🚓🚨⚖️ “Deception” (Natchez Trace Park Rangers #4) (2022) ⚖️🚨🚓 – Book Review
MY REVIEW
Publisher: Revell (August 2, 2022)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800735765
ISBN-13: 978-0800735760
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“After being forced to kill an FBI agent gone rogue in self-defense while working in the violent crimes unit for the Investigative Services Branch, ranger Madison Thorn is comfortable with her move to the fraud and cyber division. At least numbers don't lie. So she's less than thrilled when a white-collar crime investigation in Natchez, Mississippi, turns violent. She could also do without being forced to work with former-childhood-enemy-turned-infuriatingly-handsome park ranger Clayton Bradshaw.
When a woman who looks just like Madison is attacked on the same night Madison's grandfather is shot, it becomes clear that there is something much bigger going on here and that Madison herself is in danger. Madison and Clayton will have to work together--and suppress their growing feelings for one another--if they are to discover the truth before it's too late.
USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Patricia Bradley closes out her popular Natchez Trace Park Rangers series with this complex story of family secrets, mixed motives, and learning to trust.”
Thank you in advance to the publisher, Revell (a division of Baker Books), for providing an advanced review copy through Library Thing. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.
I cannot believe that this is the final book in the series. It’s even more difficult to believe that it started back in April 2020 when I got an ARC of the first book Standoff. That was through Interviews and Reviews. The other three (including this one) have been through Library Thing.
Even though I checked, double-checked, and triple-checked, it CAN’T have been two (2) years. But, it has. I reviewed Standoff in April 2020 as it was a May 2020 release.
While there are four books in the series, only one “main” character appears from the previous books in this one. Brooke Danvers reappears after skipping an appearance in Obsession. Luke is only mentioned as the two have married.
Though I do recommend reading the previous three in the series just to get an idea of the series:
Standoff – Brooke Danvers and Luke Fereday
Obsession – Sam Ryker and Emma Winters
Crosshairs – Ainsley Beaumont and Lincoln Steele
Deception is aptly titled as there is a LOT of that going on in this. And, like some of the other stories, there is more than one going on at a time. Honestly, despite the cover matching the others in the series, this is a tad more on the sinister side.
In addition to the main two characters of Madison and Clayton, the author also introduces readers to:
✳️ Dani Parker – mistaken for Madison; shot and left for dead
✳️ Nadine – Judge Anderson’s housekeeper
✳️ Judge William Anderson – Madison’s grandfather
✳️ Gregory Thorn – Madison’s father
✳️ Brianna – a young girl Dani is to take to Jackson
✳️ Judith Winslow – shady character who runs a pregnancy center
✳️ Terry Davis – former Army, buddy of Steven
✳️ Steven Turner – Chad’s brother (Chad is killed in chapter one)
There are multiple POVs:
📖 Madison
📖 Clayton
📖 Dani
📖 William
📖 “Sniper”
Some of the POVs drop off towards the first quarter of the book.
Deception isn’t a heavy kind of read. It isn’t a light read either. There are themes and issues of drug and alcohol addiction, gambling addiction, inference to marital infidelity, human trafficking, questionable “for-profit” baby adoptions, along with some issues of corruption.
There are several story arcs that are intricately and uniquely woven together in a related manner:
🚓 Madison dealing with the fallout from shooting a ROGUE FBI agent
💵 Dani rescuing a “trafficked” teen
📂 Madison’s adoption questions/issues
🚓 Investigating potential corruption and fraud
🚨 Someone stalking Madison
As the book begins, Madison – who is working violent crimes for the Investigative Services Branch of the Natchez Trace Park Rangers – is meeting up with an FBI agent (Chad) to track down a suspected human trafficking ring. Nothing goes as she thought, and she ends up shooting the agent. Despite his status of being under investigation, there are some that think she could’ve handled it differently.
Chapter two moves the story forward by four (4) years. Madison is in now in the less dangerous White Collar division. She is heading to Natchez to work on a case, but gets caught speeding on the trace – it is a good thing for two reasons: meeting back up with Clayton Bradshaw (who she’ll remember later on), and some cyclists.
The next day, Clayton sees an exchange between the judge and a woman, then there is an exchange between Judith and the judge which doesn’t look friendly either.
Bradley then, before the reader is even 50 pages in, turns to Dani and Brianna who are having dinner. Dani is taking Brianna to a center to help get her away from her prior life (trafficking) and see that the girl is set on a better path. Dani seems to think a married man (Clayton with his sister and niece) pays for their meal.
But, it is when Clayton thinks Madison is hurt that everything twists and turns and Madison is thrown back into the violent crimes division she wanted to leave.
Dani isn’t the only victim though. Judge William Anderson is gunned down as well and that is at first believed a suicide, but not by Madison.
While investigating the white-collar crime, Madison is also helping Clayton with Dani’s shooting, and Madison is also helping the locals with the shooting of her grandfather. She’s also being stalked as well.
In addition – why does Dani look so much like Madison? Does this tie in with Madison’s adoption? Or, was the judge targeted by the sibling of a man who recently died on death row?
Madison is also dealing with the arrival of Steven Turner, Chad’s brother; as well as a “friendly” buddy of his – Terry. Steven wants to update Madison on Chad’s son, Noah, who Madison rescued. But, Steven is also there for other events as well, almost as a friend for Madison.
After what happens to Madison’s grandfather, her estranged father shows up. She hasn’t seen him since in a while. Not only is Gregory looking for something – he’s going to get married again. And, it’s someone he’s been having an affair with. But, it’s clear there is something else going on with this guy (or seems like it).
