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Faraday #2
Deception: An FBI Agent Goes Undercover in a Small Town Where a Poker Player's Past Holds the Key to Murder
New York Times bestselling author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Stacey Abrams, writing under her pen name Selena Montgomery, delivers a gripping story of a woman forced to play the hand life dealt and the FBI agent who calls her bluff.
Playing the odds has always been Fin Borders’ forte. As a professional poker player, she knows when to get out to keep from losing everything. But an innocent woman has been accused of murder, and to help, Fin will have to go back to the small southern town of her birth. It’s a place she’s been running from her entire life, a place of violence, where she got by with nothing more than her wits. Returning to Hallden, Georgia, means facing the ghosts of a brutal crime that Fin will never forget.
But Fin isn’t the only one in Hallden hunting for a killer. FBI Special Agent Caleb Matthews is deep undercover, hiding his true identity and his own desperate history. Working alone is far too dangerous, so he and Fin must learn to trust each other. But as they grow closer, they are unprepared for the shocking deception that could destroy everything they hold dear.
Playing the odds has always been Fin Borders’ forte. As a professional poker player, she knows when to get out to keep from losing everything. But an innocent woman has been accused of murder, and to help, Fin will have to go back to the small southern town of her birth. It’s a place she’s been running from her entire life, a place of violence, where she got by with nothing more than her wits. Returning to Hallden, Georgia, means facing the ghosts of a brutal crime that Fin will never forget.
But Fin isn’t the only one in Hallden hunting for a killer. FBI Special Agent Caleb Matthews is deep undercover, hiding his true identity and his own desperate history. Working alone is far too dangerous, so he and Fin must learn to trust each other. But as they grow closer, they are unprepared for the shocking deception that could destroy everything they hold dear.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 31, 2009
374 people are currently reading
1140 people want to read
About the author
Selena Montgomery
17 books1,132 followersSelena Montgomery is the nom de plume of Stacey Abrams, an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017. She founded Fair Fight Action, an organization to address voter suppression, in 2018.
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March 10, 2021I was compelled to get this after reading book 1 to find out what the mystery was, and it was satisfyingly ingenious. Great storytelling, but more workaday writing than #1, not entirely surprised to note the proposed book 3 didn't happen. Still, I am always here for a professional poker player heroine who knows how to shoot.
February 5, 2021
I got bored in a few spots, but romance isn't my thing; I was more here for the suspense. The writing was mostly good if clunky here and there. Glad I had a steak fix earlier in the week, and now I'm craving waffles. Audiobook was performed well by Simone Daye.
brought to you by the Stacey Abrams fangirls of Worlds Beyond the Margins
brought to you by the Stacey Abrams fangirls of Worlds Beyond the Margins
dnf
January 25, 2021DNF @ 33% - This is NOT a reflection on the quality of the book. I thought the writing was great, and honestly that's probably the only reason I made it as far as I did, because I just don't enjoy reading thrillers. I gave it a shot because I was interested in the author's work, but will probably stick to her non-fiction from now on.
May 15, 2019
Stacey Abrams, liberal Georgia politician, writes mysteries under this pseudonym. Compare Jeffrey Archer, English conservative Parliamentarian who sold over 300 million copies of his detective mysteries—though he began writing more like Trump, to avoid bankruptcy. A jail term in 2001 for perjury ended his political career, as his Trumpian paying money to a prostitute ended his Conservative Party membership. Contrarily, neither lying nor pornstars ended the Trumpster’s.
Abrams invents great names, the four sisters Fin, Kell, Julia, and Eliza, the Mom Mrs Faraday, and even her own pen-name, Selena Montgomery. Finley is a cold beauty, a brash risk taker, and a professional gambler. Not as school bright as her lawyer sister, she is more worldly, and a good liar. Confronted by an FBI agent on why the mafioso Stark is coming after her and two sisters, Caleb asks,
"‘Do you know why?’
Fin met Caleb’s questioning look cooly, then lied, ‘I have no idea.’ Unless they were still angry about a stolen $300,000, the burning of their casino, and the death of one of their chief lieutenants. 'Do you?’ " (42)
Fin has three arrests. Grand larceny. Possession of an unregistered firearm. The RICO charge. Caleb, an FBI agent, “‘Racketeering is a serious crime. Those cases take years to build. The Bejko crime family, Fin. You were accused of a federal crime, but you’ve got a clean record unless a person goes hunting.’
“Her throat like sand…nothing could erase the distress threaded beneath, ‘One of your brethren decided I could work off my misdeeds by wearing a wire. I’d already become acquainted with Aleksander Bejko, the oldest son. His father was working to establish another branch of the Albanian crime family in L.A…
“The agent had gotten too cozy with his marks. I’d been working with Bejko, fleecing high-flying diplomats who couldn’t tell a straight from a flush. Your man lost his shirt that night. Told me if I’d wear a wire, he’d drop the charges.’
“‘My God.’ An agent wearing a wire risked his life each time. The Bureau taught courses on avoiding detection. No-one went in miked without backup and training. Yet she had been barely twenty-five. Brash, fearless, and terribly vulnerable” (171).
Banker Worley, about to be raided, says “Dear Lord.” Fin, “Pray on your own time.” Worley suggests putting Fin’s $775K into land (Mrs Faraday’s, formerly a Nature Trust with small trees that can be milked for biofuel.) This, while they’re copping funds from mafia Stark (338).
The finale is great, violent enough for American film but also good, pointed, dialog.
Abrams invents great names, the four sisters Fin, Kell, Julia, and Eliza, the Mom Mrs Faraday, and even her own pen-name, Selena Montgomery. Finley is a cold beauty, a brash risk taker, and a professional gambler. Not as school bright as her lawyer sister, she is more worldly, and a good liar. Confronted by an FBI agent on why the mafioso Stark is coming after her and two sisters, Caleb asks,
"‘Do you know why?’
