In “Act of deceit” by Steven Gore, detective Harlan Donnally goes on a dangerous mission—find the sister of his dying friend Mauricio Aguilera, Anna, whom Aguilera left on the front steps of a commune some thirty odd years ago, after they escaped from their father who molested her. The main problem confronting Donnally is that Anna was murdered back in 1986, and her killer—Charles Brown—was seen as unfit for trial, instead scuttling between different medical facilities and detention centers. Except that things are never what they appear. And Donnally is starting to get the feeling that Charles Brown was not her true killer. As Donnally delves deeper into Anna’s past, he finds a variety of shady characters that she interacted with—people like Father Phil, her troubled student Melvin, two drug dealing brothers, and characters who are not what they appear to be . As Donnally goes from lead to lead, he neglects the fact that he is risking his own life—and that of his girlfriend’s Janie—in the process. The interesting thing about this book is that Gore based elements of the plot on true stories. This fact makes the story all the more disturbing. If you like mysteries, and stories with some layer to them, then pick this up. Published by Harper. August 30, 2011. 352 pages. List price $9.99
