Book Review of "Deceived" by Julie Anne Lindsey

Elle's father is a single dad, working in corporate insurance, and is constantly traveling for work.  Elle gets moved to another boarding school for her senior year.  She expects her night terrors might stop with the change and is disgusted when the night terrors continue.  If that were not enough, Elle thinks she's going crazy. She believes she's being followed. She finds a black ribbon, a signature hair decoration of her deceased mother, in her locker.  Not only has she seen someone in the shadows who appears to smoke, she finds cigarette butts piling up on her doormat. Elle meets Bryan at a flea market prior to the start of school and then finds out he's a new student at her school.  And even though they enjoyed each other's company at the flea market, he acts like he doesn't know her at school.  So is Elle crazy?  Why is Bryan such a mystery and why does Elle's father keep relocating himself and her?

Julie Anne Lindsay has put together a true mystery.  At the beginning, I thought this whole story would lead to an ending where Elle is in some hospital somewhere restrained to a bed and hallucinating.  When the story began to get its momentum and pick up speed, there was no putting the book down.  Once you're on this ride, you must know who Bryan really is, you must know why Elle's father keeps moving and you absolutely, positively need to know if Elle is being stalked or if she's just paranoid.

I give it 5+ stars.  Deceived is chilling, suspenseful and a real nail biter.  Not everyone is a suspect but there are well placed red herrings and there are just enough.  Some mysteries go on forever chapter by chapter where everybody is a suspect and there's a red herring at every turn.  Julie Ann Lindsay was careful and deliberate with her choices in Deceived.

I like that there IS a love story intertwined with the mystery.  But it's balanced out well without the love story overpowering the mystery or vice versa.  The  mystery is fast paced and intriguing.  The love story goes the opposite and is told slowly while the foundation is built.  The blend is highly favorable for me since I love mystery books and I enjoy a good love story.  To read both and have them moving at the right pacing is a HUGE plus for the story but also for the reader.

Another character in the book, Elle's roommate Pixie, is also in this book and I would call her a major character.  However, at a certain point, I wondered why she was in the book.  Her character is concluded before the book ends.  I figured it was probably necessary for Elle to have a roommate to play opposite Elle's quieter demeanor and to relay to the reader that there was at least one other person in the book who saw the cigarette butts. She seems to be the buffer that makes you think that Elle might not be crazy.  Pixie is also the one character that is completely on Elle's side without any questions asked.

Overall, a chilling, thrilling and suspenseful read.  A must read!

(I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for a fair, honest review)