PSWA 1st Place Winner and MWSA 2019 Awards Finalist and Medal Winner...
Things are heating up in Tucson, Arizona! A greedy corporation rigs a multi-million dollar raffle—what comes next will shock the world! The deception is deliberate... the results are deadly.
Following the award-winning mystery thriller, SOLEMNLY SWEAR...
Alex Porter is back…and the stakes have got higher. Much higher!
A millionaire raffle, but people aren’t winning…they’re dying
DELIBERATE DECEPTION heralds the return of Alex Porter; retired United States Air Force OSI (Office of Special Investigations) Agent turned private investigator, in another heart-pounding Joe Porrazzo suspense thriller.
Seven months after leaving New England, Alex, still grieving the tragic deaths of his wife and daughter, gets a call from his friend Joe Prater. Prater’s old army buddy has gone missing from his home in Tucson, and Joe wants Alex to check it out.
HEADLINE NEWS: Tragedy in Tucson
While investigating, Alex gets too close to the truth and becomes a target himself. He finds himself teamed with the very person hired to kill him, as they race against the clock to prevent a mysterious group from striking in Tucson and shocking the world. Do not miss the nonstop action; the deception is deliberate, and the results are deadly.
Excerpt
Tucson, Arizona
December 13, 2010
Monday, 9:20 a.m.
“Damn it, Beede, this better be important!” the executive barked as he tossed the report he’d been scanning onto his custom-made Parnian desk.
From the outer office, Steve Woods’ secretary scurried up to the open office door. While addressing her boss, she glared at Beede with disdain. “Sir, I’m sorry, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.” She shifted her fearful eyes, hesitantly meeting those of her angry boss.
Woods raised his hand to silence his secretary and wave her off. He glared at Beede, who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. Without as much as a glance at his six subordinates seated around the large conference table, Woods said, “folks, let’s reconvene after lunch.” As the employees skittered out of the plush suite, Woods ordered his executive officer to stay. Les Goodman obliged with a slight nod and sat back down.
Woods pointed at the door, which Beede quickly closed before turning to face the two men.
“Sir, I wouldn’t even think about bothering you if this matter wasn’t so important,” Caleb Beede said. Stealing a glance at the state-of-the-art and stylishly designed surroundings, he wondered why he had ever thought this intrusion was a good idea. He had never been in here before, and he certainly knew better than to show up unannounced at the office of the senior executive vice president and chief financial officer. Junior associates in the computer analysis department did not routinely circumvent four levels of the chain-of-command, not if they wanted to remain part of the organization. However, this was big, and his instructions had been to report any problems on the project directly to the CFO or his executive officer.
“But...” Woods, his cheeks flushed, plopped into his chair behind the desk. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Beede.
Beede took the cue. “Sir, I created that webpage like you asked, but there was a problem.”
“What kind of a problem?”
Beede licked his lips and played with the tip of his tie, which sat three inches above his belt buckle. “Well, I, ah, might have accidentally uploaded the file to...to the server.”
Woods turned and locked eyes with Goodman, who quickly stood.
The clock on the desk noisily ticked away the seconds, taunting Beede.
The CFO slowly turned back to the young analyst.
“Exactly what are you saying? Are you telling me that you posted a draft page to the company’s live website?”
Beede involuntarily took a step back. “Yes…sir,” he stammered. “But, I, I removed it as soon as I realized what had happened.”
Goodman interrupted before the CFO could erupt. “Caleb, how long was the draft live?”
Beede drew a shaky breath. “Six hours, perhaps fewer.”
Woods leaped from his chair and stepped toward Beede, but Goodman was faster and jumped between the two men.
“Okay, Caleb,” said Goodman. “Obviously, that was a huge mistake. Have you run an analysis on the situation?”
“Yes, sir, I worked on it all weekend. I know exactly who accessed the page and when. I don’t think it will be a problem.”
Les Goodman cringed.
“You idiot,” Woods said. “I’m just hearing about this now?” Having returned to his desk, he leaned on it with white-knuckled fists. “This could put the three of us behind bars for twenty years! How’s that for a problem?”
Before Beede could respond, Goodman voiced a disturbing thought. “Can you tell how many people accessed the site?”
Beads of sweat were forming on Beede’s forehead and upper lip. He had expected the question and hesitated slightly before responding.
“Five people accessed the draft page. Once only, and I did some checking, they all live here in Southern Arizona.”
Woods crossed his arms again and stared at Beede, daring him to continue.
When he did not, Goodman took up the reins. “How do you know they didn’t download the page? Worse, how do you know that they didn’t forward it to someone?”
Beede stood a little straighter. He was glad he’d been thorough. The long hours of overtime this weekend had been worth it.