Fin met Caleb’s questioning look cooly, then lied, ‘I have no idea.’ Unless they were still angry about a stolen $300,000, the burning of their casino, and the death of one of their chief lieutenants. 'Do you?’ " (42)
Fin has three arrests. Grand larceny. Possession of an unregistered firearm. The RICO charge. Caleb, an FBI agent, “‘Racketeering is a serious crime. Those cases take years to build. The Bejko crime family, Fin. You were accused of a federal crime, but you’ve got a clean record unless a person goes hunting.’
“Her throat like sand…nothing could erase the distress threaded beneath, ‘One of your brethren decided I could work off my misdeeds by wearing a wire. I’d already become acquainted with Aleksander Bejko, the oldest son. His father was working to establish another branch of the Albanian crime family in L.A…
“The agent had gotten too cozy with his marks. I’d been working with Bejko, fleecing high-flying diplomats who couldn’t tell a straight from a flush. Your man lost his shirt that night. Told me if I’d wear a wire, he’d drop the charges.’
“‘My God.’ An agent wearing a wire risked his life each time. The Bureau taught courses on avoiding detection. No-one went in miked without backup and training. Yet she had been barely twenty-five. Brash, fearless, and terribly vulnerable” (171).
Banker Worley, about to be raided, says “Dear Lord.” Fin, “Pray on your own time.” Worley suggests putting Fin’s $775K into land (Mrs Faraday’s, formerly a Nature Trust with small trees that can be milked for biofuel.) This, while they’re copping funds from mafia Stark (338).
The finale is great, violent enough for American film but also good, pointed, dialog.
December 31, 2020
A mysterious suspenseful read...kept me ENGAGED...and on the edge of my seat...the three women friends are quite COLORFUL and the budding romance between Fin and Caleb is unexpectedly sweet. Would love to read a story about Julia however I don’t think this author is writing romance novels any longer w/her recent run for governor just under her belt. Oh well...it was a THRILLING and INTRIGUING series while it lasted.
March 21, 2020
Another good one, although the head hopping began to bother me after a while. I'd recommend reading Reckless and Deception as if they were one longer romantic suspense novel since almost all the characters from the first one also appear in the second. Fair warning, it looks as if a third installment was planned but never published, so there are a couple of loose ends left at the end of this one, but it was still a satisfying read.
February 12, 2021
Loved reading this one with a crew of bookstagram ladies who all wanted to support Stacey Abrams and have a little book chat about it. Quick read, though I don’t think I’ll continue this particular series. (Excited for her upcoming legal thriller in a BIG way!)
January 28, 2021
I read this book with a group of other people on Instagram because we wanted to try one of Stacey Abrams' romance novels. I'm not sure if others in the group knew it or not, but I didn't realize this was the second in a series. Some of the references didn't make sense at the beginning, but (mostly) fell into place later. I enjoyed that it was a suspenseful romance with the emphasis on the former. It's a different kind of romance novel, where the plot points really drive the novel instead of the relationship between two people. The main character, Fin Borders, is pretty badass albeit unbelievable at times. This book was okay and satisfied my itch for trying Abrams' work; however, I don't think I'll read the rest of the series. Stacey Abrams has a legal thriller coming out in May of this year, and I will certainly be in line for that one.
March 28, 2020
Ugh. This one was more trying than I would like to admit.
To be fair, I think I was the problem. After seeing Stacey Abrams speak at a conference, and hearing that she had written 7 romance novels, I needed to read one of them. But, rather than doing the proper amount of research before doing so - I just grabbed whatever Selena Montgomery novel I could get my hands on first. Not paying attention to the fact that this appears to actually be the 2nd in a trilogy, and also that it's more a thriller than a romance?
Honestly, if this is part of a trilogy, that part didn't throw me too much. This story was able to stand on its own in that sense. But I went in looking for a romance, and while there were a couple steamy moments here and there, the crime thriller piece was much more prominent.
The book itself was okay. Some of the storytelling felt a little chopped - there were many times during the same scene where perspective would kind of shift subtly from one character to another. Sometimes that was helpful, but mostly it felt a little jarring and confusing. Also, while some characters felt well-drawn - Fin, Caleb, Kell, and Julia were probably the best represented - other important characters (like Luke and Mrs. F) fell by the wayside, and I wanted more of them.
Overall, this was just fine. It wasn't a terrible book, but it definitely didn't blow me away. I still might try another Selena Montgomery book, but I'll make sure to do better research first next time!
To be fair, I think I was the problem. After seeing Stacey Abrams speak at a conference, and hearing that she had written 7 romance novels, I needed to read one of them. But, rather than doing the proper amount of research before doing so - I just grabbed whatever Selena Montgomery novel I could get my hands on first. Not paying attention to the fact that this appears to actually be the 2nd in a trilogy, and also that it's more a thriller than a romance?
Honestly, if this is part of a trilogy, that part didn't throw me too much. This story was able to stand on its own in that sense. But I went in looking for a romance, and while there were a couple steamy moments here and there, the crime thriller piece was much more prominent.
The book itself was okay. Some of the storytelling felt a little chopped - there were many times during the same scene where perspective would kind of shift subtly from one character to another. Sometimes that was helpful, but mostly it felt a little jarring and confusing. Also, while some characters felt well-drawn - Fin, Caleb, Kell, and Julia were probably the best represented - other important characters (like Luke and Mrs. F) fell by the wayside, and I wanted more of them.
Overall, this was just fine. It wasn't a terrible book, but it definitely didn't blow me away. I still might try another Selena Montgomery book, but I'll make sure to do better research first next time!
November 3, 2021
Starting at 5 stars, this book lost one star each for these things:
NOTE: I’m leaving the first negative pointer because after I read the whole book, I found an Author’s Note at the back, which I almost didn’t read, and found out that this is, indeed, a trilogy, and this is technically Book 2, but nowhere is that shared before that note at the back. Not on the cover, not in the blurb, not on the title page, or any of the front matter pages. And before anyone tells me it’s listed as a series on Goodreads, I didn’t see it on Goodreads or elsewhere, I saw it in physical form first and didn’t look at its Goodreads page before I started reading. Anyway, learning that, when I felt like I’d been thrust into the middle of a story (no wonder) was maddening. Then, at the end, there wasn’t a real conclusion, which made the story feel pointless. That is until I discovered—only through reading that Author’s Note—that there is another book to follow this one. Oh, wait. Is there really? Because Book 3 is not listed on Goodreads. In fact, Book 3 never happened. It doesn’t exist. (Book 1 was published in 2008, Book 2 in 2009.) That whole experience definitely ruined this story for me, a story I would’ve enjoyed far more if I had known it was part of a trilogy. Because this was part of my experience, I am leaving the first negative pointer as is.
