Canyon of Deceit is one of those stories that stays with you when you aren’t reading, and lingers when you’ve finished. This is probably one of the cleverest books I’ve read this year in terms of plot complexity. The backdrop here is the Russian mob versus the Texas Rangers and FBI. We all know the Rangers never fail, but it took a lot of trouble to get to the win!

Survival expert Therese is contacted by acquaintance Rurik Ivanov when his wife is murdered and daughter kidnapped. Her rescue involves an arduous trek in the Guadalupe mountains where nothing is as it seems. Therese calls on Ranger Blane Gardner to assist in the mission, with the two sharing an attraction, but kept apart by Blane’s lack of faith.

As the plot moves on, the only thing that becomes clear is that there’s a much bigger picture than kidnapping for money. I scratched my head several times trying to figure out what was actually going on. The bullets kept flying and the finals showdown was explosive and magnificent. Bravo.

When the bad actors were finally revealed, I was half right and given the complexity here – I’m happy with that. This book is a plotting masterpiece. If you like suspense that keeps you guessing with a strong faith arc, I’m confident you’ll enjoy this very clever story.

I received a copy of Canyon of Deceit from the author via NetGalley, the views are my own.