Deceit by James Siegel
Wednesday, 06 Sep 2006 13:50
Deceit is James Siegel's third thriller in a row
Published by Time Warner, out September 7th, hardback and paperback, 369 pages, £9.99/£6.99.
In a nutshell…
Obvious, disappointing, easy reading, fast-moving
What's it all about?
Former hotshot reporter Tom Valle is serving the journalistic equivalent of a prison sentence at a newspaper in small town America. His tendency to make up stories while working for one of the biggest dailies in the world has left him with credibility problems and a reputation that precedes him.
A report on what is supposed to be a 'routine' car crash sparks Valle's journalistic sensibilities as he recognises a story behind the story that he finds hard to get people to accept and believe. However, as Valle digs deeper, he enters into something bigger that has some unpleasant outcomes, leaving him to realise that small town doesn't mean small story.
Who's it by?
James Siegel is an American thriller writer who has penned a number of novels in the genre. Recent bestsellers include Detour and Derailed, which was made into a film starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen.
Siegel is a former vice president and creative director of a New York advertising agency who has won three Gold Lion awards at Cannes.
As an example…
"I was going to answer him, to recite what any legitimate journalist should memorise by heart - that when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. That we'd assumed Littleton Flats was just a town of dam workers and that we were wrong. That maybe we needed to stop assuming something else."
Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster
The film rights for Deceit, along with Siegel's two previous books, Derailed and Detour, have already been sold as a trio and Derailed was released in February 2006. Deceit is next in line to reach the silver screen, with a rumoured date of 2008.
Derailed took a little over £2 million at the UK box office, so it didn't exactly break any records. Deceit looks like it will be a Hollywood movie, but whether it will be a blockbuster is yet to be seen.
What the others say
"A perfectly paced, pitch-black thriller, Deceit propels Siegel into the premier league, alongside Coben and Connelly." Amazon
So is it any good?
As a thriller, Deceit doesn't really thrill. While the book is an easy enough read and the story moves relatively quickly, Siegel sometimes seems to overwrite passages in an attempt to build suspense. In situations where he reveals the next plot twist, it is often the case that as a reader you know what he is going to say a good page and a half before he 'reveals' the dramatic turn.
With so much praise heaped upon his previous novel Derailed from the likes of Nelson DeMille and James Patterson, much more could have been expected from this book which has an interesting idea behind its plotline. Unfortunately, Siegel attempts to do too much and it seems too laboured to achieve a decent effect.
5/10
Chris Webber
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