Deceit

Deceit
James Siegel
Warner Books
ISBN: 0-446-53186-3
Fiction, Thriller
Reviewed by Kevin Aguanno

In this intriguing novel, author James Siegel presents the story of Tom Valle, a once lauded big city journalist who has fallen to disgrace when over fifty of his best articles are found to be complete fabrications crafted to earn the respect and approval of his editor. Now working the community news beat for a small-town paper owned by a relative of his parole officer, Valle is trying to live a boring life out of the spotlight.
Valle’s life changes when he uncovers clues to a Pulitzer Prize-worthy story of a fake natural disaster that killed hundreds of small town residents, government-sanctioned secret experiments on American citizens, and a government cover up that people are being killed over. This could be the story that revives his career and rebuilds his credibility. Yet, because of his past, no one will believe him.
Deceit is a novel that explores the human psyche. From understanding how the physical and emotional abuse Valle endured as a child at the hands of his alcoholic mother affects him today to his driving need to impress and earn the approval of the big city editor who is perhaps the first father figure in Valle’s life, the story explores what motivates a man to achieve greatness, then to risk losing everything in order to gain the praise of another, and finally to his quest to once again achieve greatness through honest means. To add to the layers of complexity in the story, the government agents seeking to keep the cover up under wraps are playing intricate mind games with Valle, even resorting to locking him into a psychiatric ward of a hospital and subjecting him to the latest mind-bending drugs to keep him out of the game.
Given that the story is being narrated by a convicted liar, one who is being subjected to mind-altering pharmaceuticals and who is sometimes hallucinating, the reader is never quite sure when the story crosses the grey line between reality and fantasy. Having to piece together the conspiracy from a number of seemingly unrelated facts, Valle guides the reader through the fog of lies and manipulation to uncover the startling truth.
An exciting and well-paced book that pulls the reader into the story, Deceit challenges the reader’s understanding of truth by questioning the sources we rely upon for our facts on a daily basis. Well worth the $24.99 cover price (hardcover).