“I checked and double checked, to make sure it was just five people. I even traced their IP addresses.” Beede caught Woods’ disapproving glare. The CFO did not understand this technical speak; he didn’t have to, it was what he paid Beede for. “I mean, their locations through their internet providers,” Beede elaborated. “Then I went a step further and uploaded spyware on their systems.” He looked at Woods for approval but came up empty. “I also have a buddy at the telephone company and he confirmed that none of them have landlines; so, I hacked into their cell phones. I know more about them and their families than they do. I also hacked into their email accounts. I’m tracking their incoming and outgoing email in real-time, as well as their internet traffic patterns.” Beede smiled. “I can view every website they visit, how long they stay, and what they search for. One of them tried to access the page again but I had already taken it down. There was minimal social media chatter, but what did get out there had no response. None of them pursued it beyond that. I can assure you those five people probably didn’t even realize what they saw, and they’ve probably already forgotten about it.”
“That’s not good enough,” said Woods uncharacteristically calm given the circumstances.
“Excuse me?” said Beede.
Woods addressed Goodman.
“I can’t have five witnesses wandering around out there. Any one of them could destroy everything we have accomplished. There’s too much riding on this project.”
“What do you mean?” Beede was dumbfounded, his throat bone-dry. He thought he knew exactly what Woods meant, but the words would not compute in his brain.
Goodman put his hand on Beede’s shoulder and guided him to the door.
“Caleb, let me have a word with Mr. Woods. Why don’t you go back to your office and put together a report?”
“Yes, okay.” Beede hesitated, then turned around, nervously raising a finger but not making eye contact. “We knew this was wrong. I should have never agreed to be a part of this!”
As Goodman closed the door, Beede’s foot stopped it. “This is…is it,” he stuttered, “this is as far…as far as I go. I refuse to be a part of anything else illegal. If that means jail time...”
Goodman used his foot to edge Beede’s out of the way. The door closed with a quiet click.
Beede stood staring at the closed door, inches from his face.
“That fucking chicken shit!” boomed the CFO’s voice from inside the office. “He’s been overpaid for his part in this, how dare he get self-righteous now!”
Beede turned and scurried away.
* * *
Steve Woods slumped in his oversized leather executive chair and released an aggravated sigh. His heart raced as he reflected on Beede’s comment about jail time. Prison was the least of their worries if this thing spiraled out of control. If the Phoenix caught wind of this, their lives wouldn’t be worth a damn.
He glanced at Goodman.
Les shrugged, implying once again what he had told his boss on more than one occasion. Beede is a weasel, but we need his technical expertise on this project. The last thing Woods wanted now was an I told you so. Les knew the man well enough to know he did not suffer fools gladly.
“What do we do now?” Woods asked.
“We wait.” Les saw his boss scowl at the suggestion. “We give it a little time and if, say after a week, those people don’t kick up a fuss…we can assume they’ve forgotten about the incident and won’t cause problems. The alternative is killing five people, which would bring a high risk of exposure.”
“It’s too late for that, someone has to have talked.”
“There’s no proof of that,” said Les. “Beede was smart enough to trace their every move. We would know if any of the five people had contacted the authorities. C’mon boss, Beede screwed up, but a stupid mistake doesn’t have to be a fatal one.”
Woods didn’t hesitate. “We’ve come too far and have too many investors depending on us. Do you know what the Phoenix would do to us if the plan were compromised, before it even got off the ground? Trust me; we don’t want to piss him off. Failure is not an option, not if we want to survive this. Six people are acceptable collateral damage.”
“Six?” Les asked.
“Beede,” Woods said. “You just saw, he doesn’t have the stomach for this, he’s a loose cannon.”
Les shook his head. “I disagree, boss, I think it would be a big mistake on our part.”
Woods studied Goodman’s face for a moment, then motioned for his underling to leave his office. “Get hold of Diggs and get this mess cleaned up. Fast.”
Les rose slowly and headed for the door.
“It will be taken care of.”
“And Les,” Woods called out. “Tell Diggs I want all the evidence destroyed, and to make sure the hits look like accidents.”
Professional Reviews
MWSA
“Wow, I never saw that coming.” Just when I thought I was figuring things out, a plot twist hit me – not once, but over and over. Deliberate Deception is an apt title.
Joe Porrazzo knows how to draw the reader into the story and never let go until the last page. Even then, questions arise to pique one’s interest for the forthcoming third book in the Alex Porter Trilogy.
The author stirs politics, crime, greed, and love into the pot and delivers a good read. Good versus evil seems a clear concept until it becomes muddied. Porrazzo gives us an outstanding portrayal of one man’s reaction to morality, immorality, and amorality. Can the lines really blur, or is a clear-cut answer always the right one?