Just within 150 pages, this book was living up to the title.
It isn’t until about the 88% mark that the reader figures out the stalker angle, and it was a tad on the predictable side – at least for me.
That isn’t the only shock for the reader – there are two more – the shooting of the judge (which I did not see that suspect coming, talk about “whiplash”) as well as the issue of the white-collar crime that originally drew Madison back to the area.
Readers will definitely have to hang on until the VERY LAST PAGE to see where this ends up.
This is, without a doubt, an intriguing, twisty-turning, unpredictable, gripping, edge-of-seat story that held up to its name. It grabbed me right off and held my attention for hours until I dropped it from exhaustion and nodding off asleep. I definitely didn’t want to put it down for any length of time. It is kind of hard to stop with short chapters that ranged from as small as one (1) page to as big as nine (9) pages (though it was around 8 ½ pages long).
I love how Bradley worked in the Ancestry website along with sending in one’s DNA to get familial matches. It is a fairly newish technology and I love seeing how it winds up in the story.
Deception is well-written, engaging, and there are only a few typos here or there. Then again, this is an ARC, so that might change prior to publication (sometimes it doesn’t though – so consider this a warning). There is the “clip” vs. magazine mistake. Some keen readers who know the terminology may read it and cringe a bit. Yes, there is a difference between the two terms and items.
There is a slight open-end with Madison’s father and I wanted to see where that was going to go. Sadly, it was as if he disappeared. However, given that the rest of the “characters” from the series barely got mentioned after their stories, it isn’t surprising.
I would’ve loved somewhat of an epilogue as to what was going on with Sam, Emma, Ainsley, and Lincoln.
There is also the issue of Clayton’s niece needing a corrective surgery for a mark on her face. That is still left unresolved by the end of this book and has me wondering if Bradley isn’t planning to work these components into a connected series like some authors do.
The unresolved issues were about the only “bad” thing I could think of with this book – it seemed to end far too soon given how much baggage was left to unpack or deal with.
Overall, this is a wild conclusion to the series.
While this falls under Christian, there isn’t a lot of preachy tones or vibes. The characters attend church and seek God’s wisdom and guidance. This, like most Revell books, is a clean read. There is no bad language and any “PDA” is in the form of kissing which is limited.
I am definitely looking forward to what the author has coming out next. Fans of the author and those who read the first three books won’t want to miss this. Those who enjoy Elizabeth Goddard and Lynette Eason are sure to enjoy Patricia Bradley’s Natchez Trace Park Rangers series.
RATING:
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html;update https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html)
PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
Series: Natchez Trace Park Rangers (Book 1)
Publisher: Revell; 4/2 edition (May 5, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800735730
ISBN-13: 978-0800735739
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“The Natchez Trace National Parkway stretches 444 miles from Nashville to Natchez, the oldest town on the Mississippi River. It's the perfect road for a relaxed pleasure drive. Unfortunately for park ranger Luke Fereday, lately it's being used to move drugs. Sent to Natchez to infiltrate the organization at the center of the drug ring, Luke arrives too late to a stakeout and discovers the body of his friend, park ranger John Danvers.
John's daughter Brooke is determined to investigate her father's murder, but things are more complicated than they first appear, and Brooke soon finds herself the target of a killer who will do anything to silence her. Luke will have his hands full keeping her safe. But who's going to keep him safe when he realizes he's falling--hard--for the daughter of the man he failed to save?”
Series: Natchez Trace Park Rangers (Book #2)
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Revell (February 2, 2021)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800735749
ISBN-13: 978–0800735746
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“Natchez Trace Ranger and historian Emma Winters hoped never to see Sam Ryker again after she broke off her engagement to him. But when shots are fired at her at a historical landmark just off the Natchez Trace, she's forced to work alongside Sam as the Natchez Trace law enforcement district ranger in the ensuing investigation. To complicate matters, Emma has acquired a delusional secret admirer who is determined to have her as his own. Sam is merely an obstruction, one which must be removed.
Sam knows that he has failed Emma in the past and he doesn't intend to let her down again. Especially since her life is on the line. As the threads of the investigation cross and tangle with their own personal history, Sam and Emma have a chance to discover the truth, not only about the victim but about what went wrong in their relationship.”
Series: Natchez Trace Park Rangers (Book #3)
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Revell (August 24, 2021)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800735757
ISBN-13: 978-0800735753
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“Investigative Services Branch (ISB) ranger Ainsley Beaumont arrives in her hometown of Natchez, Mississippi, to investigate the murder of a three-month-pregnant teenager. While she wishes the visit was under better circumstances, she never imagined that she would become the killer's next target--nor that she'd have to work alongside an old flame.
After he almost killed a child, former FBI sniper Lincoln Steele couldn't bring himself to fire a gun, which had deadly and unforeseen consequences for his best friend. Crushed beneath a load of guilt, Linc is working at Melrose Estate as an interpretive ranger. But as danger closes in on Ainsley during her murder investigation, Linc will have to find the courage to protect her. The only question is, will it be too little, too late?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patricia Bradley is the author of Standoff, Obsession, and Crosshairs, as well as the Memphis Cold Case novels and Logan Point series. Bradley won an Inspirational Reader's Choice Award in Romantic Suspense, a Daphne du Maurier Award, and a Touched by Love Award; she was a Carol Award finalist; and three of her books were included in anthologies that debuted on the USA Today bestseller list. She is cofounder of Aiming for Healthy Families, Inc., and she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Sisters in Crime. Bradley makes her home in Mississippi. Learn more at www.ptbradley.com.
You can follow her on the following social media accounts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patriciabradleyauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ptbradley1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PTBradley1
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