- The prologue would’ve served us much better if it showed us everything from the three women’s past that set in motion what’s happening. As it is, the prologue only introduces the characters and their relationship with each other. It still could’ve done that while also showing us what we needed to know. Usually, I’m okay with not knowing something that the MC is trying to keep hidden. Or knowing it and knowing the MC is hiding it from other characters. Instead, readers are kept in the dark and there’s several mentions of “what they did” without a hint. And then we know someone had been accused of murder, but we’re not given any more information until the characters sit down to discuss it. The suspense and mystery those things were supposed to create didn’t work for me, especially since we’re just told about everything through conversations. There really wasn’t any build up to make it truly suspenseful and the reveal was a letdown. In many ways, this book could’ve started much sooner. Or had a prequel, because I definitely would’ve liked to have read everything that took place beforehand, like Kell and Sheriff Calder forming a romantic relationship and the murder charges and court proceedings, etc. I felt like I had missed out on a lot and was tossed into the middle of a story. (Jokes on me, I guess, since there was a book before this one, which I do want to read.)
- I’m okay with insta-attraction, which was definitely there, and I’m okay with insta-love for short stories and novellas, but usually the insta-love is declared at the end of the short story/novella. This is a decent-sized novel (371 pages), and in Chapter 8 (out of a 31 chapters), there’s a line from Caleb’s POV. “He realized he could fall in love with her for that alone.” Yes, the word “could” is there, so he’s technically not saying he loves her already, but for me personally any mention of love at this point is too soon for a novel of this size, before the half-way point, and for these characters: a cool, detached woman and an FBI agent who is deep undercover. They had met the day before and hadn’t been around each other much (being in a shootout and watching a man die, aside), so how quickly they developed feelings for each other that were more than attraction threw me off. Considering the characters and plot and length of the story, I would’ve preferred any feelings beyond attraction to have taken a bit longer to build. Also considering how their feelings started so soon, the sudden backpedaling (denial and rejection) and how the inevitable sex scene was postponed to the end of the book was also maddening. I guess you could say that while the characters intrigued me, how their relationship was written did not.
- All the head-hopping. This is common among older romances (although this was published in 2009) and certain bestsellers, but it trips me up every time. There was a lot of head-hopping from character to character in single scenes, as much as several on one page. As a writer and editor, I had a hard time getting used to it.
- The fast pace and action in the beginning kept me reading. However, that fast pace went away and I found myself bored through much of the story, but not enough to stop reading. However, again, it didn’t really pick up until the second-to-last chapter when some excitement happened. But the ending that wasn’t fully resolved felt pointless. And now I know it’ll remain unresolved because after 12 years, Book 3 is not happening.
This book regained one star each for:
- Interesting characters and hooking me in Chapter One during Fin’s scene.
- Being well-written (despite all the head hopping).
3 Stars
NOTE: I’m leaving the first negative pointer because after I read the whole book, I found an Author’s Note at the back, which I almost didn’t read, and found out that this is, indeed, a trilogy, and this is technically Book 2, but nowhere is that shared before that note at the back. Not on the cover, not in the blurb, not on the title page, or any of the front matter pages. And before anyone tells me it’s listed as a series on Goodreads, I didn’t see it on Goodreads or elsewhere, I saw it in physical form first and didn’t look at its Goodreads page before I started reading. Anyway, learning that, when I felt like I’d been thrust into the middle of a story (no wonder) was maddening. Then, at the end, there wasn’t a real conclusion, which made the story feel pointless. That is until I discovered—only through reading that Author’s Note—that there is another book to follow this one. Oh, wait. Is there really? Because Book 3 is not listed on Goodreads. In fact, Book 3 never happened. It doesn’t exist. (Book 1 was published in 2008, Book 2 in 2009.) That whole experience definitely ruined this story for me, a story I would’ve enjoyed far more if I had known it was part of a trilogy. Because this was part of my experience, I am leaving the first negative pointer as is.
- The prologue would’ve served us much better if it showed us everything from the three women’s past that set in motion what’s happening. As it is, the prologue only introduces the characters and their relationship with each other. It still could’ve done that while also showing us what we needed to know. Usually, I’m okay with not knowing something that the MC is trying to keep hidden. Or knowing it and knowing the MC is hiding it from other characters. Instead, readers are kept in the dark and there’s several mentions of “what they did” without a hint. And then we know someone had been accused of murder, but we’re not given any more information until the characters sit down to discuss it. The suspense and mystery those things were supposed to create didn’t work for me, especially since we’re just told about everything through conversations. There really wasn’t any build up to make it truly suspenseful and the reveal was a letdown. In many ways, this book could’ve started much sooner. Or had a prequel, because I definitely would’ve liked to have read everything that took place beforehand, like Kell and Sheriff Calder forming a romantic relationship and the murder charges and court proceedings, etc. I felt like I had missed out on a lot and was tossed into the middle of a story. (Jokes on me, I guess, since there was a book before this one, which I do want to read.)
- I’m okay with insta-attraction, which was definitely there, and I’m okay with insta-love for short stories and novellas, but usually the insta-love is declared at the end of the short story/novella. This is a decent-sized novel (371 pages), and in Chapter 8 (out of a 31 chapters), there’s a line from Caleb’s POV. “He realized he could fall in love with her for that alone.” Yes, the word “could” is there, so he’s technically not saying he loves her already, but for me personally any mention of love at this point is too soon for a novel of this size, before the half-way point, and for these characters: a cool, detached woman and an FBI agent who is deep undercover. They had met the day before and hadn’t been around each other much (being in a shootout and watching a man die, aside), so how quickly they developed feelings for each other that were more than attraction threw me off. Considering the characters and plot and length of the story, I would’ve preferred any feelings beyond attraction to have taken a bit longer to build. Also considering how their feelings started so soon, the sudden backpedaling (denial and rejection) and how the inevitable sex scene was postponed to the end of the book was also maddening. I guess you could say that while the characters intrigued me, how their relationship was written did not.
