Deceptions: Bk. 2 - Brossura

‘I couldn’t put it down – it gets you from the first page and holds on till the end... the writing lifts the book out of the realm of the ordinary thriller and into something much more special: a study of humanity in extremis, coping with the unimaginable’
ROSIE BOYCOTT
‘DECEPTIONS is absolutely gripping. The nightmare landscape of the story, described with cool insinuation and emotional integrity, is both sinister and truthful’
SADIE JONES, author of THE OUTCAST
'Several hundred cuts above the rest... a compulsive thriller with echoes of Ruth Rendell and Josephine Tey... Superb’
The Times
‘Great psychological insight lies at the heart of this disturbing, gripping story’
Daily Mirror
'Will grab you in the opening pages and will prove very difficult to put down... devastating but compassionate'
Reader's Digest
'DECEPTIONS -- Rebecca Frayn's second novel. If you read only one book this summer...'
Sunday Times
'Compelling... Frayn's heartbreaking novel documents the effects of doubt and loss on familial bonds'
Mail online
'This is a book that grabs you in the opening pages and will prove very difficult to put down. The terrible desolation caused by young Dan's disappearance, the wreckage that it makes of his mother's relationship with her lover and surviving daughter, the lurches of hope, the unraveling of an unhappy person's hold on reality: all these are analysed with a devastating but compassionate precision'
Reader's Digest
'A stylishly written page-turner by a novelist of skill and authority'
Daily Mail
'Fans of Zoe Heller's NOTES ON A SCANDAL will love this'
Red
'[A] gripping emotional drama... Unsettlingly compelling'
Easy Living
'Utterly compelling... This is a tense, superbly structured novel suffused with a deep sense of unease'
Primrose Hill Books summer reading guide 2010
'So well plotted it is next to impossible to put the book down... There's a real humanity about this story -- and a truth about the ways in which we cope, not only with tragedy, but with day-to-day issues that challenge our perception of the world and our relationships with the people closest to us. And it feels incredibly authentic, perhaps because it was inspired by a true life case'
Reading Matters (blog)
‘Clever, unpredictable and utterly gripping from start to finish’
Heat
'DECEPTIONS gripped me from the very first moment that I picked it up... as soon as you think you can see where it might be going it takes a quite unexpected turn and that is one of the reasons why it is so absorbing... What made DECEPTIONS even more compelling for me though is the fact that alongside the mystery and suspense there is also the human tragedy and the desperation of a family that is disintegrating... A truly gripping read that had me hooked from the first page... a book that you will feel glad that you have read'
The Bookbag (blog)
'A masterful thriller in the vein of Zoe Heller's NOTES ON A SCANDAL'
Sunday Express
'I was desperate to find out what happened and couldn't stop turning the pages... The more you get into the book, the less you trust the narrator'
Tara Hyland
'A gripping story of every mothers worst nightmare. We couldn't put it down!'
The Women's Room -- essential summer reads
'A thoughtful thriller inspired by a real-life tragedy... Frayn manages to [...] imbue it with genuine depth. Her plotting skills and insights into human nature will evoke deserved comparisons to authors like Laura Lippman and Ruth Rendell'
Publishers' Weekly
'A terrific plot that just won't let go... I couldn't put it down'
Independent on Sunday
Rebecca Frayn's tale about Dan, who goes missing as a 12-year-old but then turns up three years later, reminds me of Janice Galloway's observation that plot is a bribe to keep the reader reading. As Annie, Dan's mother, unravels, we watch on from the point of view of Julian, her oddly austere partner. Julian works in the art business, much concerned with forgeries and copies, so when the older Dan turns up, he is attuned to tell-tale differences between the younger and older versions. And so a story which asked "Where is Dan?" moves on to ask "Is this him?" Shameless bribery all the way, but it works. I couldn't put it down’
Independent on Sunday 1/5

Rebecca Frayn is a critically-acclaimed film maker. Her most recent work is the film WHOSE BABY, broadcast on ITV1, and her other credits include SINGLE, MODERN TIMES, THE SOUTH BANK SHOW and CUTTING EDGE. She is the author of ONE LIFE, and a second novel, DECEPTIONS. She lives in London with her husband and children.