Meet homicide detective Ollie Chandler and his bull mastiff mutt, Mike Hammer, otherwise known as Mulch. Chandler, a 30-year police officer in Portland, keeps people at bay with cynicism, sarcasm, spiritual skepticism and simmering humor. Even his daughter can't get close to him. After the death of his wife, who was also his best friend, Chandler is mad at the world and everyone in it. But, mostly, he's mad at God. Plenty of long hours, hard work and hard drinking are the only things that keep his sanity in check.

However, that tenuous thread of sanity is challenged when Police Chief Lennox makes a political agreement with the Oregon Tribune to assign reporter Clarence Abernathy to the next homicide investigation. It doesn't matter that Abernathy is Chandler's only remaining friend—Abernathy is a journalist and Chandler's a cop—that's like mixing oil and water.

When Portland State University Professor William Paletine is found murdered, Chandler and Dumast are assigned to the case. Hung over and short of sleep, Chandler arrives just in time to spot a Black Jack chewing gum wrapper near the body. Few adults chewed gum anymore—but Chandler chewed that brand every day. Pretending to examine the body, he picked up the wrapper and slipped it into his pocket. He couldn't remember anything about last night—he'd had another blackout—too much alcohol. Could he have been here? Determined to follow the evidence, Chandler begins an investigation that leads to police corruption, dirty politics, betrayal, and gripping deception.

This police procedural is well-written in first person and stars an annoyingly lovable cop, similar to the classic Sam Spade detective stories. Alcorn, a Gresham author, is especially good at dialogue, irony and clever writing that includes excellent characterizations, multiple plot twists, and creative suspense. A religious thread runs through the plot and Christian values are expressed during breakfast meetings between Chandler and his friends that further develop the characters. However, heavenly scenes feel intrusive and break the story mood. But that's a minor objection to an otherwise exceptionally well-done, intreguing mystery. - The Northwest Book Reviewer, Gail Welborn

Bestseller Alcorn takes the reader on a sensational suspense-filled journey packed with recurring characters; Sherlock Holmes quotes; insightful, satirical first-person prose; intriguing research; and straightforward, biblical truth. While larger than the average novel, Deception masterfully leads the reader through a maze of suspicion and clues that will keep you guessing and longing for more. - Review by ROMANTIC TIMES Magazine

Note: Deception is a murder mystery, not a romance novel, but we welcome good reviews

A murder mystery unfolds through the eyes of an experienced Portland homicide detective. Written with plenty of tension to keep the reader in suspense, the book also includes laugh-out-loud humor as the protagonist makes witty asides about life, police work, human nature, and other topics.

Central character Ollie Chandler is crafted with enough strengths to make him seem like a reliable friend, yet also with enough flaws that we all can identify with him. Life, and all its characters, can be imperfect and puzzling.

As the chapters rush forward, emerging clues point to a member of the police department as a possible suspect. Eventually Chandler even questions his own motives and doubts his own alibi for the time of the murder. Whodunnit?

A couple of Chandler's friends serve as comic relief and yet also point the central character to his need for redemption through Christ. This is done in a way that is natural and not preachy; this is the gospel unfolding via relationships.

Randy Alcorn is a pastor and successful writer with six best-selling novels and a long list of nonfiction books to his credit. After reading Deception, I am ready to look for anything else Alcorn has written, or will write in the future!

Armchair Interview says: Well-done mystery that also includes a lot about relationships. - Review by Lisa Frisbie, Armchair Interviews

Synopsis: Who Done It... and Why? Ollie Chandler is a brilliant and quick-witted homicide detective who lives by Ollie's First Law: "Things are not what they appear." So when a university professor is found murdered and the motive looks like revenge, a stunning discovery leads him to an unimaginable conclusion. Could the murderer be a fellow homicide detective? As Ollie probes deeper, another detective is murdered. What is the root of this jumbled, deceptive mess of lies and secrets? Jake Woods returns from Deadline, and Clarence Abernathy from Dominion in this heart-pounding murder mystery bristling with tension and suspicion. Deception will take you to heaven and hell and back again... breathless to discover the truth.

