By Carrie Stuart Parks
Murphy Anderson has a secret - she's not who she says she is. Yes, she is Murphy Anderson sort of but she has distanced herself from the woman she used to be. Ever since her sister was murdered - there may not have been a body but Murphy knew. With the special bond that they shared as twins she just knew. And she was in Kodiak on a mission to find her sister and hopefully find peace herself.
But when Murphy's purse and all her identification and funds are stolen she reluctantly uses her art skills to help the local PD. Ten years ago a hunter - Vasily Scherbakov went to Ruuwaq Island but what he found was not the game he sought instead, he stumbled upon the remains of five men. For tens years he has kept this terrible secret but now on his deathbed, he wishes to unburden his soul and unfortunately for Murphy, she's the person that the Kodiak PD is tasking with creating a sketch of the scene and the victims.
Shortly after this first interview, anyone related to this cold case seems to be a target for someone who is determined to keep the past firmly and completely in the past. And when it appears that her sister's killer has found her Murphy finds herself wondering whom she can trust...
Formula of Deception is an intense page turning all night read! Seriously one truly is left wondering for the vast majority of this book who would be left standing at the end. And as to the murderer - well you have to read the book to wrap your mind around this twisted web of lies and betrayals. Maybe wait a year or two to visit Kodiak if, by chance that is on your list of things to do, I think they may need to do a wee bit of rebuilding.
If you are looking for a good mix of action, suspense, and whodunit that appears to be a standalone book pick up this book and dive in! Yes, there are several murders but it is not a horrendously gruesome book - I made that mistake once and have since been picker about what I read.
I was provided a complimentary review copy of this book by the publisher through their BookLook blogger program with no expectations other than that I offer my honest review - all opinions offered are my own.
About the Book:
An artist hiding from an escaped killer uncovers one of World War II’s most dangerous secrets—a secret that desperate men will do anything to keep hidden.
After the murder of her twin sister, Murphy Anderson changed her name and appearance and moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to avoid the press and publicity. But when local authorities discover she’s an artist and request her help in drawing a dying man’s memories, she unintentionally ends up in the limelight again—and back in the killer’s crosshairs.
The deathbed confessions of an Alaskan hunter have Murphy drawing the five bodies he discovered on remote Ruuwaq Island ten years ago. But what investigators find has them mystified. Evidence suggests that the bodies were deliberately destroyed, and what they uncover in an abandoned Quonset hut from World War II only brings more questions.
As one by one the investigators who were at the hut die, Murphy knows there is something much darker at stake. What happened on this island during the war? And who is willing to kill to keep its secrets buried?
