Customer Reviews

Black Deception

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The author of this book apparently works in the medical field, and is a physician assistant, coincidentally, the protagonist. This is the first novel written by the author, and I would give a favorable review for taking on such a project. After getting past the first 30 pages of medical jargon, I appreciate the conflict the author builds between the antagonist (world renown surgeon), the nurses, other physician assistants, and the difficulty in making a decision of weather to expose the surgeon or keep the secret. I saw this more of a book on professional issues, rather than a medical thriller. It is a page turner.

The basic idea of the book was interesting. The plot of the story had me very interested, however, there were too many loose ends and unanswered questions. Even if there was a second book to this story, it had too many holes. Also, the editing and spelling was horrible. On one page a sentence begins and it is never finished on the next page. I dont recommend this book.

The book starts out slow but after the first couple of chapters it gets more and more interesting and it's hard to put down. I got the feeling that I was reading from actual events that may have occurred in the author's own experiences in her profession as a physician's assistant, and that only the "names were changed to protect the innocent." The characters were faced with making very hard decisions and choices in their daily responsibilities as caregivers. From a patient's aspect, the content of this book has surely enlightened me to take more seriously the issue of my healthcare, especially with regard to surgical practices and procedures.

When I read the back cover of this novel, I was immediately excited about this book. The premise was unique enough to garner my attention. However, it lost my interest after the third page.

Black Deception is a medical thriller set in a Miami, Florida medical center. Angela Butler has been offered a job as a physician's assistant in the world renowned Menorah Medical Center's surgery department. Dr. Kevin Diamond, the department head hires Angela to assist him in his genetic cloning therapy research institute. Once she is there, however, Angela's view of Dr. Diamond changes from medical pioneer to medical pirate. Patients experience dangerous medical, secretaries misplace patient records and Dr. Diamond takes patient's DNA specimens without the patient's consent. Angela believes that Dr. Diamond is creating human embryos from the stolen specimens through unauthorized genetic cloning, but she doesn't know how to prove it. At the same time she must prove to the Miami police that she is not an accomplice to an unsolved homicide. Apparently the same people that robbed her home used her identity to rent their runaway vehicle. The plot thickens when Angela's home invasions are tied to Dr. Diamond's business partners.

Payton's plot should produce quite a page-turner, but it falls short, because of her novice writing skills. The book is hard to follow and there are too many characters to keep up with. Although the story is packed with complicated medical jargon, the facts lose their power and authenticity. Payton overwrites her dialogues, does a poor job at fleshing out her characters and builds a weak climax. Her love story is underdeveloped and she does a poor job at subplotting. The book is inappropriately titled Black Deception. It should be titled Book Deception, because it reads more like a first draft than a completed piece. For someone who wants to delve into a good read, they will be disappointed.

Therefore, I have no choice, but to give the book two pens- one for effort and one for trying to bring something new to the table. Hopefully, Payton can pull it off in her second novel, Cloning or at least I hope she can.

Dee Y. Stewart
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