The Promise of Deception

By: Jessica Sly

Narrated by: Lillian Rachel

Adelynn Spencer, a spirited member of the Edwardian London upper class, struggles under the conditions of her engagement to Detective Inspector Baze Ford. But during the gala announcing their betrothal, events take a fatal turn when Adelynn experiences a vivid dream of a man dying with a knife buried in his chest. To her alarm, Baze and his men later discover the man exactly as she witnessed.

When Adelynn sees a second dream—a second victim—she tries to convince Baze that there are more sinister things at work. Choosing hard evidence over Adelynn's outrageous claims, Baze dismisses her and turns his attention to the location of the most recent crime, the Empress Theatre. Determined to uncover the truth of her visions, Adelynn investigates on her own. She infiltrates the theater and becomes spellbound by the charming spectacle of the resident magician.

As Baze wrestles with the decision to harden his heart or take action to protect the woman who means everything to him, Adelynn ventures further into the clutches of magic and murder. Can she keep her mind safe and draw the killer out of the shadows?

©2021 Jessica Sly (P)2022 Mountain Brook Ink

Refreshing and suspenseful

This is not the kind of book I would usually consume. However, it was very well done. It wonderfully depicts spiritual battle, the power of God, and the consequence of choice. The characters were so well done you’d think they were real. Even though it’s not my go to genre, I look forward to the next in the series.

4 of 5 stars Good but odd mix of genres

Specs:

· Title: The Promise of Deception

· Author: Jessica Sly

· Narrator: Lillian Rachel

· Run time: 11h and 37 min

· Genre: historical, thriller, Christian



Summary:

Adelynn Spencer gets visions of murders. Her fiancé, Baze Ford, is a Detective Inspector investigating the bizarre killings. (That much is in the description.)



Additional Comments:

· The book is an odd mixture of Christian and paranormal. Those aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, but it is surprising that it’s billed as thriller/suspense without one inkling of faith being a thing. I wouldn’t even bill it as thriller suspense at all. Historical is about the only genre it did fit. Mystery maybe. Mystery tends to range closer to paranormal stuff. Maybe even Paranormal Mystery or Christian Paranormal Mystery. (They probably did not bill it as that because I’m not sure that genre exists.)

· I happen to not mind the combination, but I can see that totally blindsiding one side or the other. (People in it for the ghost story, will be like what the heck is with this praying thing. People in it for the faith-based mystery will be like what’s with the random visions and limited inclusion of mind-based superpowers.)

· The characters were fine. Adelynn, besides her visions, isn’t particularly bright. She’s spirited as the back cover suggests. She’s likable to a point, but most of what she does is blunder around from one dangerous or compromising situation to the next. Her faith is her strongest point, so I’m glad that’s not lost in the shuffle.

· Baze is your typical exasperated fiancé.

· The controversy surrounding her engagement doesn’t quite seem to fit. Maybe I’m just not up on my upper crust Edwardian British society rulebook. (Her confusion and hesitation over the situation doesn’t make sense. Baze’s family issues too don’t make all that much sense.)

· The deep conspiracy stuff wasn’t fleshed out. It started great, then sort of fizzled.

· The background stuff with Adelynn’s family is well fleshed out in terms of the tie-in to the mystery, but the family needed a few more skeletons in the proverbial closest to make that angle (deep conspiracy) stick the landing.

· The animosity with Mr. Ford isn’t very well fleshed out.

· Characters are more reactive than proactive. (There’s no clever trying to outwit the baddie. They’re mostly just moving along to the bad guy’s tune, hoping to survive.)

· Side characters are decent. I like Emily as the supportive friend. Bennett too.

· Besides the opening scene party, there isn’t much of a display of wealth for these upper class Brits.

· There’s one twist I didn’t see coming. The rest, including the ultimate baddie, was very much predictable. It still worked fine in terms of satisfaction, but it’s a straightforward mystery.

· The narration is well handled. The only voice that didn’t resonate with me is the mysterious bad guy’s few sections. It was harder to hear those. Also, I played this at 2x speed. My usual is 1.7x, so delivery was slower than I’m used to. That’s surprising because most things with a British accent, I have to slow down for clarity.

· Who would like this book? People who like Edwardian Era stuff and don’t mind characters heavily relying on their Christian faith to make it through the day-to-day trials. (Had to look that up, it’s early 20th century England.)



Rating and Conclusion: 4 of 5 stars

It’s an enjoyable Christian paranormal mystery set in the early 1900’s Britain. So, if you like all those things, including the charming British accent, you should enjoy this one.


* I was given a free copy of the audiobook by either the author or narrator. I've freely chosen to review the story. All thoughts are my own.

Wasn’t what I was expecting

I thought it would be about magic and mayhem. And it did have that, but it was more about faith and prayer. I wasn’t expecting the religious aspect. Not really my cup of tea. But if you’re into prayer and stuff, you will probably enjoy the story.

The narrator did a good job.

I laughed, I cried, I gasped!

I thoroughly enjoyed this listen. The characters were very well developed; the plot line and the mystery were very interesting; and I can't wait to read the next one in the series. The reader also did an excellent job of all the accents and characters. Highly, highly recommend!

5 beautiful stars!

5 beautiful stars! The Promise of Deception is not only well-written but the story and the characters are captivating. I couldn’t wait to listen to this book every chance I had. I felt so many emotions as I listened. It was one of those books that you want to end so you find out what happens but at the same time you want it to go on forever. Highly recommend!