Review: Although billed as a sequel, this felt more like a spin-off novel—the main characters from Alcorn's previous novels featured heavily in the plot, the main focus here is on Detective Ollie Chandler (who appeared in the previous novels) and it works very well as a stand-alone novel that, if you haven't already read them, will quite probably make the reader want to go back and read the others too as it's so very good!

This harks back to the style of the old detective novels featuring such famous sleuths as Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, and references them throughout, as well as sticking to the ideals of those heroes. There is very little in the way of "bad language," as you might expect from a Christian author, but despite the modern setting, this all seems very natural as Ollie Chandler (although most definitely not believer himself) is a man of principle and honor.

There are frequent Bible and religious references from Chandler's very Christian friends, but they don't intrude on the story—quite the opposite, the actually enhance it and the frantic pace builds as the mystery and danger deepens.

All the characters have very human flaws, making them very easy to identify and sympathize with them from start to finish, the plot is sufficiently winding and intriguing to keep the reader hooked, yet still gives just the right amount of clues to keep those "little grey cells" ticking, and the writing is tight. It has everything you could possibly want from crime fiction and more. - Review by "Book Fiend," www.undermindbook.blogspot.com

Deception is the follow up to best selling author Randy Alcorn's previous books Deadline and Dominion. There are constant surprises, twists, and turns. Every chapter adds a new element to the mystery.

Oliver Justice Chandler, the Homicide Detective called to the scene of a murdered Portland State University professor, doesn't like the way the evidence stacks up and comes to the conclusion that the killer has to be one of his fellow detectives—not great for his career or the reputation of the Portland Police Department. And to top it off, he is forced to investigate this case with an ever-present columnist from the Oregon Tribune to help beef up the department's image. As he sets out to find the "who" and the "why," he encounters more attempts on his life than a spy in a grade B movie. And to complicate things more, he realizes he had a blackout the evening of the murder, and as evidence against him appears, he must consider himself a suspect as well.

A master of wisecrack dialogue, Alcorn makes his characters very believable and fun to get to know. Even after the murderer is revealed, Alcorn masterfully continues the suspense until the murderer is finally caught—keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very end! All this, and an occasional comment from overseeing heavenly beings, make this a very intriguing novel that you won't want to put down. - Review by Peggy Thompson, 1340 mag Books

Alcorn crafts a strong detective mystery...

This is one of those delightful mysteries that flips and flops every time you figure you’ve gotten the suspect pegged and the crime solved.

In a truly stunning addition to his previous novels Deadline and Dominion, Randy Alcorn continues his saga of crime, violence, and justice in Portland with his recent mystery Deception. After writing about journalists Jake Woods and Clarence Abernathy in the aforementioned novels, this time finds Alcorn focusing on detective Oliver Justice Chandler, with the Daily Tribune's columnists playing strong supporting character roles in this twisting, turning whodunit.

In Ollie Chandler, Alcorn has nailed the hard-bitten, cynical gumshoe perfectly, joining fellow detectives Joe Box (Until The Last Dog Dies, How to Skin A Cat, When Skylarks Fall by John Laurence Robinson) and Colton Parker (Original Sin, Seventy-Times Seven, Root of All Evil by Brandt Dodson) in a new wave of detectives who aren't perfect, have problems with their temper, question their faith, and like their firearms, but are also on spiritual quests to find a sense of being. Chandler is immediately likeable as the sarcastic, witty, clever and oftentimes bull-headed detective, and Alcorn does a wonderful job teetering him between a hurting soul that's searching for peace and a man who's seen far too many horrible things to accept faith too quickly.

Chandler's moral and spiritual dilemmas are real and authentic, and Alcorn pulls a daring move more and more CBA authors are willing to risk these days: though convinced of his need to "follow the evidence, no matter where it leads" when it comes to investigating the claims of Christianity, Ollie remains unsaved at the end, leaving the reader itching for more of the lovable yet sometimes irritating detective, just to see where he ends up.

As a mystery, Deception is top-notch, ending miles away from its starting point, and this is one of those delightful mysteries that flips and flops every time you figure you've gotten the suspect pegged and the crime solved. Alcorn parades a host of likely suspects throughout the novel, and the reader will literally be turning every single page until the end to get to the bottom of this engrossing and absorbing mystery.

