Ridley Pearson: The Art of Deception (UK 2004)

From the Publisher:
When the body of a young woman is found beneath the Aurora Bridge, forensic psychologist Daphne Matthews is first at the scene. The victim's name is Mary-Ann, her boyfriend has a record of violence, and her grieving brother is out for revenge.

Detective Lou Boldt is investigating a series of mysterious disappearances, and both Boldt and Matthews are led into the 'Underground' - a perfectly preserved city-under-a-city, hidden beneath Seattle.

Then the stalking begins: eerie phone calls, noises outside the house, shadows in the night. Someone has their eye on Matthews - but do they want to stop her, kill her, or help her solve the crime?

Ridley Pearson: The Art of Deception. Orion Books, ISBN: 075285870X (January, 2004), 481 p., £5.99.

Ridley Pearson: The Art of Deception (USA 2003)

From the Publisher:
Friendship comes at a cost. For beautiful Mary-Ann Walker, who struggled with the challenges of a difficult family history, that cost proves to be her life. With Mary-Ann's past as its only guideline, the Seattle homicide unit must delve into the relationships between a misguided young woman and her family, friends, and lover. Let the psychological duels begin.

Seattle Police forensic psychologist Daphne Matthews, who volunteers as a teenage runaway counselor, is haunted by the loss of a suicide, a "jumper," a year earlier. When a woman's body is found beneath the Aurora Bridge, Matthews is one of the first at the scene -- and begins a puzzling investigation that becomes entangled with her own past, that of the victim, and even that of Seattle itself. Spine-tingling, fascinating, and impossible to put down, The Art of Deception takes Ridley Pearson's writing and plotting to a new level.

Ridley Pearson: The Art of Deception. Hyperion Books, ISBN: 0786890002 (July, 2003), 451 p., $23.95.

Ridley Pearson: The Art of Deception (UK 2003)

From the Publisher:
Seattle Police forensic psychologist Daphne Matthews, who volunteers as a teenage runaway counselor, is haunted by the loss of a suicide, a 'jumper', of a year earlier. When a woman's body is found beneath the Aurora Bridge, Matthews is one of the first at the scene and begins a puzzling investigation that is entangled with her own past, that of the victim, and even of Seattle itself.

Mary-Ann's boyfriend has a record of physical abuse, and an attitude that Matthews finds difficult to crack. When the victim's grieving brother surfaces, throwing blame onto the boyfriend and craving revenge, Matthews gains an unstable ally she does not want. Then the stalking begins: the eerie phone calls, the noises outside the house, the shadows that move in the night. Someone has their eye on Matthews - but to stop her, kill her, or to help her solve the crime?

While her colleagues, police lieutenant Lou Boldt and sergeant John LaMoia, pursue a hotel room peeper in hopes of solving a series of disappearances, the police and Matthews herself are led into the 'Underground' - a perfectly preserved city-under-a-city, beneath present-day Seattle. Matthews engages in a mental game of cat-and-mouse, never knowing whom she can trust. Caught up in something that could kill her if she can't solve the homicide, criss-crossing Seattle, diving below the streets to ancient tunnels, running for her life, Matthews must unlock the psychological secrets behind Mary-Ann's death, before she herself is buried alongside her. Matthews' very survival will depend on her skills at the art of deception.

Ridley Pearson: The Art of Deception. Orion Books, ISBN: 0752856898 (March, 2003), 374 p., £12.99.

Ridley Pearson: The Art of Deception (USA 2002)

From the Publisher:
Friendship comes at a cost. For beautiful Mary-Ann Walker, who struggled with the challenges of a difficult family history, that cost proves to be her life. With Mary-Ann's past as its only guideline, the Seattle homicide unit must delve into the relationships between a misguided young woman and her family, friends, and lover. Let the psychological duels begin.

Seattle Police forensic psychologist Daphne Matthews, who volunteers as a teenage runaway counselor, is haunted by the loss of a suicide, a "jumper," a year earlier. When a woman's body is found beneath the Aurora Bridge, Matthews is one of the first at the scene -- and begins a puzzling investigation that becomes entangled with her own past, that of the victim, and even that of Seattle itself.

Mary-Ann's boyfriend has a record of physical abuse, and an attitude that Matthews finds difficult to crack. When the victim's grieving brother surfaces, throwing blame onto the boyfriend and craving revenge, Matthews gains an unstable ally she does not want.

Then the stalking begins: the eerie phone calls, the noises outside the house, the shadows that move in the night. Someone has their eye on Matthews -- but to stop her, kill her, or to help her solve the crime?

While her colleagues, police lieutenant Lou Boldt and sergeant John LaMoia, pursue a hotel room peeper in hopes of solving a series of disappearances, the police and Matthews herself are led into the "Underground"--a perfectly preserved city-under-a-city, hidden beneath present-day Seattle.

Matthews engages in a mental game of cat- and-mouse, never knowing whom she can trust. Crisscrossing Seattle, diving below the streets to ancient tunnels, running for her life, Matthews must unlock the psychological secrets behind Mary-Ann's death, before she herself is buried alongside her. Matthews' very survival will depend on her skills at the art of deception. Spine-tingling, fascinating and impossible to put down, The Art of Deception takes Ridley Pearson's writing and plotting to a new level.

Ridley Pearson: The Art of Deception. Hyperion Books, ISBN: 0786867248 (July, 2002), 451 p., $23.95.