What do you think?
Deception
A 2017 Novel Writing Festival Thriller of the Year
A heist goes bad when greed, a love triangle, and ulterior motives take over.
Billy is a local cop, the son of the former Sheriff who was gunned down in cold blood. Billy has made it his mission to find out why. Joining forces with Alicia—a mysterious, benevolent, and beautiful Cuban immigrant—and his well-meaning but mentally unstable brother, they seek vengeance and fortune.
George is recruited against his will and forced to help the trio with the promise of the life he’s always wanted on the other side. But when Alicia tears he and Billy into a boiling love triangle, real motivations are exposed.
With tensions mounting and the danger intensifying, the group must decide what’s more important: money, family, or love. The problem is, each one of them has a different answer. And not everyone is guaranteed to make it out alive.
Who will? Or worse, who won’t?
A heist goes bad when greed, a love triangle, and ulterior motives take over.
Billy is a local cop, the son of the former Sheriff who was gunned down in cold blood. Billy has made it his mission to find out why. Joining forces with Alicia—a mysterious, benevolent, and beautiful Cuban immigrant—and his well-meaning but mentally unstable brother, they seek vengeance and fortune.
George is recruited against his will and forced to help the trio with the promise of the life he’s always wanted on the other side. But when Alicia tears he and Billy into a boiling love triangle, real motivations are exposed.
With tensions mounting and the danger intensifying, the group must decide what’s more important: money, family, or love. The problem is, each one of them has a different answer. And not everyone is guaranteed to make it out alive.
Who will? Or worse, who won’t?
252 pages, Paperback
First published May 22, 2015
About the author
Dan Lawton
16 books228 followersDan Lawton is an international best selling and award-winning thriller author from New Hampshire. He is an active member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) Organization.
His fifth novel, The Green House, won the 2021 New Hampshire Writers' Project Literary Award for Fiction, was a Bronze Medalist in the Adult Fiction E-Book category for the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards), a Finalist for the 2021 Montaigne Medal (Eric Hoffer Awards) for most thought-provoking book, a Finalist in the Fiction category for the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, a Finalist in the Mystery category for the 2020 Book Excellence Awards, and a Finalist in Literary Fiction for the 2020 American Fiction Awards.
His fourth novel, Plum Springs, won the 2019 New Hampshire Writers' Project Readers' Choice Award for Fiction. His first novel, Deception, was named one of the best thriller novels of 2017 by the Novel Writing Festival.
Website: danlawtonfiction.com
Email: info@danlawtonfiction.com
Twitter/Instagram: @danlawtonauthor
Facebook: facebook.com/danlawtonfiction
His fifth novel, The Green House, won the 2021 New Hampshire Writers' Project Literary Award for Fiction, was a Bronze Medalist in the Adult Fiction E-Book category for the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards), a Finalist for the 2021 Montaigne Medal (Eric Hoffer Awards) for most thought-provoking book, a Finalist in the Fiction category for the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, a Finalist in the Mystery category for the 2020 Book Excellence Awards, and a Finalist in Literary Fiction for the 2020 American Fiction Awards.
His fourth novel, Plum Springs, won the 2019 New Hampshire Writers' Project Readers' Choice Award for Fiction. His first novel, Deception, was named one of the best thriller novels of 2017 by the Novel Writing Festival.
Website: danlawtonfiction.com
Email: info@danlawtonfiction.com
Twitter/Instagram: @danlawtonauthor
Facebook: facebook.com/danlawtonfiction
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 30, 2015
The writing is descriptive and the story is solid in this, what seems like, plot-driven thriller. From the start it has a dark, cynical film noir style with the first person narrative of main character George Sanders. From there as the plot unfolds we’re given alternating and converging points of view by both Sanders and police officer, William Lewis. The alternating points of view were a bit distracting at first and as a result I didn’t feel vested in any of the characters. The story also isn’t told chronologically which also added to my confusion.
That being said, I was also keenly aware the converging viewpoints and achronological timeline added to the tension and suspense of the piece which I suspect is the the cornerstone of the thriller. As I read on, “Deception” became an “easy read” and a satisfactory resolution was met, but I never found myself rooting for a character or witnessing a change, growth, or evolution in any of them, something I began to long for in the character of Alicia Diaz. As a reader I was satisfied, but not fully.
That being said, I was also keenly aware the converging viewpoints and achronological timeline added to the tension and suspense of the piece which I suspect is the the cornerstone of the thriller. As I read on, “Deception” became an “easy read” and a satisfactory resolution was met, but I never found myself rooting for a character or witnessing a change, growth, or evolution in any of them, something I began to long for in the character of Alicia Diaz. As a reader I was satisfied, but not fully.
June 27, 2015
I think it was a really good first book of an author I didn't know before. The whole book has it twists and turns which keep you guessing until the end. This is one of the first books that was able to surprise me multiple times. It was really hard to put the book down and I will certainly read more of Dan Lawton.