Can love flourish amid deception? Can the sins of the past be forgiven? Alex Porter wrestles with these questions as he races against the clock to stop an unknown killer from an unspecified crime.
The action in Deliberate Deception is non-stop, the dialogue is crisp, and the characters are realistic. It’s the kind of story that leaves the reader wondering what he would have done.
Review by Pat Avery (February 2019)
Midwest Book Review
Don’t let the advertising fool you: Deliberate Deception is the second book in a trilogy, but that doesn't mean it requires prior familiarity with its predecessor, Solemnly Swear. It's relatively rare to note a trilogy addition that truly stands alone while enhancing others in the series; but Deliberate Deception is such an accomplishment, forging new ground while seamlessly integrating all the details of protagonist Alex Porter's life and personality. As such, it promises vivid interest not just to prior fans, but to newcomers who will appreciate its fast pace and engrossing plot.
Alex, a retired Air Force OSI agent turned private investigator, faces another big challenge to his skills as he confronts the results of a greedy corporation's raffle where the unexpected prize is death.
It's been only seven months since his wife and daughter were killed and Alex is still in full-fledged grief; but he is cognizant enough to respond when a lawyer's friend goes missing in Tucson. It's no surprise that his probe results in his own life being in the crosshairs; but when he uncovers allies among those who would harm him, the story really ventures into the unexpected.
The first big plus to Deliberate Deception is Alex's journey, which moves deftly from grief to full investigative mode with more than a few surprises during the process. Alex is steeped in military procedures, circles, and connections; but even these experiences don't translate to easy solutions to complex criminal activities. Joe Porrazzo's attention to detail flushes out Alex's personality, motivations, and conundrums to create not just compelling action scenes, but a character who is completely realistic and likeable.
Tough security questions, high tech answers, and Alex's first PI contract after moving to Tucson wind into a story line replete with action, intrigue, and a newfound problem that perp Diggs may just have to eliminate.
As a new holiday season (Alex's first without his wife and daughter) and romance enter the picture, readers are treated to a fast-paced story of a capable, authoritative PI who may be moving too quickly on many levels even as he perceives himself as inexplicably moving too slowly, compared with his past momentum. Readers will identify with his self-assessment and predicaments as they move through an engrossing series of changing scenarios.
His new girlfriend Missy is also cautious about changing her life ("Missy turned to leave, burdened by feelings of dread. She tried to shake them but she was convinced Alex wasn’t coming back. These feelings were new to her. Her whole life, she had fended for herself and never had to worry about anybody else. She was in uncharted territory and the panic wouldn’t let go."). As both explore new territory, events heat up to tackle themes of murder, responsibility, love, and unlucky, innocent people killed by greed on the cusp of what they believe to be their luckiest day of life.
Politics, terrorism, and greed together create a story that is hard to put down, filled with unexpected twists and turns powered by Alex's recovery and growth and Missy's newfound revelations about the world and her place in it. Once begun, it's nearly impossible to put down.
Readers looking for a thriller that grabs hold and doesn't let go will find Deliberate Deception just the ticket for a superior and satisfying blend of psychological detail and suspense.
- D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
The return of retired USAF special investigations agent, Alex Porter, is back as a private investigator and lands mired in not one, not two, but several life-threatening situations.
Having recently relocated to Tucson, AZ. and learning to cope with the loss of his wife and daughter, Alex takes on a case based on information and special request from his best friend, Joe.
Upon beginning his investigation, Alex learns of a high cost raffle that is apparently rigged, as people are dying, not winning.
Still dealing with the loss of his family and dealing with a situation with the Vionelli mob family, Alex begins investigating the raffle matter and becomes unwillingly and unknowingly involved personally when people set out to kill him!
'Deliberate Deception' is another wonderful novel by Joe Porrazzo, This book is a definite page-turner that has the reader on the edge of their seats. There are twists and turns with every chapter.
The story is enthralling and definitely worth checking out, but I have mixed feelings regarding the ending. On the one hand, the story is left unfinished leaving the reader wanting a conclusion to wrap up any and all story lines...but, on the other hand, what an enticing, cliff-hanger leaving the reader begging for a sequel! If the cliff-hanger road is correct, then it is an amazingly brave act by Joe Porrazzo to hold his readers in suspense. I, for one, certainly can't wait for the sequel.
Revenge is Fun series. Millions of dollars are missing from the Venice Canals HOA and so are the Vice President and Treasurer. Were they kidnapped? Where is the money? Twists galore and a surprise ending with humor along the way.
