Ever read a book that affects you at a deep level? I mean more than entertainment or tugging at your heartstrings? Deceoption does.

Ollie is a real character who struggles with the events happening on earth because we live in a fallen world. I admit, I've struggled with some of those same questions. Why didn't God step in a stop the baby from dying, why is my mom dead when a child killer still lives? Why? And, Ollie tries to numb the pain of his everyday torment with alcohol. Although I don't do that, I do, on occasion have a bit more sedative food than I should, to sort of lure me into a forgetting mode. But, all is not lost for Ollie, or me, or you. And, two characters from previous books in this series - Jake and Clarence try to explain the great love and sacrifice of our God who isn't sitting in a far off corner twidling his thumbs, but involved in our everyday lifes, patiently waiting for the time when he can be with his created beings on the new earth (Revelation 2:7)

Maybe it is because I'm reading his Heaven book too....and the two sort of blend that I am so changed by the book. Maybe it is because the Holy Spirit moved Mr. Alcron in a manner that his words would reach the bottom of our hearts and begin to apply a healing balm.

Anyway..even if you're not into the police pocedural mysteries, you auhta read this one. It's an eyeopener and a must read if you're into intricate plots and great characters and if you ask the big 'what if' questions about life.

I cannot wait to get more copies to give my family.

I found Alcorn when I moved into an office and someone left a copy of "Dominion" on the bookshelf. Since then I've read at least a dozen of his books and recommended them to many others.
"Deception" is an excellent example of a tongue in cheek hard boiled detective story where nothing is quite what it seems, but it's not so unreal you want to slap yourself and then the author for writing the drivel.
The twists and turns keep you on your feet and the tongue in cheek references to many things kept my attention with the occasional chuckle e.
There are several points where you think, "hey, it's solved", but the book has many pages left, so you think, "how could that be? Well how sharp are you? You're not explicitly invited to solve the case, but hey, it'a sn entertaining thing t think of when you have a new detective novel.
A previous reviewer labels this book "Jesus junk". Well, Ollie admits in the first five pages that he's not sure if there is a God, and the characters from two previous books that the author wrote are in there and they are Christians, so if the concept of Christianity offends you, then maybe you shouldn't read the book. IF YOU'RE NOT A Christian, then read can still read it and and see what a fun read it is. If you want to read the series in order, Read "Deadline" then "Dominion" and then this one.
It's a fun read, but one that stretches your brain. And Randy Alcorn is a director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries, which tries to get people to see beyond today into their life in heaven. If Christianity is the thing that offends your tolerant heart the most, then you probably won't like his novels, though you could still learn something. Enjoy

First off, if you haven't read Randy Alcorn's other two books Deadline and Dominion, you just need to go and buy them right now. Go ahead, I'll wait.....I'm serious. His books are so good that they will make every other book you read seem bad, honestly.

Deception's main character is Detective Ollie Chandler. He was a minor major character in the above mentioned books, but we get to know him so much better in the pages of this book.

Ollie is a son of a gun, no frills, let's fry the bad guys, Jack Bauer and Chuck Norris worshipping kinda guy. Alcorn makes Chandler instantly likeable, and molds his character like someone out of a 30's detective novel.

Clarence Abernathy (main character of Dominion) and Jake Woods (main character of Deadline) both make appearances in Deception. They added some very deep, soul-searching dialog to match our loveable homicide detective's cynical and dark thoughts on life.

Alcorn does not handle the problem of evil and living in a broken world with kid's gloves in this novel. Ollie is on the forefront of a lot of bad stuff, thus his very cynical look on life and God. He just can't believe there's a God while so much evil goes unchecked.

What ensues through the novel is Ollie's journey through a very complicated murder, always delving for new clues and always not sure who he can trust.

Alcorn is a master wordsmith, and his mastering of the 1930's detective novels is suberb. This book is a must have for mystery lovers and people who just love a good book.

Deception is a cleverly crafted suspense novel that had me laughing out loud one moment and tearing up the next. I've read one too many books with formulaic plots and overdone messages, but this is not one of them! The story is engaging, and the message is subtle yet thought provoking. And how many murder mysteries are clean enough for a child to read? My 12-year-old daughter has already read it twice!

The only bad thing about this book is once you start reading it, you won't be able to put it down. Kudos to Alcorn!

Randy departed a bit from his usual fiction-writing style in the writing of "Deception," which is yet another spinoff of "Deadline"(Randy doesn't call them sequels or a series.) He wrote Deception from the first person--from the point of view of hardened, cynical police detective Ollie Chandler.

The story begins grippingly, as Ollie arrives on the scene of a murder that portends a lot of troubling questions for him personally.

From that point on, the story doesn't let you go. As a reviewer once said about a book, and I'm paraphrasing, "Don't plan on doing much else while you're reading this book."

It's to Randy Alcorn's credit that we ended up liking the character of Ollie Chandler very much. Randy told me in a radio interview that he took pains to make the hardbitten, skeptical, world-weary cop a lovable character...and most of that had to do with giving him a terrific sense of humor.

"I did labor to make Ollie likable...and part of that is his sense of humor. I think that's so important, because if you're going to spend an entire book inside of someone's head, so to speak...it's important that they have flaws, that's part of what makes the conflict that makes the story work...BUT, they've got to be, in some respects, likable."

Thanks to Randy spending many hours hanging out with, and picking the brains of, real-life police detectives, "Deception" has the unmistakable ring of authenticity.