October 12, 2015
I received this in a goodreads contest. The book is well written and the characters are well constructed. The only problem I had was with the different views going back and forth. This is a very good first book and I would read another book from this author.
September 21, 2025
Up, Down, Forward, Back
When I was half way through this book, I decided I had had enough. How this book could win awards is beyond me. It was like someone had threw the contents of the book into a spinner and then dumped them out.
When I was half way through this book, I decided I had had enough. How this book could win awards is beyond me. It was like someone had threw the contents of the book into a spinner and then dumped them out.
March 23, 2020
I was provided a copy of this novel by the author for reviewing purposes.
I found the actual story here was good, the idea of a police officer going outside of the law to extract revenge on a gang member who had killed his father is a solid basis for a novel. Add in the idea of forcing an unrelated party to be involved in the dirty work and teaming up with a woman from the county office to get said unrelated party on the hook also provided plenty of material for tension and suspense.
I was not so keen however on the way the narrative was formatted switching between the viewpoint of Billy & George, in some areas it worked well, yet in others it just seemed like the story being told again from a different, but not different enough to be worthwhile, perspective.
There's some good twists and turns as things unfold and overall it is an enjoyable story, I just found the formatting hobbled my enjoyment of it somewhat.
I found the actual story here was good, the idea of a police officer going outside of the law to extract revenge on a gang member who had killed his father is a solid basis for a novel. Add in the idea of forcing an unrelated party to be involved in the dirty work and teaming up with a woman from the county office to get said unrelated party on the hook also provided plenty of material for tension and suspense.
I was not so keen however on the way the narrative was formatted switching between the viewpoint of Billy & George, in some areas it worked well, yet in others it just seemed like the story being told again from a different, but not different enough to be worthwhile, perspective.
There's some good twists and turns as things unfold and overall it is an enjoyable story, I just found the formatting hobbled my enjoyment of it somewhat.
June 16, 2016
It's modern day Kansas and Billy, his slightly mental brother Frank, Alicia, and captive banker George go step by step in their slow, methodical tracking of the murderous and very lethal gang who killed Billy's police chief father. Their tale is told either by Billy or George as the plotline proceeds to novel's conclusion. The story moves backward in time as important parts are relived and the conclusion will fascinate readers everywhere.
Read
June 26, 2015a really good book to read. between, the wealthy hit men who are out for them selve's and Billy Lewis who's out for vengeance for his father's murder. To George Sanders who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. This book tell's the story of a son's vengeance, and what happen's to him and his girlfriend during this time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2017
I really liked the book , It was a little confusing at the beginning with different points of view but you need to just stick on for 25 pages and then you just cant put it down . story line is strong,but character building can be more detailed , I could only picture Alicia,
April 1, 2020
George is a total push-over, way too mild-mannered and trusting for his own good. When he gets picked up, in a surprisingly weird manner, by a stunning young woman, the alert reader immediately thinks : Honeytrap. . Definitely no genius, this.
Frank is suffering from some kind of BPD coming across as a bit slow, but that may just be due to his medication. His brother Billy, on the other hand, definitely is not the brightest candle on this cake He’s a bad cop (bad as in: not good at his job) as he knows full well himself, so he decides to blow it all and concocts the worst revenge-cum-heist plan ever. For the which he must needs involve a couple of total strangers whom he has to bully and threaten into following his not-very-well-thought-out orders. Predictably, it all goes downhill from the get-go, and it ends … equally predictably. By that time, all this obtuseness thrown around had gotten rather exasperating – although the characters were quite well-drawn and, despite their obvious flaws, strangely relatable, I for my part was glad to have finally done with this sad lot.
Not exactly your fast-paced action thriller, partly due to everything being told twice over, both from Billy’s and George’s point of view and in a non-linear way at that. Which, in principle, is fine with me, however it added to the severe confusion already created by the two alternating 1st person povs , I cannot help feeling this might have been handled better. The writing style is a bit dragging and repetitive. Overall, some tightening and editing and proofreading to eliminate typos, weird word choices, superfluous and missing words, might turn this into an OK read.
Frank is suffering from some kind of BPD coming across as a bit slow, but that may just be due to his medication. His brother Billy, on the other hand, definitely is not the brightest candle on this cake He’s a bad cop (bad as in: not good at his job) as he knows full well himself, so he decides to blow it all and concocts the worst revenge-cum-heist plan ever. For the which he must needs involve a couple of total strangers whom he has to bully and threaten into following his not-very-well-thought-out orders. Predictably, it all goes downhill from the get-go, and it ends … equally predictably. By that time, all this obtuseness thrown around had gotten rather exasperating – although the characters were quite well-drawn and, despite their obvious flaws, strangely relatable, I for my part was glad to have finally done with this sad lot.
