Prime Deception by Carys Jones

Release Date: April 7, 2014
Publisher: Carina UK

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Falling in love can be a dangerous thing, especially when it involves someone important. The night before she was to reveal her forbidden affair to the reporter of one's of the nation's biggest tabloid newspapers, John Quinn, a tragic car accident claimed the life of Lorna Thomas. Much to John's dismay, the story that could have made him a star reporter died with her - until her sister came to London looking for answers.

Laurie Thomas knew her sister better than most ever would. With death of her twin looming over her, Laurie set out to find the answers behind the so-called accident. She moved to London, began exploring her sister's last moments and enlisted the help of the very man involved in the secret affair. Will Laurie be able to process the truth behind the actions? Will she suffer the same fate as her sister for digging too deep?

Review:
Having received a request from the author to read and give an honest, fair review, I was more than happy to download a copy from NetGalley. The premise of the book fell into one of my favorite categories - Mystery. Right away there's a huge story about to break within the UK about a Deputy Prime Minister and his illicit affair. Initially I thought the book was going to focus on the reporter as he uncovered the truth about the affair and what happened to the players. Instead the twin sister became one of the main characters in which the story followed. The other was Charles, the Deputy Prime Minister, himself.

Given the details that the author included about Charles, it was easy to believe that a man in his position could find himself disenchanted by the pressures and scrutiny of political life. While his wife and other secondary characters reveled in the perks of being part of the elite, he seemed more down-to-earth and homey in ways. Laurie, the twin, was the complete opposite of everything Charles knew about Lorna. It showed well in the pages where she was the focus in the story. There was plenty of good description and exploration of the secondary characters such as Elaine, wife of Charles; Faye, his assistant; and Henry, the driver. However, I thought that Arthur, Laurie's boyfriend, needed to have some of his background explored earlier in the book. It was a little jarring to know so much about him so late in the game.

The book started off well, in my opinion. I was a little taken aback that the story shifted gears so soon after the beginning and went into a different direction than I expected. I truly thought the reporter and the twin sister would be on the hunt and found it entertaining that the ex-lover was driven to investigate instead. I found plenty of action within the pages of this book. In all honesty, there were a couple of times where I found some of the conversations and descriptions to be a little much, but they really didn't impact the story in a negative way for me. There were a few twists that I wasn't expecting, so I would have to say that the author did a good job of keeping me interested until the very end of the book.

Overall, I did enjoy this book more than I anticipated after getting past the first couple of chapters. Plenty of ups and downs to follow through to the end, I was hoping that we'd know the truth behind the death of Lorna. Thankfully the answers are given - though I won't say because SPOILERS! I think the best part of the book for me was the fact that we really got to know more about Charles than anything else. It's not an easy task to bring a character to life when it's the opposite of you, the author. I felt for him when it was all said and done. I do recommend this book to those of you that enjoy mysteries with a dash of romance mixed with a hint of thriller.

Prime Deception by Carys Jones is currently available for purchase at many online retailers in Kindle or digital format. Clicking the link below to visit the book's Amazon page.
Prime Deception by Carys Jones