Carrie Stuart Parks steps away from her popular Gwen Marcey character in “Formula of Deception,” an action-packed psychological thriller you are not going to want to put down.
Murphy Andersen finds herself in Kodiak, Alaska, searching for her missing sister, who is allegedly the last victim of the Anchorage Serial Killer, Clinton Hunter.
To make ends meet, Murphy, who lies about being a forensic artist, is asked to come draw a memory a dying man has of a crime scene from 10 years ago, which takes her to the mysterious island of Ruuwaq.
As everyone near Murphy and this case, which reaches back to World War II, becomes either injured or dead, Murphy must determine whom she can trust, as not everyone is who they seem to be, and where she can turn for help. And does any of the mysteries that occur relate to her sister and her murderer?
“Formula of Deception” is a non-stop, heart-pumping psychological thriller that will leave you guessing at every turn of the page. Helping to move the plot along, Parks fills the story with great characters, like the very broken Murphy; the delightfully real crime lab technician Bertie; the hunky yet mysterious police officer Joshua; the enigmatic Stewart family, including the patriarch Denali who owns the Salmon Run Lodge, his adorable grandson Lucas, lovable dog Quinn, and intriguing housekeeper Olga; the journalist digging into the Stewarts’ past, Ryan; and Vesper, a woman willing to risk it all to help Murphy.
Parks does a great job of building up the storyline, without giving away the major shocker at the end. But she also fills her story with not just great suspense, but also with great historical lessons, particularly to do with World War II and Alaska’s role in the war. She also touches on scientific themes that deal with warfare and are crucial to the plot.
But besides being an amazing psychological thriller with a touch of historical fiction, “Formula of Deception” also offers many great lessons — determining whom we can trust; forgiveness, especially of ourselves; overcoming guilt; and the fact that we each have gifts and must decide how we will use them. Two major themes deal with the fact that we all have scars, but all scars heal, no matter how deep; and we should all rise above ourselves and strive to help each other as we never know when we might be helping angels (see Hebrews 13:2).
Fans of authors like Lynette Eason, Lisa Harris and Patricia Bradley will love this book.
I don’t know if this is intended to be a standalone novel, but I sure hope not. I’d love to return to Alaska and Murphy’s story.
Five stars out of five.
Thomas Nelson provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.