- All the head-hopping. This is common among older romances (although this was published in 2009) and certain bestsellers, but it trips me up every time. There was a lot of head-hopping from character to character in single scenes, as much as several on one page. As a writer and editor, I had a hard time getting used to it.
- The fast pace and action in the beginning kept me reading. However, that fast pace went away and I found myself bored through much of the story, but not enough to stop reading. However, again, it didn’t really pick up until the second-to-last chapter when some excitement happened. But the ending that wasn’t fully resolved felt pointless. And now I know it’ll remain unresolved because after 12 years, Book 3 is not happening.
This book regained one star each for:
- Interesting characters and hooking me in Chapter One during Fin’s scene.
- Being well-written (despite all the head hopping).
3 Stars
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February 10, 2021I hate to say this because I love Stacey Abrams a whole lot, but I had to put this one aside. There are parts where she switches POV between paragraphs, and I can not deal with that. It is confusing and a pet peeve. This is otherwise engaging enough and I like the relationships between the women, but not my cup of tea.
December 14, 2023
Rating 3.5......enjoyed the drama and the falling in love part!
June 19, 2025
There had better be one more about Julia!
So yes, I loved this. The descriptions of kissing do get a little repetitive and embarrassing, but for a guilty pleasure read, I could not ask for anything better. But like I said — three is the magic number and I am hoping that Abrams (Montgomery) saved the best for last.
So yes, I loved this. The descriptions of kissing do get a little repetitive and embarrassing, but for a guilty pleasure read, I could not ask for anything better. But like I said — three is the magic number and I am hoping that Abrams (Montgomery) saved the best for last.
October 25, 2023
I hated this for no good reason.
The plot was fine, but something about the writing was terrible and cheesy.
Book club category: one word title (Jessamine’s pick)
The plot was fine, but something about the writing was terrible and cheesy.
Book club category: one word title (Jessamine’s pick)
February 3, 2021
I had no idea what to expect going in...a random pick for a small book loving, supporting Stacy Abrams group of gals and I was pleasantly surprised. Loved the strong female lead, suspense/crime and dash of love story. A fun combo and I'm now inclinced to delve into the rest of the collection.
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November 21, 2022The Smut Report team is participating in Wendy the Super Librarian's #TBRChallenge 2022. Our goal: to dust off our TBRs once a month and talk about the book we read.
Read our full TBR Challenge update at The Smut Report
Holly's Pick:
I am working on aggressively DNFing books if they aren’t speaking to me, so this was a DNF. Hey, the goal was to get books off my TBR one way or another.
So, when the first book ends, we know that there’s some mysterious conspiracy going on in rural Georgia run by an ominous group called Stark, and that’s why that guy was killed. But by the first third of Deception, most of the information about this group—what they do, what their goals are, why they killed the guy—have been revealed. There are still pieces to figure out, like who exactly pulled the trigger and why they want to control this big plot of land, but I felt like the wind was taken out of the sails of the mystery a bit. (I might have also flipped to the end and the bit I read was very anticlimactic and not a big reversal from what we’d already learned.)
I hated the hero. Specifically, I hated that he did that thing where he touched the heroine, could tell that his touch made her uncomfortable, and then doubled down by doing something like grabbing her wrist. Or her chin. This is the second time this very specific dynamic has shown up in a TBR challenge book this year, and yikes, do I hate it.
I did like the heroine. Fin is a professional gambler, which means she’s lived a…colorful…life. But even though she lies and bluffs her way through the world, I would hope that, as a reader, I would have a sense of her as a character after spending a hundred pages with her, and she still felt vague to me. So though I thought the pieces I saw were interesting, there wasn’t enough there to make her truly compelling and hold my attention.
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Read our full TBR Challenge update at The Smut Report
Holly's Pick:
I am working on aggressively DNFing books if they aren’t speaking to me, so this was a DNF. Hey, the goal was to get books off my TBR one way or another.
So, when the first book ends, we know that there’s some mysterious conspiracy going on in rural Georgia run by an ominous group called Stark, and that’s why that guy was killed. But by the first third of Deception, most of the information about this group—what they do, what their goals are, why they killed the guy—have been revealed. There are still pieces to figure out, like who exactly pulled the trigger and why they want to control this big plot of land, but I felt like the wind was taken out of the sails of the mystery a bit. (I might have also flipped to the end and the bit I read was very anticlimactic and not a big reversal from what we’d already learned.)
I hated the hero. Specifically, I hated that he did that thing where he touched the heroine, could tell that his touch made her uncomfortable, and then doubled down by doing something like grabbing her wrist. Or her chin. This is the second time this very specific dynamic has shown up in a TBR challenge book this year, and yikes, do I hate it.
I did like the heroine. Fin is a professional gambler, which means she’s lived a…colorful…life. But even though she lies and bluffs her way through the world, I would hope that, as a reader, I would have a sense of her as a character after spending a hundred pages with her, and she still felt vague to me. So though I thought the pieces I saw were interesting, there wasn’t enough there to make her truly compelling and hold my attention.
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February 28, 2021
Deception is the second (to Reckless) in an unfinished trilogy about three orphans returning to their former hometown when their mother figure needs them. Findley Borders, Fin, a professional gambler, is the center this time. She was an intriguing voice on the phone in Reckless, which calls for her to risk her life to save her chosen family--with the help of the DA she immediately read as a fed and a sexy mofo.
Montgomery likes to tell us about hot people who are hot for each other. That's tricky when the magic happens in a similar way two books in a row, but I still missed the characters when I finished Deception. My other complaint is that the omniscient voice switched around too quickly and too much. Still I'm very upset that Montgomery hasn't given us the third orphan, Julia's story, and probably Montgomery is too busy saving America now to ever get to it.
