Deceit

by James Siegel

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of Derailed comes an explosive new thriller about a disgraced journalist who stumbles upon an unimaginable conspiracy--but will anyone believe him?Tom Valle was once a star... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446619094
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.1" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic ride

If the other reviewers are right and Siegel's prior work is even better, I can't wait to read those novels. Siegel kept me half a step behind every minute, as his narrator Tom Valle sought redemption and tried to figure out what had happened in the flooded town north of his home of exile. Characterization was terrific for everybody, the narrator was legitimately sympathetic and suspiciously unreliable to keep me wondering, and everyone in the story acted in ways that were completely believable. This is a fantastic story.

Page-Turner for Intelligent Thriller Readers (4.5 Stars)

If you enjoy formulaic thriller-by-numbers like those written by Baldacci, you might want to stay clear of this book. This book requires the reader to read 'out-of-the-box.' James Siegel's newest book careens along like an out-of-control roller coaster car, twisting in all directions, while never losing speed, yet somehow clinging to the tracks of its plot. The cleverness of the plot isn't totally revealed until the final pages, and though the ending is abrupt and not totally satisfying, it does fit with the rest of the novel. Siegel has delivered an intelligent thriller with an unlikely and flawed hero that will have readers turning pages well after they're supposed to be in bed. Just don't expect the expected!

IMPERFECT HERO - PERFECT NARRATION

Being on top and them tumbling to the bottom in disgrace can result in all kinds of emotions - fear, pain, embarrassment, anger and, for some, a determination to climb back up at any cost. The latter was the case with Tom Valle, a once respected and highly paid journalist. He'd had it all but once it was discovered that he had fabricated some 50 stories he's down to nothing. Nothing, that is, but a lowless job at a small news paper in Littleton, California, probably the only paper in the Western Hemisphere that would hire him. It seemed for a while that this was the end of the road for Tom until there was a head-on collision on a deserted highway that left one driver dead. Tom smells a story, maybe even a story big enough to redeem him. He begins to investigate and finds only one lie after another. Obviously, there's a cover-up. Tom is determined to discover the truth but he's alone in his search as he's already made up 50 stories too many. Voice performer Dylan Baker has numerous film and television roles to his credit as well as accolades for his audio book narrations. He is the voice of Tom, telling the story from his perspective, injecting appropriate doses of suspense as well as leaving listeners pulling for a pretty imperfect hero. - Gail Cooke

fine thriller

Reporter Tom Valle worked the big time until he got lazy and began making up his stories until he was caught; branded a cheat and liar, and his career died. He finds multitask-work at the Littleton Journal in Littleton, California, one hundred and fifty three miles from Los Angeles. Tom knows his chances of returning from the shunning and exile is slim as only an incredible story could make him acceptable again, but in Littleton there is nothing beyond the ordinary as he learned in his two years of banishment. Driver Dennis White of Iowa drifts across to the other side leading to a deadly crash; the other driver Edward Crannel of Ohio survives. At the Muhammad Alley bowling lanes, Tom obtains information about the deceased from the "medical examiner" including a castration shocker. Tom ponders the odds of a Hawkeye and a Buckeye crashing in the isolated California desert. Following up on what he learned at bowling, Tom finds out that Dennis White is alive in Iowa. The reporter makes further inquiries and begins to piece together a conspiracy that he cannot believe is real so why would anyone else accept the word of a defrocked journalist. Tom's hopes for a second chance for redemption make for a fine thriller as he has the story that could give it to him but his creditability is so negative that no one would believe him. The locals add humor and color as they accept Tom for what he is, an outcast who would never have found the town on a map; that is why the sheriff calls him Lucas (read to understand the reference). The fun story line is filled with twists and turns yet the audience ironically seems one step ahead of the reporter as Tom struggles with fact being weirder than his "short story" fictions that cost him his place at the top of pyramid. Harriet Klausner

Last chance for redemption

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (7/06) Do not make any other plans when you are reading "Deceit". You will not want to put this book down until you know the truth. Leading character Tom Valle has no credibility. He was once considered an outstanding newspaperman. That was until it was discovered that many of his reports were actually sensationalized fictional stories. Fifty-six stories to be exact. Now Tom has been put in a situation where he is following a fatal car accident story that is incredibly hard to believe. And because he has no credibility, nobody believes him. Of course there is a strange looking man that has been following him, assaulting him, shooting at him. Nobody has seen him either. Tom continues to investigate the fake car accident. He discovers that the players in the story are not who they appear to be. He discovers that the conspiracy dates all the way back to an incident that occurred in 1954. Siegel's writes so vividly that you feel like you are seeing, touching and smelling everything that is going on in the story. Siegel does not allow you to figure out the plot in advance. He keeps the story moving with enough twists and turns that you stay intrigued. I love it when an author has this gift. You also feel for Tom as he has to deal with the repercussions of his dishonesty. You learn enough about his childhood that you understand why he did what he did. Now he wants to make things right and set the record straight about this conspiracy. This is his chance for a final redemption. I highly recommend this book to conspiracy/suspense fans. You will enjoy the wild ride that this story takes you on. The fast paced action and sequencing of events will keep you hooked. If I hadn't been starving, I would have read it in one sitting, instead it took two. Eat first, shut off your phone, sit down and enjoy the ride.