing community in the US. I spend far too much time on Facebook and Twitter, but have met some wonderful members of the writing community as a result.

When I am not writing, I am a keen reader and singer. I also enjoy live theatre of any kind, share with my husband a love of fine dining, and am a real sucker for the kind of country house hotel where you can kick off your shoes and curl up with a book in front of a log fire.

I would like you to believe I am also a keen walker, enjoying the beauties of Dartmoor and the South Devon coastline—but, as a writer, I'm good at making things up.

Reviews

[Cathie Hartigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this tense and compelling venture into the shadier side of the pharmaceutical world. Particularly prescient at the moment, it concerns performance-enhancing drugs used by athletes. Deception! sees the return of Suzanne Jones and her sister, Charlie investigating an apparently innocuous food supplement. Invited to San Paulo to watch a race, they witness unexpected violence amongst the competitors. Could the supplement be the cause? Amongst the crowd they spy an old adversary, and their suspicions are raised.
There are plenty of questions asked at the beginning of this well-written and absorbing novel. The prologue is particularly intriguing. I loved the exotic locations, believable characters, and the unexpected twists. Clever plotting means the pace gradually quickens until it reaches a very exciting and page-turning conclusion. It would make a great film- very much in the style of Bond or the Night Manager. Highly recommended!

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/1956, Cape Town, South Africa. Reverend Joe Marks & Amelia Marks (wife) invited Frank for supper.
Peter Marks (4, son) & Paul Marks (4, son), were there also.
10/2005, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Alvar (waiter) greeted Michael Hawkins (father, British, counterfeiter).
Stefano Mladov (Ukrainian) informed Michael; Grace Gove (waitress/prostitute) had been dead for 20 yrs.

She also had a daughter Mercy “Tata” Gove Hawkins who would be 35.
Mr. Damien Bradley Smithson II (NY, NY), ask Suzanne Jones (Jones Tech Partnership), & Charlie Jones (Suzanne’s sister, Jones Tech Partnership, Duke, track & field) to go to Sao Paulo, Brazil & help him find Nigel Atkinson (American, Sunshine Supplements CEO; health drink).
Megan (Nigel’s PA) mentioned to Suzanne, Sunshine Supplements (SS) might change the brand name to Super Maté (tea).
Lulana (Brazilian, U of São Paulo exchange student, Duke, track & field) highly praised the product.
Mercy (avid runner) invited Charlie to go to Iguaçu.
The 2 will stay at the Hotel das Cataratas.
Chico (Brazilian) is their chauffer/bodyguard.

How did Annabelle Swift die?
Why did Suzanne go see Marcus Findlater (European Medicines Agency)?
Will Charlie solve her case?

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written dual timeline thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Goodreads; Making Connections; Phoenix Publications Book; Author; PDF book
Tony Parsons (Washburn)

[Georgia Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely read an author’s books one after the other but having finished Counterfeit I was keen to get on with Elizabeth Ducie’s new release, Deception.

Suzanne and Charlie have now set themselves up as investigative consultants and take on a new client, Damien, who is concerned about the aggressive behaviour some athletes are exhibiting. Their only apparent link is that they are all drinking a super new health drink.

The investigation into the health drink, and the man behind it, takes Suzanne and Charlie to Brazil where they also have the chance to continue to look into a character from Counterfeit. I won’t say more on that for fear of giving spoilers to the first book.

The settings and pharmaceutical knowledge (which is not that intrusive in the story) feels as authentically solid and knowledgeable as in the first book. There are new characters to meet, both good and bad, although as I’ve found with Ducie’s work it’s not always easy to tell one from the other until the mystery unfolds and people reveal their true selves.

The chapters in this story were interspersed with the back story of one of the characters and I really liked this filling in of the background. This story is all tied up quite satisfactorily but I always had the feeling that deception was rife throughout this tale and that it doesn’t end at The End. And I was right because there is then an epilogue and a couple of lovely little teasers crop up in that that are enough to whet your appetite for the next in this series.

This is for all those who like well written mysteries and comes highly recommended.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first thing I must mention is that no-one should be put off by the fact that this is the second in a series – I would have liked to read Counterfeit! for the African dimension and to meet Suzanne and Charlie rather sooner, but this book is perfectly readable as a standalone (although I think I might be tempted by the final part, Corruption!, when it comes out later this year!)

There was so much I enjoyed about this book. The story was absolutely gripping – the investigation into the health drink causing death and mayhem in the world of athletics, and the pursuit of counterfeiter Michael Hawkins, found living a new life in Brazil. I particularly liked the book’s construction, with the thread exposing the earlier life of one of the key characters – quite a story, with a vivid backdrop and fascinating individuals and relationships, adding a dimension that really enhanced understanding of the character.

And the drawing of characters is something else I should mention. The main focus of the present day story is really Charlie, and I took to her immediately – her personal life a little different, her warmth and enthusiasm infectious, even if I did cover my eyes at times when she put herself in the path of danger again and again. Character development is one of the elements that particularly impressed me about this book – in thrillers, they’re too often ciphers, a little cardboard, surface level only, but I found myself in Charlie’s corner throughout, rooting for her, caring about how things turned out.

I enjoyed the setting too – Brazil really comes to life with a trip to Iguazu Falls, the Mardi Gras and the yachts on the marina. And the story itself was quite enthralling, perfectly paced, with twists and turns taking things in different directions: I raced through it into the early hours, until the explosive climax brought a few real shocks and surprises, and then the pages turned even faster. And the writing is really top notch – fluid and easy to read, scenes vividly drawn, lovely insights into Charlie’s thoughts, an authenticity about the pharmaceutical elements (but nothing outside the grasp of the less knowledgeable), set pieces perfectly choreographed, dialogue natural. I didn’t think I would, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one – and it’s a series I’d definitely recommend to all.

[Margaret Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitate to review a book on which I worked with the writer in the initial stages but it has been rewritten since so that I can make an objective assessment.
The author has extensive knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry and uses that to great effect as Suzanne Jones investigates a supplement used by world class athletes. In the meanwhile, her elder sister Charlie, an enigmatic character, is ferocious in her search for the counterfeiter Michael Hawkins.
The description of exotic locations, in this case, in Brazil, are compelling; Iguacu Falls particularly evocative of those magnificent cascades.
The interleaving of the story of Hawkins is well done - I wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for him or not.
The plot turns and twists and the ending is unexpected leaving you wanting more.
A good read.

[Michelle Oucharek-Deo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ducie's pharmaceutical research is impeccable as the Jones Sisters find themselves flying half way around the world to South America to try and solve the mystery of a food supplement that was killing people. While there, they catch site of the man (Michael Hawkins) who kidnaped Suzanne Jones in Africa and was supposed to be dead. The hunt is on as both Charlie and Suzanne step into dangerous waters investigating the two cases. I read the book in the span of 48 hours, dove into book 3 'Corruption' immediately and I've heard talk that Book 4 will be out in the summer of 2024.

[Judith Cranswick · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite story from Elizabeth Ducie - I loved it.
Well-written, fast paced with lots of twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing till the end.
What more need I say?

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

FTC Disclosure: I received this book free from Goodreads hoping I would review it