Montgomery likes to tell us about hot people who are hot for each other. That's tricky when the magic happens in a similar way two books in a row, but I still missed the characters when I finished Deception. My other complaint is that the omniscient voice switched around too quickly and too much. Still I'm very upset that Montgomery hasn't given us the third orphan, Julia's story, and probably Montgomery is too busy saving America now to ever get to it.
November 4, 2018
The end?
I have fallen in love with these characters and don’t want their stories to end. There needs to be at least one more book. Unless I’ve missed it there is one more member of the group to be captured and we need one book about Julia. Hopefully they are out there and I just haven’t found them yet. I hope that when Ms. Abrams becomes governor of Ga she will find time to write romance!
I have fallen in love with these characters and don’t want their stories to end. There needs to be at least one more book. Unless I’ve missed it there is one more member of the group to be captured and we need one book about Julia. Hopefully they are out there and I just haven’t found them yet. I hope that when Ms. Abrams becomes governor of Ga she will find time to write romance!
September 28, 2021
Intelligent & Suspenseful With A Sprinkling Of Romance!
This is a sharp-witted story about taking a gamble, knowing when to stand firm, when to stand down, and about fiercely protecting the ones you love (even if it means sacrificing your own life). DECEPTION is intelligent, it’s suspenseful, and for good measure, it even has a sprinkling of humor and romance. Bravo to Stacey Abrams (a/k/a Salena Montgomery)!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
This is a sharp-witted story about taking a gamble, knowing when to stand firm, when to stand down, and about fiercely protecting the ones you love (even if it means sacrificing your own life). DECEPTION is intelligent, it’s suspenseful, and for good measure, it even has a sprinkling of humor and romance. Bravo to Stacey Abrams (a/k/a Salena Montgomery)!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
August 9, 2018
Deceived
It is great to see Selena 's books in digital print. She has been gone from the scene far to long. Her suspenseful romances will make you lose sleep. RECKLESS and DECEPTION spin a web of intrigue, murder, and hard won romance. But.... Where is Julia's story? I cannot find the third book anywhere. Does anyone know?
It is great to see Selena 's books in digital print. She has been gone from the scene far to long. Her suspenseful romances will make you lose sleep. RECKLESS and DECEPTION spin a web of intrigue, murder, and hard won romance. But.... Where is Julia's story? I cannot find the third book anywhere. Does anyone know?
January 27, 2021
"Deception" is the second book in a series written by romance author Selena Montgomery which focuses on three orphans and childhood friends Kell Jameson, Findley "Fin" Borders, and Julia "Jules" Warner who are joined together and reunited by a tragedy that occurred one night sixteen years ago.
In "Deception," prodigal daughter and now professional poker plan Findley "Fin" Borders, has returned to the small town of Hallden Georgia at the request of her best friend Kell Jameson to help save Kell, Julia, and Eliza Faraday, the owner of the orphanage where Fin spent her childhood from the deadly Stark group.
Since Finn left the orphanage at the age of eighteen, she's lived a life on the run and is now feeling restless. Upon returning to Hallden, she realizes just how much she missed a constant connection with her best friends as well sees how much her absence impacted Eliza. To add to the swirl of emotions Fin feels after returning to Hallden is the growing attraction she feels for FBI Special Agent Caleb Matthews.
Fin has hard a hard childhood marred by violence and as such, she has worked to distance herself from others, not get too close to anyone, and learn not to depend on other for help. Surprisingly, Caleb is able to see through Fin's defenses and is able to see the hurt child inside the beautiful woman. Likewise, years of professional poker playing has allowed Fin to sharpen her ability to read people and this allows her to see through Caleb's fakeness and discover a man harboring guilt and regret.
As the novel progresses, the author does a wonderful job of creating three dimensional characters with realistic dialogue. I enjoyed the dueling storylines of the relationship between Fin and Caleb along with the slow unveiling of the illusive Stark group. By the end of the book, although most of the loose ends are tied up, the author provides an enough of an storyline opening for a third book in the Faraday series to be written focusing on Julia and I for one can't wait to read it.
In "Deception," prodigal daughter and now professional poker plan Findley "Fin" Borders, has returned to the small town of Hallden Georgia at the request of her best friend Kell Jameson to help save Kell, Julia, and Eliza Faraday, the owner of the orphanage where Fin spent her childhood from the deadly Stark group.
Since Finn left the orphanage at the age of eighteen, she's lived a life on the run and is now feeling restless. Upon returning to Hallden, she realizes just how much she missed a constant connection with her best friends as well sees how much her absence impacted Eliza. To add to the swirl of emotions Fin feels after returning to Hallden is the growing attraction she feels for FBI Special Agent Caleb Matthews.
Fin has hard a hard childhood marred by violence and as such, she has worked to distance herself from others, not get too close to anyone, and learn not to depend on other for help. Surprisingly, Caleb is able to see through Fin's defenses and is able to see the hurt child inside the beautiful woman. Likewise, years of professional poker playing has allowed Fin to sharpen her ability to read people and this allows her to see through Caleb's fakeness and discover a man harboring guilt and regret.
As the novel progresses, the author does a wonderful job of creating three dimensional characters with realistic dialogue. I enjoyed the dueling storylines of the relationship between Fin and Caleb along with the slow unveiling of the illusive Stark group. By the end of the book, although most of the loose ends are tied up, the author provides an enough of an storyline opening for a third book in the Faraday series to be written focusing on Julia and I for one can't wait to read it.
June 20, 2025
I saw the book at a bookstore and thought it sounded interesting. I did not know that this was book number 2. 😅
It makes sense of some stuff that was mentioned in the book that did not have details. However, the book still made sense without reading the first one. This one was about Fin, versus the first one was about Kell.
Mrs. F runs an orphanage center. She has three ladies that she raised that are like her daughters. Fin is a professional gambler, and she gets a call from one of them saying she needs to come back home. That it is time.
