Deception

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Even as he watches her being led to jail in handcuffs, Lachlan Harriot refuses to believe his wife, Susie, is guilty of murder. Yes, as his court-appointed psychologist, Susie worked closely with Andrew Gow, the paroled serial killer. And yes, she was found covered in blood near the spot where authorities discovered the bodies of Gow and his new wife, Donna. Still: Susie is no killer, Lachlan thinks. She's my wife. She's our child's mother. Together, he believes, they've built the ideal life: lovely home, adored young daughter, every outward sign of emotional and material well-being." But secrets lurk behind closed doors, a dark truth made chillingly clear when, frantic to clear Susie's name, Lachlan searches her home office for proof of her innocence. In one small room he discovers an entire secret history; transcripts of private conversations, photographs, and letters betraying illicit affairs and false identities, all utterly unimaginable to Lachlan. For the first time, he is forced to question the nature of his seemingly happy marriage, the virtue of the bright young girl he married, and the possible malice of the woman she has become. Still, there is one off note, one loop he can't close. Desperate for answers, Lachlan follows an increasingly disturbing trial of clues.

FROM THE CRITICS

Patrick Anderson - The Washington Post

… Mina's novel is a smart example of the crime novel as postmodern puzzle, a work that coolly offers to match wits with the unwary reader and is not likely to lose the game.

Marilyn Stasio - The New York Times

In her new novel, set in the comfortable professional household of a prison psychiatrist who treats the damaged goods of the no-hope slums, Mina executes a stunning shift in style and tone to come up with an entirely different perspective on her recurring theme -- that domestic dysfunction breeds criminal violence.

Publishers Weekly

When psychiatrist Susie Harriott is convicted of murdering Glasgow serial killer Andrew Gow, her husband, Lachlan, embarks on a frantic search for material that may help with her appeal. But in going through her files, he finds layer upon layer of nasty secrets... or does he? Lachlan's diaries tell the dark and complicated story, claiming, variously, both absolute fact and deliberate fantasy. In medical school when he met Susie, Lachlan gave up his day job to be a house husband and dream of being a writer after the birth of their daughter, Margie, now a toddler. Deception (and self-deception) abounds, including the inevitable dalliance between Lachie and the au pair, Yeni, who shares her employer's primal hunger for sticky childhood candies. But it's voice, not event, that grabs hold of the reader and won't let go. Lachlan Harriott immerses us in his obsessions; like Nabokov's Humbert Humbert, he repels and commands sympathy in the same instant. He is a charming, comic, intelligent narrator-and a man who might happily see his wife rot in prison, not for murder, but for the greater sin of rejecting him. Susie herself is seen as if through a long lens that can barely contain her beautiful, sorrowful image; what she did or didn't do is less compelling than what her husband reveals (or invents) about himself in his new life after her conviction. Mystery lovers have lately been looking to Scotland, in part because of Mina's fast-growing reputation; this stunning new work can only bolster the trend. Agent, Henry Dunow. (Aug.) Forecast: A five-city tour and a blurb from George Pelecanos should help introduce Mina to a wider U.S. audience. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Truth is seldom more elusive than in this first standalone novel by Mina (Resolution). A 30-year-old forensic psychiatrist newly sacked from Sunnyfields State Mental Hospital, Susan Harriot is convicted of murdering her former patient, serial killer Andrew Gow, in the same manner in which he mutilated his victims. Convinced of her innocence, her husband, Lachlan, searches Susie's secret study for evidence for her appeal. But his devotion wanes as he uncovers Susie's lies and her inordinate interest in Gow (released after two similar murders were committed) and his bride, Donna, whose blood was found by Gow's body. Lachlan may be feckless in Susie's eyes, but he's relentless in searching for answers that lead to a surprising climax. Mina shows mastery in developing characters and gradually unfolding their stories, especially within the narrative structure of Lachlan's computer diary, which, with transcripts and reports, further blurs the lines between what is true and what is not. Previously released in Britain as Sanctum, this dark tale with flashes of humor may not be the author's best work, but it should win her new fans. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/04.]-Michele Leber, Arlington, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews