Still recovering from her brother’s murder, Detective Tess Richards transfers out of Homicide…only to find herself in the center of a deadly undercover operation.
When a young woman is found dead after a hit-and-run, all evidence points to Everchange, a high-profile self-help organization renowned for attracting rich and famous members.
As Tess leaves Homicide to take a job within the Seattle … Seattle Intelligence Unit, she is quickly sent undercover into the Everchange castle on Whidbey Island. What she finds is not what she expected. Surrounded by celebrities and feel-good teachings, Tess has trouble discerning between truth and deception.
Detective Blake Stephenson’s investigation of the Everchange hit-and-run uncovers evidence of their cult-like connection to murder and human trafficking. Embedded in the castle, Tess confronts Everchange’s leader, Colton Everett, who is not only charming and strikingly attractive, but he and Tess have a history.
As Blake links more deaths to the organization, he works to arrange a rescue mission to help Tess escape. While inside, Tess witnesses the death of a member and fights to untangle Everchange’s web of lies—before her cover is blown with fatal consequences.
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This review is for the audio book.
I really enjoyed this book. The author manages to grab your attention with the first sentence and you have no clue were you are going to end up until it lets you go with the final words. I love the characters, especially Tess one of the main characters as she is tough and determined but at the same time vulnerable and hurting. This makes the character more human and carries the story on from the previous books (all which I have heard and loved). It is not necessary to have listened to the previous books in the series as other than her brother being dead past cases are not mentioned. However I enjoyed this book so much it has me feeling like I want to re listen to the books to remind myself what happen.The story is told by the two main characters Tess and her husband Blake, as they tackle the same case from different angles. I like how the author has gone with both a male and female narrator. There are a few twists in the story and even though there is not a big suspect pool it does keep you hooked and guessing. Definitely an author I add to my must listen/read pile when ever she has a new book out.
Tess is still grieving over the death of her brother and every day as a homicide cop is a struggle because everything brings back images of his murder. So when she gets an offer to transfer departments she takes it with out discussing with her new husband. Her first assignment is to go in under cover at Everchange, a cult that the police believe are running a sex trafficking ring. Tess had been out on a date with Colton Everett and despite them knowing she is a cop they believe she is the way in to find out what is going on behind closed door. At the same time her husband Blake is investigating a hit and run death. The girl had connections to Everchange. She gave up her modelling career and broke all contact with her sister (her only living relative) to join the group but with high walls and arm guards guarding the mansion it will be difficult to find answers. If only they had a way in……the problem is the hit and run accident wasn’t the first death connected to the group and with Tess in side with out any back up she could very well be the next homicide Blake has to investigate.
As I said I liked the use of the two narrators it added a little something to the story and you had no problems with knowing who was leading that part of the investigation. In fact I wish more authors would do it this way. Both spoke clearly and was good with the different voices of the characters.
Homicide detective Tess Richards is having a difficult time dealing with her brother’s murder every time she is at a murder scene. She decides to take a job with the intelligence unit to go under cover at Everchange. Rumors of murder, sex trafficking, and being held against their will at Everchange. This novel captures your interest from the beginning. An exciting conclusion to the story line.
This is the fifth book in the Emerald City Thriller series. This is another great addition to the series. Tess and Blake’s story is suspenseful, emotional, and intricate, filled with danger, and twists and turns. This is a great mystery thriller. Marcio Catalano and Veronica Pace did an amazing job with the narration. I highly recommend this series. Looking forward to listening to more books written by Audrey J. Cole.
I kept picturing this on the big screen! The action keeps building.
Fatal Deception
(Emerald City Thriller Book 5)
by Audrey J. Cole
Fatal Deception is Emerald City series book 5, a mystery/thriller. An amazing story with a terrific plot full of chills, intriguing mysteries, excitement, action, and few surprises; that will grab the reader from the first page and continues to build more intrigue and suspense up to the last page. Fatal Deception is well written and is an absolutely riveting book, while each book can be read and enjoyed, as a standalone they work better as part of the series.
Author Ms. Audrey has created a series with wonderful characters; each has become more evolved throughout the series, capturing the characters experiences expertly. Ms. Audrey has a clever vision for building the spooky factor within her books, and blends in the sub-plots into her stories seamlessly, making her book and series very addictive.
I loved Fatal Deception, thank you Ms. Audrey J. Cole for this awesome read. It was such a pleasure to read, that I could not put the book down and I am eager to see what the Ms. Audrey has in store for her readers and characters in the next book. I highly recommend Fatal Deception to anyone who likes a good mystery thriller, also the other books in the Emerald City Thriller series. I am honored to have the opportunity to read this book, by the author for my honest thoughts and feelings about the book, each is receiving a 5-star rating. Well done.
Fatal Deception (Emerald City Thriller #5) was another great read by Audrey J. Cole. Detective Tess Richards is still recovering from her brothers murder. She decides to transfer out of Homicide, but ends up quickly in the center of a deadly undercover operation. A young woman is found dead after a hit-and-run, and it points at Everchange, a high-profile self-help organization. Tess is sent undercover into the Everchange castle while working for the Seattle Intelligence Unit. Tess has trouble discerning between truth and deception. Blake continues to investigate the hit-and-run and starts uncovering lots of evidence of murder and human trafficking. I enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more by the author.
This fifth book in the Emerald City Thriller series by Audrey J Cole was a fast moving and intense detective story combined with plenty of suspense and adventure too. The main character Tess was flawed which helped make her extremely relatable to the reader. The premise of the story was also relatable as it dealt with a cult aspect that also involved murder, extortion, and even sexual servitude. The storyline moved along smoothly from start to finish with good balance between action and suspense. I look forward to adding other books in this series to my TBR file. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Hidden Gems Books.
4+*ARC Review – Great addition to detective series
I was first introduced to this author and series through the Hidden Gems ARC program. Although I have read the series in order, I do not think you necessarily need to read prior books to enjoy this one. It is impressive how this author comes up with some unique crimes that are investigated by this group of police detectives.
In this story, Tess Richards is a detective who is still recovering from the murder of her brother and looking at issues she is having with continuing her career with the homicide division in Seattle. She is approached about an opening with the intelligence division and it gives her a good reason to leave homicide. At the same time, this might be an issue with her new husband, fellow homicide Detective Blake Stephenson. His recent case is a young girl whose body was left in a dumpster and it appears she was most recently in a retreat with an organization called EverChange.
While at the same time, the Intelligence Unit decides that Tess is the right person to send undercover with the EverChange organization because of her past connections. They have a complex on an island off the coast of Washington and Tess is sent in to see what kind of information she can get that will allow the police to make their case. The group is cult like and there are some strange practices that keep these women obediently in the compound. The investigation into this organization is peculiar and keeps you reading to see what happens to Tess as it plays out. There is plenty of action and suspense as the story unfolds.
Crime thrillers are particularly intriguing when you have a likable main character, such as Tess in this series. This one is the fifth in the series, and while you don’t have to read all the previous books, they do give a better picture of Tess and her character development as the series progresses. Fatal Deception was intriguing and exciting! I love trying to figure out whodunit and how the heroine saves the day.
Intriguing story with edge of the seat twists and turns and emotions. Full of action and suspense – scary at times. Characters and plot are so realistic that it will feel like you are right there with them. If you love reading thrillers and suspense, you should definitely check this story and author out. Worth more that a 5 star rating.
I really enjoyed reading this thriller with so many plots and different personal interests running parallel to each other. There is betrayal, crime, revenge, hate and most of all a lot of intrigue and investigation. It’s an easy to read story but you have to pay attention as there are quite a few characters and they are all interlaced. Amazing entertainment!
I donwloaded a free copy of this books through Hidden Gems and this is my honest review.
this is a first time author for me and a different genre too. its a suspense thriller. Even though it has a base around sex trafficking, it has little to none sexual content. so if you want a book with intrigue, twisted plots, suspense without the darkness this is your book. i love the dark and twisted so this was a surprise for me. i really enjoyed it. i got into the characters and wanted to see what the outcome would be. i found it a little odd that Tess’s husband, also a detective was mostly referred to by his last name throughout the book. it almost felt third person-ish. other than that i was a good story.
Could not put it down. It was non-stop action from the beginning to end. Great characters that were well developed and added to the story. This was the first book I have read in this series but going to try to read the rest.
Fatal Deception is the 5th book in the Emerald City Thriller Series. It is full of action and suspense. Tess and Blake are secretly married and she takes a job with Intelligence Unit after anxiety attacks stemming from her brother’s murder make it hard for her to continue working in the Homicide Unit. Blake is working the homicide of a young woman involved with a self help group/cult with rich and famous members. Tess’ first assignment is to go undercover in the cult. She had attended some meetings in the past and even went on a date with the leader. Blake worries about her safety and Tess is in definite danger if they discover her true purpose. This author had me on the edge of my seat and I read way past my bedtime so I could finish. I’ve only read one other book in this collection and had no problem if this is your first book to read.
Detective Tess Richards takes a new job without informing her husband Detective Blake Stephenson. Tess is having a hard time dealing with the death of her brother a while back and thinks a change will be good for her. Why she doesn’t tell her husband about her new job she is not sure.
Tess’s new job takes her undercover inside a self-help organization, Everchange. A girl is found dead on the street. Her death leads to Everchange. Tess goes undercover as a member of Everchange. Everchange helps people who are dealing with loss.
Everchange has a lot of secrets behind its closed doors. People are dying to get out. If Tess is ever discovered by Everchange then she probably won’t make it out alive. Tess’s husband Blake is trying to find out who killed the girl that leads back to Everchange before the ones in charge finds out why Tess is truly there.
Fatal Deception starts out with a bang and never lets up. It has lots of secrets within its pages. It is filled with action from the first page that keeps the pages rolling. The suspense alone is enough to keep you glued to the pages.
You know whenever I pick up one of the Emerald City Thriller novels then I am hooked right away and I am unable to put it down until I have read the last page. Even now I am anxiously awaiting the next book in this world and to see where Tess and Blake go next. Where will future investigations take them.
I highly recommend Fatal Deception to anyone who likes a good mystery thriller. One click your copy of Fatal Deception today! Be sure to check out the other books in the Emerald City Thriller series.
Wow, another winner in the Detective Tess Richards series. This novel is written as if author Cole is just getting started with no visible fatigue for her titular character. The story was absolutely riveting, bouncing along fast with one revelation after another. The subject may be dark, but the book isn’t remotely…it’s an easy read for most ages and likes.
I loved the side characters of Stevenson and Mills. These detectives had no traces of those tired police cliches. They worked hard and followed clues that made sense. There were no sudden aha moments…only legit police work.
And let’s talk about the premise and the women in the cult like group. Can you say creep factor 10? You read and you think, this could never happen in real life! I would never succumb to a cult! But there’s a reason cults can be so successful, and author Cole taps right into the biggest one with Detective Richards: feeling lost after losing a loved one. Even as she investigates, she questions herself. Why does this feel right? This gives a chilling realism to a startling mystery.
This book just zipped along and before I knew it, it was the end. Author Cole really knows these characters so well that they feel like close friends. It was such a pleasure reading a book that seems like it was a joy to write.
Part of a series, but works as a standalone too! I recommend the series just because I loved them and got invested in the characters. Great action. lots of drama and suspense. The best one so far! Read it you won’t be sorry.