Deadly Deception is the second book in the trilogy and secondary characters Frankie Douglas and Lane Hansen from Deadly Offerings are the protagonists in this story. The author provides enough of the back story from book one for readers to learn about the history between Frankie and Lane without necessarily having to read the first book in the trilogy. Of course the read is much more satisfying if you read all of the books in order.

Frankie and Lane have spent one passionate night together, but his actions toward Frankie afterwards lead her to believe she was just a one-night stand. However, six months later, Lane still can’t stop thinking about Frankie and wants to have a second chance with her. Unfortunately, Frankie is unwilling to forgive Lane and does her best to avoid him.

Frankie is a private investigator, and, with her military and police training, she proves she is more than capable of taking care of herself working in this field. Lane has recently made detective and when a young woman is found murdered, Lane becomes the lead detective in his first major case. His investigation leads him to suspect a corrupt adoption agency is involved in the murder.As a way to spend more time with Frankie, he talks her into going undercover with him as husband and wife to find the murderer.

While some aspects of the story are predictable, I found this easy to overlook because of the ongoing mystery and suspense that grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let up until the end. I also liked that, unlike with some murder mysteries, the author spends time humanizing the victims, so readers can’t help but care about the outcome of their circumstances.

The sexual tension between Frankie and Lane really spices up the story, and even if Frankie can forgive Lane, their working together poses an obstacle, since workplace romances are heavily discouraged.
This mystery behind the murders does reach a resolution without a cliffhanger that carries over to the third book, but the author entices readers to continue with Deadly Relations, which features the story behind two characters that play a role in this second book. ( )