It’s clear that the first book explains what happened to Mrs. F and how Kell got her cleared. She was being charged with murder. However, they are still not safe. When Fin comes back home right away, they are in danger. They get attacked leaving the airport, where Fin showed she is very capable of defending herself and her family. FBI Agent Caleb was already mesmerized by Fin from the first look at the airport. Especially when she could tell he was an agent undercover. She was not fooled.
As more secrets are being revealed, Caleb and Fin become closer. They work on the case together and grow closer to the point where Fin must go undercover.
Many powerful people work under Stark. These are the people that tried to frame Mrs. F for murder. Then attempted to kill the three ladies. All this for a land Mrs. F owns that has a super valuable plant that can become some sort of fuel/oil that can make millions or billions of dollars.
Fin did an amazing job getting these people to reveal themselves using the plan Caleb came up with. Unfortunately, they did not get the biggest bad guy, Stark. What’s even more surprising is that Stark is the judge who is a close friend of Mrs. F. At least this is what I understood.
Overall, I did not love the book but also did not hate it. I enjoyed the read. Although the relationship between Fin and Caleb was romantic, I think I enjoyed the friendship parts more. The three ladies are so close, and their love for each other is amazing. Mrs. F is so proud of them and loves them so much as well.
It makes sense of some stuff that was mentioned in the book that did not have details. However, the book still made sense without reading the first one. This one was about Fin, versus the first one was about Kell.
Mrs. F runs an orphanage center. She has three ladies that she raised that are like her daughters. Fin is a professional gambler, and she gets a call from one of them saying she needs to come back home. That it is time.
It’s clear that the first book explains what happened to Mrs. F and how Kell got her cleared. She was being charged with murder. However, they are still not safe. When Fin comes back home right away, they are in danger. They get attacked leaving the airport, where Fin showed she is very capable of defending herself and her family. FBI Agent Caleb was already mesmerized by Fin from the first look at the airport. Especially when she could tell he was an agent undercover. She was not fooled.
As more secrets are being revealed, Caleb and Fin become closer. They work on the case together and grow closer to the point where Fin must go undercover.
Many powerful people work under Stark. These are the people that tried to frame Mrs. F for murder. Then attempted to kill the three ladies. All this for a land Mrs. F owns that has a super valuable plant that can become some sort of fuel/oil that can make millions or billions of dollars.
Fin did an amazing job getting these people to reveal themselves using the plan Caleb came up with. Unfortunately, they did not get the biggest bad guy, Stark. What’s even more surprising is that Stark is the judge who is a close friend of Mrs. F. At least this is what I understood.
Overall, I did not love the book but also did not hate it. I enjoyed the read. Although the relationship between Fin and Caleb was romantic, I think I enjoyed the friendship parts more. The three ladies are so close, and their love for each other is amazing. Mrs. F is so proud of them and loves them so much as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 19, 2020:X I need to listen to this audiobook again I think ... because ... I feel like I definitely missed a lot.
[Also I kinda super want to read Julia's story but it doesn't seem like Selena Montgomery wrote it? And T_T look - I know Stacey Abrams has way way way WAY more important things to do, AND SHE'S DOING THEM AND KICKING ASS AND TAKING NAMES. But ... you know.]
Fin and Caleb. I know it's supposed to be "bad girl" with "good guy with a heart of gold." ... Ish?
But like ... Fin isn't a bad girl - she's super vulnerable, a giant marshmallow, but with a hard (but brittle) shell.
Caleb ... man he's damaged because of all his guilt.
Also Fin has had ... just a really ... difficult life.
It was interesting there was such focus on not minutiae and then swaths over big chunks but ... it's hard to explain.
OMG I was so mad at Mrs. F when she says that shit to Fin though! Even though she didn't mean it SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER. SHE'S STILL THE ELDER.
And then when Fin ... when Caleb says his shit and yes he's trying to deceive others but ... man. Poor Fin. The hits keep coming.
I've already started Kel's book, so maybe that's coloring it ...
[But I think the humor of Kel's is more forward?]
It's interesting because I thought Fin's story would appeal to me more. [Than Kel's] which is why I read it first.
Fin is super badass - and is loyal to the core.
I'm definitely going to "re-read" [listen] to this book ...
And I mean, it's Stacey Abrams.
I'm really liking her voice - and again - where's Julia's book? Am I just missing it?
Anyway ... B--
[Also I kinda super want to read Julia's story but it doesn't seem like Selena Montgomery wrote it? And T_T look - I know Stacey Abrams has way way way WAY more important things to do, AND SHE'S DOING THEM AND KICKING ASS AND TAKING NAMES. But ... you know.]
Fin and Caleb. I know it's supposed to be "bad girl" with "good guy with a heart of gold." ... Ish?
But like ... Fin isn't a bad girl - she's super vulnerable, a giant marshmallow, but with a hard (but brittle) shell.
Caleb ... man he's damaged because of all his guilt.
Also Fin has had ... just a really ... difficult life.
It was interesting there was such focus on not minutiae and then swaths over big chunks but ... it's hard to explain.
OMG I was so mad at Mrs. F when she says that shit to Fin though! Even though she didn't mean it SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER. SHE'S STILL THE ELDER.
And then when Fin ... when Caleb says his shit and yes he's trying to deceive others but ... man. Poor Fin. The hits keep coming.
I've already started Kel's book, so maybe that's coloring it ...
[But I think the humor of Kel's is more forward?]
It's interesting because I thought Fin's story would appeal to me more. [Than Kel's] which is why I read it first.
Fin is super badass - and is loyal to the core.
I'm definitely going to "re-read" [listen] to this book ...
And I mean, it's Stacey Abrams.
I'm really liking her voice - and again - where's Julia's book? Am I just missing it?
Anyway ... B--
October 15, 2021
Ms. Montgomery (a.k.a. Stacy Abrams) can really tell a story! The writing is well done and the plots keep you turning the pages. This is the second book of hers I've read and I intend to read the others, already have "Reckless" and finished "Hidden Sins."
In this story we meet Fin Borders who witnessed the brutal murder of her mother at a very young age. Fin finds her way to Mrs. F's home for orphans where she finds friendship, acceptance, and love, if she can find the courage to let down her defenses. They've protected her all her life and she's lived a very dangerous life style.
Mrs. F is accused of murder and Kell Jameson, another orphan who's now an attorney, rushes to defend her. Kell calls both Fin and Julia (now a doctor) to come to Mrs. F's aid. The three females were Mrs. F's favorites and have kept in touch and visited her over the years. Fin arrives to find a situation that she feels responsible for causing because of actions she took twenty years earlier.
There are multiple murders, money laundering, and a host of other crimes to wade through and solve. With the F.B.I. and the local sheriff involved Fin has to decide whom to trust and how much to tell.
This is a story you can sink your teeth into. It would make a great Netflix series since "Reckless" is Kell's story and there may be one for Julia in the future.
Keep writing Ms. Abrams and stay in politics (please run again, but for a higher office.)
In this story we meet Fin Borders who witnessed the brutal murder of her mother at a very young age. Fin finds her way to Mrs. F's home for orphans where she finds friendship, acceptance, and love, if she can find the courage to let down her defenses. They've protected her all her life and she's lived a very dangerous life style.
Mrs. F is accused of murder and Kell Jameson, another orphan who's now an attorney, rushes to defend her. Kell calls both Fin and Julia (now a doctor) to come to Mrs. F's aid. The three females were Mrs. F's favorites and have kept in touch and visited her over the years. Fin arrives to find a situation that she feels responsible for causing because of actions she took twenty years earlier.
There are multiple murders, money laundering, and a host of other crimes to wade through and solve. With the F.B.I. and the local sheriff involved Fin has to decide whom to trust and how much to tell.
This is a story you can sink your teeth into. It would make a great Netflix series since "Reckless" is Kell's story and there may be one for Julia in the future.
Keep writing Ms. Abrams and stay in politics (please run again, but for a higher office.)
October 12, 2021
This is part crime drama (thriller?), part romance novel written by Georgia organizer politician queen Stacey Abrams under the pen name, Selena Montgomery (which is a fabulous pen name.) Now, I just think it’s cool that Abrams has this creative, unapologetic side to her and for that she gets an automatic star. She wrote up many badass women in this story which gets her another a star (or two.) and they are diverse in their badass-ery: from textbook badass poker player Fin to Ms Faraday who runs a group home for kids without parents, and I appreciate this powerful image of caregiving
That being said, I found a lot of her writing confusing - a lot of attempted metaphors that made no sense to me - especially the (one?!) sex scene was just way too much flowery descriptions I wasn’t even sure what was happening.
I haven’t read a crime drama in years. It was published in 2009 and there’s no progressive or profound statement about the police state. It simply is. There is the binary “good guys and bad guys” like I assume are common in most mainstream crime stories.
And the romance was a bit too hokey at times, although I tend to always find the “grand gesture” that is typical of the genre to be too much for me. I wasn’t convinced of falling in love in a week but nbd.
Overall entertaining and had me wanting to keep reading. I enjoyed it.
That being said, I found a lot of her writing confusing - a lot of attempted metaphors that made no sense to me - especially the (one?!) sex scene was just way too much flowery descriptions I wasn’t even sure what was happening.
I haven’t read a crime drama in years. It was published in 2009 and there’s no progressive or profound statement about the police state. It simply is. There is the binary “good guys and bad guys” like I assume are common in most mainstream crime stories.
And the romance was a bit too hokey at times, although I tend to always find the “grand gesture” that is typical of the genre to be too much for me. I wasn’t convinced of falling in love in a week but nbd.
Overall entertaining and had me wanting to keep reading. I enjoyed it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2021
Deception by Selena Montgomery
AKA NYT'S bestselling author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee/POLITICIAN Stacey Abrams
Published March 31, 2009
#bgrtreadingchallenge 2021~A book written under a pseudonym
<3 OMG! THIS WAS LIKE READING THE ENTIRE SERIES OF THE TV SHOW SCANDAL IN ONE SITTING! MS. ABRAMS IS AN UNDERCOVER SCREEN WRITER.... <3
Always on the run . . .
Playing the odds has always been Fin Borders' forte. She knows when to get out to keep from losing everything. But an innocent woman has been accused of murder, and to help, Fin will have to go back to the small southern town of her birth. It's a place she's been running from her entire life, a place of violence, where she got by with nothing more than her wits. Returning to Hallden, Georgia, means facing the ghosts of a brutal crime that Fin will never forget—and risking her own life.
But Fin isn't the only one in Hallden hunting for a killer. FBI Special Agent Caleb Matthews is deep undercover, hiding his true identity and his own desperate history. Working alone is far too dangerous, so he and Fin must learn to trust each other. But as they grow closer, they are unprepared for the passion that takes hold . . . and the shocking deception that could destroy everything they hold dear.
AKA NYT'S bestselling author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee/POLITICIAN Stacey Abrams
Published March 31, 2009
#bgrtreadingchallenge 2021~A book written under a pseudonym
<3 OMG! THIS WAS LIKE READING THE ENTIRE SERIES OF THE TV SHOW SCANDAL IN ONE SITTING! MS. ABRAMS IS AN UNDERCOVER SCREEN WRITER.... <3
Always on the run . . .
Playing the odds has always been Fin Borders' forte. She knows when to get out to keep from losing everything. But an innocent woman has been accused of murder, and to help, Fin will have to go back to the small southern town of her birth. It's a place she's been running from her entire life, a place of violence, where she got by with nothing more than her wits. Returning to Hallden, Georgia, means facing the ghosts of a brutal crime that Fin will never forget—and risking her own life.
But Fin isn't the only one in Hallden hunting for a killer. FBI Special Agent Caleb Matthews is deep undercover, hiding his true identity and his own desperate history. Working alone is far too dangerous, so he and Fin must learn to trust each other. But as they grow closer, they are unprepared for the passion that takes hold . . . and the shocking deception that could destroy everything they hold dear.
