Formula of Deception: A Novel
By: Carrie Stuart Parks
Rating: 3 of 5
I must admit that I was confused by the plot of this book. Right from the beginning, I had the feeling of being brought in during the middle of a scene that had been played out elsewhere. My first thought was that the book was part of a series, so I went looking for the earlier book. Nope – it is a standalone book by an author who has written a series.
I read through the book and as it progressed the main character kept doing things that didn’t make sense and she seemed to be headed for disaster.
In addition to her personal quest (to find her sister), there is another subplot that involves shadowy doings during World War II. I never really put these two things together other than they were in the same book and the same present day individual was involved in solving the issue.
The plot and character of the individual literally changed on a dime in the waning chapters of the book and turned the main plot on its head. I liked the final character much better than the earlier one and wish the book had been written more from her perspective. Once the book changed, I liked it and so I give it a three instead of the two that I was initially going to give.
There is a lot of death in this book and of characters you might have come to know and like but relationships are cut off too quickly and the ones that continue don’t make much sense.
The book is published by a well-known Christian publisher and is listed in the Christian section but I did not see anything of Christianity in it beyond a character who talks around the edges of a Christian message but doesn’t provide one in the book. In fact, I would call the book more worldly spiritual than anything else. Perhaps it is the beginning of a series and will explore Christianity later but for now, it is not Christian in nature.
I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.