CLUB DECEPTION by Sarah Skilton

Publisher:   Grand Central

Published:  July 25, 2017

ISBN:        978-1455597017
Genre:       Women’s Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Romantic Suspense
Format:     Print
Obtained via:  Publisher  
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

FIVE HEARTS

 

Claire and Jonathan Fredericksson are the king and queen of CLUB DECEPTION, a secret and very exclusive society of magicians.  While Jonathan a most superior magician, Claire is the defacto ruler of the WAGs – wives (or widows) and girlfriends of the magicians and…the power behind Jonathan’s throne. After over twenty years of marriage they are a model couple….or are they?

Cal and Jessica are madly in love.  Newlyweds, with Jessica on his arm, Cal is ready to return to Club Deception and his career as a magician.  He is on the brink of stardom with a TV show about to premier.  They have it all….or do they?

Kaimae and Landon are, in a manner of speaking, running from their pasts.  Can the illusions of Club Deception save them from themselves? 

 
Three couples…all with their lives entwined with each other…three men vying for Magician of the Year with their women plotting and planned to help them get the prize. And while magic reins within the walls of Club Deception, perhaps the greatest illusions are those of the friendships of these three women.

O

M

 
G.

What a fantastic read!  CLUB DECEPTION by Sarah Skilton takes you behind the scenes and into the lives of the men and women of the magic community. 

I was drawn to reading CLUB DECEPTION because of a really happy memory – years ago I worked for a gentleman who was a magician member of the Magic Castle in Los Angeles and was fortunate enough that he took me to one of the performances.  While he’d do some magic tricks for me at work, the show was incredible.  The promo materials for CLUB DECEPTION reminded me of that time and I just had to read it. 

CLUB DECEPTION is billed as a romantic suspense—but it is much more.  There’s an element of women’s fiction, a mystery, a taste of a psychological thriller and layers of romance.  There is something for everyone—men and women alike.  At times Skilton’s writing reminded me a bit of Hammett.  Even though the story takes place in Los Angeles, it lends itself to the illusion of fog with the layers of secrets that are revealed throughout the story.  It moves along at a sedate pace, taking you into the lives of each character and draws you in deeper and deeper as their lives are entwined with each of the others. The beginning when we first meet Claire, she reminded me of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.  As the story unfolds she appears strong, then mean, then manipulative, then vulnerable. The ending reveals an entirely different person than the one you meet at the beginning…leaving you to wonder which is real and which is the illusion.

If you are looking for a great, can’t-put-down beach read this summer, CLUB DECEPTION should top your list.  It’s definitely one to top your TBR. 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.