December 24, 2020
Deception is the sequel to Selena Montgomery, aka Stacy Abrams's, Reckless. When we left the characters in Reckless, they had resolved their immediate problem, but still had a group of dangerous forces arrayed against them. Deception tells us how they dealt with them. Read Reckless first.
Deception features Fin Borders, who was raised at the Faraday Center for Children, along with Kell Jameson, who we met in Reckless, and Dr. Julia Warner. Fin, who has made a profitable career as a card player, has come to Hallden to help Kell and her lover, Sheriff Luke Calder, trap a shadowy group named Stark. Added to the group is Caleb Matthews, assistant district attorney for Hallden County. Caleb and Fin soon feel the sparks flying between them, but Fin is wary of becoming involved with a lawman.
Bullets fly as well on the way back to Hallden from the Atlanta airport, where Kell, Luke and Caleb meet Fin and Julia. Fin proves herself to be an expert marks woman. The gunman reveals some not too surprising information about who is behind the attack. Fin, Kell and Julia knuckle down to uncover the people behind Stark and put them in jail. Read on to see what happens.
Deception features Fin Borders, who was raised at the Faraday Center for Children, along with Kell Jameson, who we met in Reckless, and Dr. Julia Warner. Fin, who has made a profitable career as a card player, has come to Hallden to help Kell and her lover, Sheriff Luke Calder, trap a shadowy group named Stark. Added to the group is Caleb Matthews, assistant district attorney for Hallden County. Caleb and Fin soon feel the sparks flying between them, but Fin is wary of becoming involved with a lawman.
Bullets fly as well on the way back to Hallden from the Atlanta airport, where Kell, Luke and Caleb meet Fin and Julia. Fin proves herself to be an expert marks woman. The gunman reveals some not too surprising information about who is behind the attack. Fin, Kell and Julia knuckle down to uncover the people behind Stark and put them in jail. Read on to see what happens.
January 27, 2021
I picked this book up because I had read that the politicians Stacy Abrams had also a career as a writer under this pseudonym of Selena Montgomery. Also I wanted to branch out a little bit with my reading and try some different genres that I don't normally read. So in our library catalog this is listed as a romance and I have actually never read a romance before.
The writing was okay. The author used some unusual words to describe situations, and describing the settings, and the characters' point of view. Surprisingly little romance, suggestive at times, a touch, a smell, sparking deeper emotions. The bulk of the novel was more Nancy Drew caper, a crime mystery. She left a little bit of an opening at the end, so I wondered if there might yet be a final book in this series.
I didn't realize it was a series until I I got on Goodreads to see you know that it was actually a follow-up to an earlier work.
It's not really that much of a literary work but an interesting story, surprising at times. I will have to try maybe a regency romance something to compare this to or maybe another contemporary we'll see.
The writing was okay. The author used some unusual words to describe situations, and describing the settings, and the characters' point of view. Surprisingly little romance, suggestive at times, a touch, a smell, sparking deeper emotions. The bulk of the novel was more Nancy Drew caper, a crime mystery. She left a little bit of an opening at the end, so I wondered if there might yet be a final book in this series.
I didn't realize it was a series until I I got on Goodreads to see you know that it was actually a follow-up to an earlier work.
It's not really that much of a literary work but an interesting story, surprising at times. I will have to try maybe a regency romance something to compare this to or maybe another contemporary we'll see.
October 4, 2021
Part two of the trilogy about three orphaned girls raised in a orphanage in rural Georgia. Secrets abound.
Fin Borders (and two of her best buds) leave under cover of dark one night.. to return. Fin finds her place in the world and becomes an exceptionally skilled gambler worth millions. She returns to little Hallden Georgia to face ghosts from the past.
So again, she's with her best friends, Kell Jameson (successful attorney), Julia Warner (now prominent ER physician) and their surrogate mother and still the head of the orphanage, Eliza Farraday. They are in a fight for their lives against a sinister, mysterious crime syndicate who wants them all dead.
And yes, more high tension sex with those murders and mysteries!!!
Another warning: it's a cliff hanger of sorts....... AND the final chapter of this trilogy has Julia facing a threat to her image of herself. Now, for the real downer: apparently the third has never been written. (I'm still searching as to that little problem!!!)
Fin Borders (and two of her best buds) leave under cover of dark one night.. to return. Fin finds her place in the world and becomes an exceptionally skilled gambler worth millions. She returns to little Hallden Georgia to face ghosts from the past.
So again, she's with her best friends, Kell Jameson (successful attorney), Julia Warner (now prominent ER physician) and their surrogate mother and still the head of the orphanage, Eliza Farraday. They are in a fight for their lives against a sinister, mysterious crime syndicate who wants them all dead.
And yes, more high tension sex with those murders and mysteries!!!
Another warning: it's a cliff hanger of sorts....... AND the final chapter of this trilogy has Julia facing a threat to her image of herself. Now, for the real downer: apparently the third has never been written. (I'm still searching as to that little problem!!!)
November 17, 2024
I really enjoyed the character, Fin. I loved her unconventional smartness, loyalty and strength. I waiting for the third book. Since its been years since this was written I'm not sure we'll see the third and final story of Jules.
This book is part of a series you need to read the first book or you're getting a lot of second hand information. I started Deception first and stopped and started Reckless. The series tells the story of Eliza Faraday's girls, Kell Jameson, Findlay Borders and Julia Warner
This book is well written and not your typical formula series. From many of the reviews I believe most are listening not reading. You miss a lot if you're listening to a well written book vers reading with your eyes. You miss all the nuisances for more complex plots. For good writing, it's a must to read with your eyes unless it's multi-voiced or a good fully-voiced dramatized audiobook.
This book is part of a series you need to read the first book or you're getting a lot of second hand information. I started Deception first and stopped and started Reckless. The series tells the story of Eliza Faraday's girls, Kell Jameson, Findlay Borders and Julia Warner
This book is well written and not your typical formula series. From many of the reviews I believe most are listening not reading. You miss a lot if you're listening to a well written book vers reading with your eyes. You miss all the nuisances for more complex plots. For good writing, it's a must to read with your eyes unless it's multi-voiced or a good fully-voiced dramatized audiobook.
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