Art of Deception by Cara C. Putman Series: Secrets to Keep #0.5
Published by Cara Putman on September 8, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Christian / Romance / Suspense, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Amateur Sleuth, Fiction / Romance / Clean & Wholesome
Pages: 204
Format: eBook
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8 years ago she ran to safety. Now Charlotte Montgomery's past has caught up with her.
Charlotte Montgomery was forced to leave everything behind to shield her son from a dangerous life. As an artist, she's built a new world of safety and security for them both, far from the shadows that once haunted her. But the peace she's fought so hard to maintain is shattered when her past comes crashing back.
The Italian crime family she escaped from has reappeared, determined to pull her back into their web of deceit and crime. This time, they want her to participate in their money-laundering scheme-and they won't take no for an answer. But Charlotte has other plans. She's willing to play along, but only to bring down the ex who tore her life apart.
Enter Thayer Jackson, an accountant who's been approached by the FBI to help trace money connected to the same crime family. Drawn into the dangerous game Charlotte is playing, Thayer becomes both an ally and a complication. As they work together, the line between duty and desire blurs, and the stakes grow higher.
As her worlds collide, Charlotte must navigate a deadly game where the risks are greater than ever. With everything she's built on the line, it's a race to survive-and this time, she's not fighting alone.
The exciting prequel to The Vanished.
Christian Fiction Reading Challenge book for August is the third in the Secrets to Keep series, so you know how that goes, and here we are with the prequel to the series. It’s like if reading was Pokemon; gotta read them all! And here’s the deal: I love Cara Putman. The suspense, the intrigue draw me in. The side of romance . . . it is what it is. This is my 8th book of hers just this year. And that’s why it kills me to write this review. The book had great premise, I was hooked in from the synopsis, but there’s some things I just can’t overlook.
Now, I read this ebook through Hoopla, so I can’t help but think they got a bad copy? Here’s why I say that. There were so many typos, mixed-up names (Marie becomes Maria, just an example), and loose threads that it’s almost like a rough draft is half edited and then accidentally sent for publication instead of saved. I’ve seen cleaner copies of ARCs. Let’s talk loose threads. There are things that Charlotte/Marie thinks, feels, or is part of her history that we know, but she never shares; then randomly the FBI knows these things? Without any loops closed before the end. There are some motivations of different threads that are never really explained, so you don’t really come to know or understand the reasons why. For example, Charlotte/Marie historically was tasked with copying the master arts of history. The FBI wants her to be asked to create for them, but why? Is it a trap? I need to understand the why there and never ever get it. One small example of a much larger group of questions I ended with.
Believability. There was such a lack of believability in all the things. Kidnapping by the bad guys with no safeguards to protect themselves, like don’t take her phone, just let her go without tracking her? The FBI involved and trying to protect her, but no safeguards there as well? It felt like no one had a procedure, and it was a free-for-all. The romance, you know my favorite part, was flat and awkward. Not believable. And the faith elements, something Putman has historically done well for me, felt forced and awkward with almost no context. I so wanted to love this book as I have every other Putman book I’ve read, but it fell flat with a complete lack of context, cohesiveness, and believability. Sad face here.
About Cara C. Putman
Since the time I could read Nancy Drew, I have wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 I attended a book signing at my local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, is history. There I met Colleen Coble. With prompting from my husband, I shared my dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, I’ve been writing books.
In addition to writing, I am an attorney, lecturer at a Big Ten university, active in women’s ministry, and all around crazy woman. Crazy about God, my husband and my kids. I graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School (JD), and Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management (MBA). You can learn more about my books at https://www.caraputman.com.
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