Not exactly your fast-paced action thriller, partly due to everything being told twice over, both from Billy’s and George’s point of view and in a non-linear way at that. Which, in principle, is fine with me, however it added to the severe confusion already created by the two alternating 1st person povs , I cannot help feeling this might have been handled better. The writing style is a bit dragging and repetitive. Overall, some tightening and editing and proofreading to eliminate typos, weird word choices, superfluous and missing words, might turn this into an OK read.
July 1, 2018
This is my first read of this author and thoroughly enjoyed the story. It does go back and forth between the two main characters, Billy and George. At the first of the book, it is George and it is going to turn himself him to police and thinks he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Before meeting, one woman, Alicia, he was a law abiding citizen, going to work and coming home.
Now his life is in danger as he has become involved in a shooting and with a gang, the Zved's.
How did all of this happen, well Alicia was a set-up, she was in with Billy. Now Billy is a police officer, but he has revenge on his mind for the Zved's. The leader of the gang, killed Billy's father, who was Chief of Police. Now Billy wants his revenge, and has a blame.
The only problem with the plan, is that he is involving an innocent man, in murder and robbery. Just for the one night with Alicia, George has fallen hard and is in love with her and she is bringing him in to help Billy get the leader of the Zved's and still 10 million dollars.
Really good book that will keep you going back and forth between the two to get the "whole story".
The ending was great!!
Now his life is in danger as he has become involved in a shooting and with a gang, the Zved's.
How did all of this happen, well Alicia was a set-up, she was in with Billy. Now Billy is a police officer, but he has revenge on his mind for the Zved's. The leader of the gang, killed Billy's father, who was Chief of Police. Now Billy wants his revenge, and has a blame.
The only problem with the plan, is that he is involving an innocent man, in murder and robbery. Just for the one night with Alicia, George has fallen hard and is in love with her and she is bringing him in to help Billy get the leader of the Zved's and still 10 million dollars.
Really good book that will keep you going back and forth between the two to get the "whole story".
The ending was great!!
October 22, 2025
Apart from the errors in the text, this book really annoyed me. I was given a scenario and then, a couple of chapters later, taken back to the same scenario from the perspective of a different character!
I persevered, simply because I am an eternal optimist, and thought that it might improve! It didn't!
If this is typical of Mr Lawton's work, I shall not be reading any more. Very easily forgotten!
I persevered, simply because I am an eternal optimist, and thought that it might improve! It didn't!
If this is typical of Mr Lawton's work, I shall not be reading any more. Very easily forgotten!
March 21, 2018
An excellent crime thriller with a good plot and well developed characters. The story is told with interacting points of view, which can be confusing at times. Fast paced and hard to put down. I would highly recommend this excellent crime thriller.
Read
December 21, 2022Life lines...
It was overall a very riveting book. However it could use a little work weaving the characters life lines together. I would suggest anyone starting this read, be patient cause it is worth the effort in the end!
It was overall a very riveting book. However it could use a little work weaving the characters life lines together. I would suggest anyone starting this read, be patient cause it is worth the effort in the end!
October 29, 2025
Decent plot, multiple POV's not needed
The storyline was okay but Billy's POV was just not necessary for the story, it didn't add anything to the plot and was just repeating what had already happened in the past
The storyline was okay but Billy's POV was just not necessary for the story, it didn't add anything to the plot and was just repeating what had already happened in the past
January 21, 2017
I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it. If the writer had added more suspense, and if he had only told the story once, I would have given this novel five stars.
June 6, 2023
Worth a read
Slightly confusing till it’s realized that it’s being told from different character’s points of view AND even harder to follow that the time line isn’t consistent and keeps jumping all over the place instead of sticking with with the normal chronological sequence of events! Definitely an interesting tale and worth a read nonetheless!
Slightly confusing till it’s realized that it’s being told from different character’s points of view AND even harder to follow that the time line isn’t consistent and keeps jumping all over the place instead of sticking with with the normal chronological sequence of events! Definitely an interesting tale and worth a read nonetheless!
November 13, 2025
I quit reading, simply found that the characters were completely unlikable and I really didn't care how it ended. Never figured out what happened to "the bad guy."
February 3, 2026
Needs a better editor. Frank is dead, A few chapters later he is alive.
March 3, 2026
Not so good
Was good to start with but did not last long.not much to the story. But as the old saying lesson learned
Was good to start with but did not last long.not much to the story. But as the old saying lesson learned
January 9, 2026
At first, I liked how the chapters went back and forth, but as the story went on, I began skimming. I did enjoy the story.
September 25, 2016
Zved, a mob boss, wants his ten million back. Billy has a plan to keep it and get revenge. Alicia and George are caught smack dab in the middle. The plot jumps back as forth as Billy and George each tell their sides of a theft, murder, and betrayal. The book has a good foundation but need to improvement on pacing and execution. Overall, a quick read leads to a logical conclusion.
Read
May 25, 2019I really enjoyed this. Read it over a weekend. Fast paced with good story development.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews