My review of DECEIT by Brandilyn Collins Suspense at its absolute best!

When I finally got my hands on a copy of DECEIT, I figured I’d start reading, do a little of the work piling up on my desk, and then read a bit more when I got the chance.

Riii-iiightt!

After devouring her book EXPOSURE last year, I should have known better.
So in my world of imagination, I waited for Brandilyn to drive up in that little sports car called Suspense that gets your blood pumping from 0-60 in 3.4 seconds.

She looked at me with eyes that said, “You’d better buckle your seatbelt.”

How could I forget?

“Oh, yeah,” my imaginary friend murmured, “and pull it tight.”

I gulped, snugged it across me, and turned the first page.

Years after the death of her best friend, Linda Jackson, skip tracer—Joanne Weeks is still doing her best to see Linda’s husband, Baxter, brought to justice. No easy task since he’s close friends with the chief of police, is an elder at his church, and pillar of the small community.
Pages shot through my fingers as I glanced over at Brandilyn.

“Why? What did he do?”

She shifted gears and raised a brow. “I’ll let Joanne tell you.”

Here was this middle-aged woman filled with despair, years of despair over the loss of her friend. Joanne turned tired eyes in my direction. “Because he killed my best friend, Linda.”

The chapters had my heart pumping full throttle (all thoughts of the work which awaited me were sent away with the pit crew).
Suddenly, Brandilyn careened to the left, leaving me grasping the handle of the car and praying we’d make the curve. I fanned through some more pages, but just as the car stabilized, she lurched to the right. The belt tightened across my chest so hard, I was sure I could feel the bruises the change in direction had caused, but I didn’t care. I had to find out what was going to happen.

Finally, I leaned back in the seat, content. I was sure, as I have been with so many other suspense authors, I knew what awaited me on the next page.
But Brandilyn hit the brakes.

Whoosh!

The airbag slammed me in the face, stopped me cold. Told me I wasn’t so smart after all. “What happened? Man, I didn’t see that ending coming!”

Brandilyn just smiled, opened the door, and offered a short salute.
“See you next time.”
***
I’m not sure who nicknamed Mary Higgins Clark the queen of suspense. Obviously, they hadn’t read anything by Brandilyn Collins. She takes you on a wild ride that leaves you flipping pages faster than a Whirling Dervish. Without preaching, she forces you to evaluate yourself and your belief system in such a way, you’ll never view the world the same again. What is in the heart of man and what lies merely on the surface? Who knows for sure. She digs, analyzes, and digs some more, leaving the reader questioning who’s lying, who’s telling the truth?

For me, DECEIT is Brandilyn’ best novel yet. I wondered after EXPOSURE how she could possibly top that.
Well, she did.
When you buy DECEIT, and you should, be sure and fasten that seatbelt!
And if you hear a faint voice say, “Really tight.” Don’t hesitate.
This is Seatbelt Suspense at its finest.