The Final Deception

The Final Deception by Heather Graham New York Confidential #5 Coming into this series on book five shouldn’t have worked but it did. I have enjoyed this author’s work before and was happy to read a new-to-me book by her again. Craig Frasier is an FBI agent and his fiance sometimes does pysch consultations for the FBI. In this book Craig is still having nightmares about the tough case of THE FIREMAN and Kieran Finnegan, Craig’s fiance, has just interviewed The Fireman a little while before he escapes from prison. About the time he escapes another murder following the same modus operandi takes place and all of New York is soon intently watching the news to find out what will happen next. Is this a copycat murder or did The Fireman do it? In addition to the catch-him-if-you-can thread there is the ongoing romance between Craig and Kieran and if/when they will get married, the sibling support of the Finnegan family for one another, the police procedural aspects of solving the murder, the suspense of wondering who might be following Kieran and the question of Ruff the dog and where he will end up in the future. This was an interesting read that might have been more interesting had I come in on book one and read the four books preceding this one because I would have known the main and supporting characters better than I did going into book five. That said, I still knew them well enough to enjoy the story. What I liked: * Kieran: Smart, intuitive, puzzle solver, not clingy, a good sister and fiance and very likable * Craig: Intelligent, driven, keen to solve cases, not too clingy, a good boyfriend, dependable and bit hearted. * The relationship between Kieran and Craig – they were mature, knew what they wanted and allowed one another the independence and distance needed to accomplish the goals of their profession. * The Finnegan brothers – I am sure there is more to each and every one of them that I would love to know. * Ruff – a scrappy fellow that landed in clover * Following the threads that lead to the WHO and WHY of the murders * The twist or two at the end * The good thwarted evil What I did not like: * The psychotic puppet master and those he pulled the strings of Did I enjoy this book? Yes Would I read more in this series/by this author? Yes Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Harlequin-Mira for the ARC – This is my honest review. 4.5 Stars

It looks like I'm late to the game on this series, but this one is about a serial killer, so I had to check it out. I was a bit worried about being lost since I'm not familiar with the series, but I didn't have any problem at all figuring out the characters and their connections. As far as the Fireman - well, I'll just say that he is one twisted dude, but the story also has its share of twists to keep readers on their toes. The story is everything I expect from Heather Graham. It's well written with a good pace and a steadily rising tension. We get some great characters to connect with as well as a gripping mystery to solve. All in all, another winner from this author.