The book does have the occasional glimpses into heaven, and there are conversations among Ollie and his two Christian friends that delve into issues like atheism and apologetics. But unlike "Deadline" and "Dominion," the book doesn't often depart from the main story--the mystery that's propelling the plot forward.

And the best news for people who love the character of Ollie? Randy Alcorn is probably not done with him. Randy told me,

"After each of my previous six novels, I have had no inclination whatsoever to repeat someone in the role of the viewpoint character. Now, in a couple of cases I've done a spinoff, where Dominion is a spinoff of Deadline. Jake Woods, the main character in Deadline appears in Dominion, but he's in a secondary role--the main character is Clarence Abernathy, who was in a minor role in Deadline. Ollie was in both of those. This was kind of Ollie's turn, and Clarence and Jake are in support roles to him...BUT when I fnished the book this time, for the first time I thought, 'You know, I'm not done with this character.'"

I couldn't stop reading this book! As a fan of Sherlock Holmes, I loved the chapter headings with quotes from Sherlock. But the best part was the main character, Ollie Chandler. Ollie is a many-layered piece of work, and his funny side was very funny indeed. This book never became predictable or shallow. I hated to finish it because then it would be over!

This is well written fictional first person detective mystery that combines present day life, life in heaven and even a small glimpse of what life may be like in hell. Ollie Chandler is the detective we follow throughout the book. Jake, a fellow detective and long time friend and Clarence, a newspaper reporter and friend because of a previous case, are Christians who are active in trying to evangelize Ollie. The dead guy is William Palatine, the suspects are the entire detective department of the Portland Police, including Ollie. Ollie has the job of convincing the others in the department that he is correct in thinking one of them was the murderer and the twists he takes in his thinking through and following the evidence are many and complex.

This is a page turner, exciting book to read here are a few quotes of interest:

Ollie speaking to Jake and Jake sounding off about friendship found on p 113

"Pardon me for not agreeing."

"You don't need my pardon," Jake said. "But you're my friend, and friends tell each other the truth. I'm asking you, Ollie, take your focus off the church and off the Christians you've known, and just look at Jesus. Read the Gospel of John, and judge Him by what He said and did, not by everybody who claims His name. Who did He claim to be? Investigate. Then make up your own mind about him. And stop assuming things as they appear."

Conversation between Ollie and Jake on justice found on p 231

". . . I do what I can to bring justice now. God seems to wait around a lot."

"He says He waits and withholds judgment to give us time to repent and get our lives right with Him," Jake said, "Justice has been restrained. What you're mad at God about--that He's been withholding judgment--is what`s kept us all alive, giving us opportunity to repent and accept His grace."

On p 408 Alcorn shares a conversation between Carly, a girl who died of cancer, in heaven, with the Carpenter, (also referred to as Lord, the One, and Elyon in other conversations with other deceased characters in heaven):

"There's so much confusion and deception there," Carly said. "Why can't they see things as they really are?"

"For the same reason that so often, when you lived there, you didn't," the Carpenter said. ""There's a veil of blindness over that dark world. It goes far deeper than you realized."

"It's insanity," she said.

"They long for light, but hate it because it hurts their eyes. They prefer the comfort of darkness to the pain of sight."

Carly walked beside the Carpenter . . . "They complain about evil and suffering," the Carpenter said, "yet commit acts of evil and inflict suffering on others and themselves. They ignore My warnings, then wonder why I permit what they choose."

"I'm amazed at Your patience, Lord."

"Earth under the curse is about to end. The day of judgment, and of deliverance, draws near. Justice comes as surely as sunrise--the question is which of them will be ready for it."

Ollie writing about a conversation with Kendra, his daughter, about the death of her mother found on p 476-77

"And when Kendra told me how angry she was that her mom had been taken, I said I understood and felt the same way. But maybe, I said, we couldn't own her any more than you can own a comet or a sunset or fresh rain on a dry dusty day. You're glad to experience them, they make you happy, but when they're gone, instead of feeling mad, maybe you should just be grateful they were there for you in the first place."

Good detective work is about observing the evidence and following it to its conclusion. On p 195, Jake is talking to Ollie about faith and because Ollie is a good detective Ollie thinks he should be able to follow the evidence to the truth about Jesus, and Christianity.

"My point is, faith shouldn't be about what suits our tastes, but about the truth the evidence points to."

This was my first time reading a book by Alcorn but it will not be my last, he is an excellent writer, the turns and circles in thinking throuout the book are complex but enjoyable to work out.

If you are debating and wondering is it worth buying: YES GET IT!

I am a Randy Alcorn fan, but I also have read terrific amount of books by other authors. This book Deception, by Randy Alcorn ranks number one. It is a fantastic book with or without its counter part books, Deadline and Dominion.

Randy Alcorn's latest novel, Deception, is a masterfully written story. The detailed and meticulous plot takes several very interesting and surprising turns as we watch homicide detective Ollie Chandler untwist the lies, deceit and arrogant attitudes of the characters around him. Simultaneously, Alcorn forces Ollie to face and ultimately deal with his own pain and relational failures. As in his past novels, Alcorn also effectively weaves significant spiritual truth throughout the chapters as he inches Detective Chandler from cynic to skeptic to...well, I won't give it away. I would highly recommend Deception to any murder mystery fan, but its potential spiritual impact is the reason I will be buying several copies for friends and family.

searching. I could not stop reading this book, and I do nto give out many 5 stars...I believe that Randy has done the unusual...this 3rd in the series is the BEST of the three....yet all stand alone and all are super. However, there is something special about DECEPTION....I really think God helped Randy write this one. AWESOME, you will be loathe to give this one away, so you will have to buy some for those you love! *****