Book Review: Sins of Deception

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Sins of Deception     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Valerie Wilcox
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Sailing
Series: Kellie Montgomery # 3
Berkley, Jun 2000, $5.99, 271 pp.

When Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes sang about Bad Luck, they must have had Kelly in mind. When her husband died of a brain tumor, she sold her suburban home, left her suburban job and moved onto a sailboat. She began teaching sailing classes at Larstad’s Marina. Meanwhile, her beloved adopted daughter is searching for her biological parents in New Mexico. Her boy friend makes her heart beat faster.

However, all these problems seem inconsequential after Kelly takes out a charter boat consisting of old friends and neighbors, Paul and Sharon Crenshaw, Martin Petrowski, and his son. When they return to shore, Customs detains the group because there is a warrant out for Paul’s arrest. The police accuse him of killing a prostitute who was murdered on Paul’s yacht. Paul denies knowing the victim and insists the yacht is not his. His father-in-law makes bail, but freedom is short-lived as someone kills his wife with the same MO as the hooker. Paul vanishes. Kelly believes Paul is innocent begins and sleuthing, which leads her into perilous situations.

The joy of sailing with its accompanied freedom highlights Valerie Wilcox’s engaging mystery. Although most people will not try to solve a homicide case, the heroine of SINS OF DECEPTION makes her efforts feel believable. The readers will know the identity of the villain early in the plot but that actually enhances the enjoyment of the story as the audience tries to figure out the why behind the murder. This is an entertaining amateur sleuth novel.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner