The Deceiver

by Melanie Tem

The Devil, they say is in the details. The little things. The small decisions we make every day. But for the Harkness family, this expression is all too literally true. For many years the members of this family have gotten seemingly helpful advice at key moments in their lives from a mysterious - and very persuasive stranger. — He doesn't always look the same. His name may be different. But he's always around whenever some sort of decision needs to be made. And what he says makes so much sense. His influence on the Harkness family seems slight at first. But before anyone realizes it, the strange man is leading them down some very dangerous - and terrifying - roads indeed.

Genres: Horror

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Melanie Kubachko was born and raised in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. She received a degree at Allegheny College and went on to earn a master's degree in social work from the University of Denver. Apart from a varied career in social work she has published short fiction in numerous publications, including Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Skin of the Soul, and Final Shadows. Her work has also been included in such anthologies as Women of Darkness and Women of the West.

Married to Steve Rasnic Tem.

Reviews

[Ken Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is an ambitious, non-linear, non-narrative novel focusing on the life of Cecelia, born 1916. It is not a horror novel but there are many moments that slip queasily into 'Twilight Zone' territory. The author's tremendous skill at spinning short stories serves this scattered format well. While the book is not meant to be scary, it is consistently engaging and full of interesting, well-researched scenarios. For example, I did not know that dolphins "are conscious breathers ... that means they have to think about every breath they take."

Like those determined dolphins, Cecilia is convinced that every interaction with another living thing constitutes a moral opportunity and moreover that each option considered constructs an alternate dimension(!), so it is important to make the dimension you're stuck in as nice as possible. Not by cleaning house (she is a "cat-lover" after all), but by taking an active interest in the welfare of others. Meanwhile, lazy or seductive strangers always pop up to promote selfish or harmful behavior, always just at the right time of temptation. Is it just coincidence ... or the devil?

Or could it be something internal? Cecilia's mother suffered from schizophrenia, as do some of her children and grandchildren. Cecilia shows a few symptoms, such as in a riveting moment when a feeling of exhilaration overtakes her while she pursues her cheating husband: "Her senses seemed abnormally acute, creating the delusion that she was safe and in control of the situation. She knew it was a delusion, but she could have sworn she could see the slightest veer of the panel truck on her left, hear the gears of the DeSoto behind her shift as the driver prepared to pass, smell the bittersweet, heady fumes of illicit sex that must be all but propelling the turquoise-and-white Bell-aire into orbit."

Towards the end Cecilia comes to terms with her own mortality and even catches a glimpse of what might come "in another life". Unfortunately the two penultimate chapters seemed so out of place that they upset the whole balance and drag everything down. Their tone is out of sync with the overall momentum and they don't follow the timeline set in 'Orphan'.

Cecilia seems more like a normal, everyday person than like an entertaining character, but she is still entertaining to read about. Her puzzled reactions, her conflicts, and the views they shape in her over the course of the book are easy to relate to and gave me plenty to think about in my own life.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melanie Tem's The Deceiver is a lush work, poetic and lyrical. In a word, the writing is fantastic. It's a generational story about how a mysterious figure haunts a particular family and all its branches, showing up at just the right times in their lives to dispense much-needed advice. But this is advice is....dark. Thoughtless and cruel. And oftentimes, sinister.

The only downside to this novel is the menacing figure doesn't work as well as it should as a throughline. And this is quiet horror, but the rather vague purposes of this figure could make the story too vague for some readers. Regardless, Tem's characters are three-dimensional; they live and breathe, and the writing is top-notich.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very strange, and I'm not sure I would call it a horror novel, even though it was published by Leisure Horror. It basically traced the history of a family, from the 1800s to present day – with each family member running into people who give advice at key moments in their lives. Sometimes the advice is followed and sometimes it isn't, and it's always bad advice – destructive advice. And these mysterious people who show up always at the right time seem to know exactly what's going on, always look different, but it's basically the same thing – the same person, the same entity – taking on different guises in trying to influence people in the successive generations. And also people that are close to them, partners and the families of those were related by relationships. I found the book pretty interesting, it was weird to follow all these different threads from all these different people, and the book really kept me guessing. It was different from anything I've ever read before, and I have to say I enjoyed the story. But I think this book is very strange and not for everyone. I'm not surprised that he didn't get a five star rating on good reads. But I personally enjoyed it a lot. Even beyond the mysterious person who gives advice, just following the families and all their experiences was really interesting to me

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the early years of the 20th century, the Harkness family is marked by abortion, incest, child molestation, and possibly madness. Perhaps it's their failings and their sins that allow the devil into their family life. But more likely he has been there all the while. Tem's epigraph for this novel comes from the moment in the Book of Job when God asks Satan where he has been. Satan answers, "Round the earth, roaming about."

Over the rest of the century, the Devil will appear in many forms to members of the Harkness family and to those who get close to them. He may be a large, overly friendly man or the sexy teenage girl who's just moved in across the street. He will always have about him a bittersweet odor, and his advice, while tempting, will never be for the best. Most will listen to that advice, with results that range from the mildly comic to the tragic.

This reads like a series of linked short stories, with Cecilia Harkness the long-lived female relative that holds things together. This is not a horror novel in any traditional sense. The devil is just another character, an important one, in this family's saga.

[John Bruni · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an all right story. My problem is, because of the shifts in time, you can never truly get comfortable with the characters. There isn't a lot of forward momentum, either, and as a result, I just couldn't get into it. It's well-written, but I really struggled to reach the finish line. It's just not my cup of tea, although I can easily see how someone else would enjoy it.

[Cher · Rating 4 out of 5]

to me this read like what all the Updike Rabbit books meant to...very well done...interesting

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was the last Melanie Tem book I'll ever read.

[tam tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’ll re-read this one. It’s a real quiet thinker.