The feel of the novel is just right too, right down to the "shady informant standing under a lone streetlight on a darkly lit street" vibes of classic crime and detective novels—only without the collateral smut you'd risk exposing yourself to in some secular mysteries. You're never far from spiritual truth in Deception, but Alcorn is able to weave these truths into the narrative without making it feels like a sermon or Sunday School lesson.

For a clean, engaging, yet honest look into a world of crime, betrayal, hurt—and forgiveness and redemption, add Deception to your mystery collection today. - Review by Kevin Lucia, member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Assoc., The People's Media Company, The Suspense Zone

Although billed as a sequel, this felt more like a spin-off novel—the main characters from Alcorn’s previous novels featured heavily in the plot, the main focus here is on Detective Ollie Chandler (who appeared in the previous novels) and it works very well as a stand-alone novel that, if you haven’t already read them, will quite probably make the reader want to go back and read the others too as it’s so very good!

This harks back to the style of the old detective novels featuring such famous sleuths as Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, and references them throughout, as well as sticking to the ideals of those heroes. There is very little in the way of “bad language”, as you might expect from a Christian author, but despite the modern setting, this all seems very natural as Ollie Chandler (although most definitely not believer himself) is a man of principle and honour.

There are frequent Bible and religious references from Chandler’s very Christian friends, but they don’t intrude on the story—quite the opposite, the actually enhance it and the frantic pace builds as the mystery and danger deepens.

All the characters have very human flaws, making them very easy to identify and sympathize with them from start to finish, the plot is sufficiently winding and intriguing to keep the reader hooked, yet still gives just the right amount of clues to keep those “little grey cells” ticking, and the writing is tight. It has everything you could possibly want from crime fiction and more. - Review by Kell Smurthwaite, TCM Reviews

BOOK BIT for WTBF-AM/FM, Troy, AL airdate May 4-5,2007

It took a while, but popular author Randy Alcorn founder and director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries, finally completed the trilogy begun with Deadline and Dominion. In his newest, Deception, a broken-hearted alcoholic Portland homicide detective is trying to make sense of a bizarre murder. A Portland State U. professor is dead, and no one is sad about it. In fact, the list of suspects grows and grows as more of the co-eds he sexually harassed are disclosed. The case seems open and shut, but things don't add up to Ollie. He's a big fan of Rex Stout's literary detective, Nero Wolfe and of Sherlock Holmes (as am I), and he doesn't figure his fictional mentors would give up so easily.

But the more Ollie probes, the more cages he rattles; specifically, in his department at Portland PD. The chief of police wants Ollie to back off so he doesn't embarrass the department further, so he assigns an "embedded" newspaper reporter who is a personal friend but professional nemesis of Ollie's. Clarence Abernathy's father made a big impression on Ollie years before (in one of the prequels) and he's a Christian, too, but Ollie can't get over the death of his beloved wife and the estrangement of his two daughters, one of whom has vanished.

When Ollie gets attacked, his house is burglarized, and someone tries to implement him in the murder he's investigating, he figures he's getting close to the truth. Clarence and their mutual friend and fellow Vietnam vet Jake are both meeting with Ollie on Thursdays at Lou's Diner for lunch and talk, which usually comes around to eternity and God. Ollie still is mad at God for killing his wife Sharon, and he's upset that Jake's daughter Carly is dying of cancer, too.

The longer the case goes on, the more "deception" Ollie uncovers. But there's not just garden variety stuff. This is genuine evil, as some one is playing a deadly game and doesn't care who gets caught in the crossfire. One of Ollie's best friends on the squad is implicated and apparently commits suicide. But Ollie is still not convinced the killer is uncovered. Back and forth the evidence swings and you as the reader must pay very close attention to have a chance of discovering the killer before Ollie does.

Up in Heaven, Ollie's wife Sharon and Clarence's dad and eventually Carly Woods are watching as God works His perfect will, slowly but surely, to bring Ollie into the fold. And He's slowly bringing Ollie and his estranged daughter Kendra.

But the killer is closing in on Ollie. Will our hero have enough time to embrace God and solve the crime? - Doc Kirby, Book Bit