Taylor regrets having to leave the New Orleans DA's office, but her father makes it clear that it is time for her to leave her frivolous pursuits behind and come home to the family shipbuilding business where she belongs. Right before leaving, she picks up the case of the murder of Lisa Smithfield. She is asked by the busy NOPD to take the interview of the father of Lisa's child, Brandon Morrissey. The Morrissey name is familiar and that is because years ago, Brandon's grandfather was convicted of treason when he tried to sell the secrets of the boat that had been designed by Taylor's family company to the Nazis. This boat eventually became the landing craft on Normandy Beach on D-Day. Brandon is quickly cleared as a suspect, but it isn't long before Taylor and Brandon become embroiled in the controversy surrounding his grandfather when it is revealed that Lisa was doing her doctoral dissertation on the treason case.
Deceived was a very interesting romantic suspense that was balanced with just the right amount of both. The story behind the treason case that connected both characters was handled with just enough accurate historical detail to make it an enjoyable part of the read. My only minor complaint was some of the dialogue used during the love scenes, but this wasn't enough of an issue to withhold an enthusiastic recommendation. A really good read. ( )

Past and present involving something that happened during WWII collide in this suspenseful murder mystery. This debut author has her home state of Louisiana as the backdrop for this intricate web of lies that after all these years still has consequences on the 4 families that were involved.

The murder of a college student whose is a single mother starts the unraveling of a long held secret that someone is killing for. The backdrop is the 4 families that were involved in the making of a boat that was instrumental during the war. One of the 4 men was accused of treason and his family has suffered from that ever since. This story is about two of the children from those families.

Taylor Marlowe Bartholomew has a name she doesn’t want to live up to. Her father runs one of the famous shipping companies in New Orleans. Since birth her father has been grooming her to take her place by his side even though that’s the one place she doesn’t want to be. She loves her job as an assistance DA even knowing her father was just letting her bide her time until he said enough. One of the last cases she gets before she has to resign is the murder of the single mom.

Brandon Morrissey is the descendant of the man accused of treason. His life has not been an easy one but he’s fought his whole life to overcome that and is now a popular lawyer in New Orleans. He finds out shortly before the death of the college student that his short affair with her had produced a child that he didn’t know anything about until 2 weeks before her death. Now he is not only suddenly an instant father but also a person of interest in the murder.

From birth Taylor and Brandon have had preconceived notions about each other based on the history from WWII. Brandon has always felt his descendant was falsely accused and convicted and thinks Taylor is a spoiled princess who has had it easy. Brandon not only has a chip on his shoulder from the way his family was treated but he’s also closed himself off emotionally from losing the love of his life and their child a few years ago. Taylor at first thinks Brandon is trying to hide something and does her best to prove his alibi is false. But its not long before these two see that there is something more going on than just the random killing of a woman and that it looks too involved their families.

The author’s real life profession as a lawyer was evident throughout along with her love for her native New Orleans. This was a finely crafted written suspense that had us as readers clued in on some things but kept other’s close to the vest until the author was ready to reveal them. Overall this was a great debut suspense and I will be looking for future books from this author.
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