Book Review & Excerpt | The Final Deception by Heather Graham

Book Description

Witness the thrilling conclusion to the beloved New York Confidential series, in THE FINAL DECEPTION (MIRA Books; March 31, 2020; $26.99). Kieran and Craig are about to take on their most chilling case yet as they hunt for a deranged serial killer who has escaped from prison to satisfy his need to kill again.

When criminal psychologist Kieran Finnegan was released from her responsibility of counseling the brutal serial killer known as The Fireman, once he was incarcerated, she was relieved to escape the tendrils of his twisted inner world. The chill she received from her sessions with him has stayed with her despite trying to leave him in the past. However, some demons refuse to remain behind bars. When her FBI agent boyfriend Craig is called to a gruesome crime scene that matches The Fireman’s MO, news begins to spread that he’s escaped from prison.

And he remembers Kieran…

Amid a citywide manhunt, Kieran and Craig need to untangle a web of deceit, privilege, and greed. They suspect that those closest to the killer have been drawn into his evil, or else someone is using another man’s madness and cruelty to disguise their crimes. When their investigation brings the danger right to the doorstep to the once safe haven of Finnegan’s Pub, Kieran and Craig will have to be smarter and bolder than ever before, because this time it’s personal, and they have everything to lose.

My Review

How Tessa Talks about this Book: Raves

The Final Deception is the perfect blend of action-packed thrills, professional investigations, and criminally insane creepiness with a delightful touch of amateur whimsy.  The story checks all the boxes you can have or want in a thriller,  while heartwarming family moments and steamy romantic scenes add a few more reasons to love this story and series.  I was engrossed from page 1 and found that the pages quickly turned until the story came to an end.

Favorite Character – Kieran Finnegan

Redheads have to stick together, right?  I do find I am drawn to female leads who have red hair, as I do, so I’m going to say a loud, “Yes!” to that.  She’s a criminal psychologist who is engaged to an FBI agent, and within all this professional crime-fighting, she still manages to find herself in precarious situations.  With a shrug of her shoulders and a smile on her lips, she shows complete innocence about how she ends up in the middle of the danger.  I can never resist that fun happenstance character.

What I Love

The murderer is the type of creepy that makes my blood run cold.  A man who believes that God is telling him who to kill – fanaticism at it’s utmost worst.  He’s creepy, on the loose, and makes the goosebumps rise on more than one occasion.

I loved that among all the serious crime-fighting, there is still time for quirky fun.  Between Kieran being Kieran, a new dog in the mix, and a family of protective Irish brothers, there are bits of subtle fun that gives you a delightful break from the goosebumps.

I love it when a book pulls me in and doesn’t let go until I have tried four, five, or six times to go past the last page.  The Final Deception is one of those books.  I wanted more of it all – the action, the mystery, the family – it all works together to create a story that gives the reader all the thrills and all the feels you could want in a story.

The characters are all delightfully well-developed with reasons to connect to each on a personal level.  I truly loved them all and saw the hero potential in every one that surrounds the main characters.  The mystery concludes in conventional and somewhat surprising ways for those that love the surprise of a twist at the end.  And, the relationships will make you stand up and cheer by the end of the story.

What I Wish

I wish that I had the time to read the previous four books in the series right now.  They will be read, but I want to read them now.

To Read or Not to Read

This is a book full of thrills and unexpected charm that should be on the screen – tv or movie. I can’t even imagine a reason why a lover of thrillers would want to miss out on the latest installment of the New York Confidential series.

About the Author

Heather Graham is The New York Times and USA Today best-selling author sold her first book, When Next We Love, in 1982 and since then, she has written over two hundred novels and novellas with about 60 million books in print in categories of romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. Graham earned high praise for her New York Confidential series, including a starred review from Library Journal which called it, “Intricate, fast-paced, and intense, this riveting thriller blends romance and suspense in perfect combination and keeps readers guessing and the tension taut until the very end.” For more information, visit her at TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com.