I don’t think the Washington Post Book World reviewer and I read the same book. He trashed it. I loved it. I guess the saying "different strokes for different folks" applies.

Lieutenant Lou Boldt works in the Seattle Police Department. Daphne Matthews is the department’s psychologist as well as a Sargeant. Years before Lou and Daphne had an affair. Lou is married and the affair is over. Lou’s wife is recovering from cancer.

Mary Ann Walker is found dead. It is believed she either jumped or was pushed off the Aurora Bridge. When Daphne is called to the scene, she is surprised to find King County Deputy Sheriff Nathan Prair on the scene. Some time before he had been one of her patients. He’d been in counseling following a shooting. She had passed him off to a civilian colleague of hers when he’d professed he lover her. She couldn’t figure out why he was at this crime scene.

Daphne meets Mary Ann’s brother, Ferrell Walker. He works at Fisherman’s Terminal cleaning fish. Previously he and his sister had a fishing boat with their father. Their dad accidentally drowned and they eventually lost the boat.

Ferrell keeps trying to help with the investigation. Is he truly trying to help? Daphne can’t decide.

Sargeant John LaMoia is working this case with Daphne. Things begin to heat up between them. He works under Lou Boldt. Lou and Daphne had previous confronted John with his addiction to Oxy Contin. He got help and is clean.

Daphne also volunteers time at the local shelter. She befriends Maragaret who is a 17 year old pregnant Methadone Addict. Daphne tries to help her and tries to get her to call her grandparents. She writes her phone number on Margaret’s arm in permanent marker. She’s to call Daphne day or night if she needs anything.

Through various activities, Daphne gets deeper and deeper into this investigation. She ends up putting herself in danger.

Lou is consumed by the 2 missing women. Susan Hebringer, the mother of his daughter’s ballet friend, and Patricia Randolf.

He talks to Mama Lu who runs the Seattle Asian economy. She requests that he look into the death of Billy Chen, his mother is sister to her cousin’s husband. He drowned in a sink hole on Third Avenue. Lou begins to realize this may have something to do with the Underground of Seattle -- where the old city is. The city was rebuilt above it. He hooks up with Dr. Sandra Babcock who is a tenured Professor of Archaeology and an expert on the Underground of Seattle.

Then Melissa Dunkin, a business woman/tourist, sees a man peeping at her in the bathtub in her hotel room. He is at a construction site across the street.

> From here, things move fast and furious as they begin to solve these intertwined crimes.

This book is another in a GREAT series by Ridley Pearson. You feel like you really know Lou, Daphne and John and are right there with them from page one. His descriptions of the Seattle area are especially dear to me as I am from a town near there originally.

I highly recommend this book and the rest of his series. Looking forward to the next one!

THE ART OF DECEPTION By: Ridley Pearson

Books By: Ridley Pearson including THE ART OF DECEPTION

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