Customer Reviews

Deadly Deception

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

it would be a good book, worth the money I spent for the hard cover. Well, what a big fat disappointment. This book should have been an excellent read; it has all of the elements I love in a story of True Crime. But alas, as someone else who reviewed the book pointed out, it is written like a trashy true romance novel. I understand that women can be naieve, but give me a break. I truly stopped caring about Brenda after she was almost killed after her car was rammed and she almost died; she still never suspected her husband-she actually had to overhear him talking about planning her murder on the telephone before she realized what was going on. I think if the style of writing had been more sophisticated it could have been a good read but as it is, it wasn't. save your money.

Brenda Gunn's story is compelling and frightening, and that's why I managed to finish this book, despite the awful writing. I then promptly threw it in the trash. Besides having to endure the graphic love scenes involving these very unattractive people, all of the characters were one-dimensional and spouted the worst TV-movie dialogue imaginable. And the story was so one-sided (since the victim wrote it), and left many ends hanging. For instance, what happened to Jane, the best friend whose affair with the husband precipitated all of this? What about Morgan, the guy who was stalking Brenda?

It's hard to believe that even a love-starved, lonely woman wouldn't figure out there was a problem when she was almost killed in a fire, run off the road, poisoned, set up for a lion attack, and her pets started dying off. Throughout it all, Brenda portrays herself as an innocent, naive, loving wife, which actually comes across as incredible naivete and desperation for the love of even a complete louse such as her husband.

It's a very sad and dramatic story, and in the right hands, could have been a good book. But this effort is terribly misdirected, and this book is one of the worst I have ever read.

Agreeing with previous reviewers, the stars are for Brenda Gunn's courage, not for the writing style. It's a great story but Ann Rule should've written it. The trashy novel style is not meant to be used for true crime--I skipped a lot of pages (cut to the chase, so to speak) because I lost all patience with the writing style. Brenda is an intelligent woman who made a good living and smart investments but she married a guy only 2 months after meeting him and he turned out to be an ex-con...the entire marriage and relationship was a set-up involving the woman Brenda thought was her best friend: maximum betrayal. Hats off to Brenda for getting smart just in time to save her own life, but I sure wouldn't have gotten the tombstone with hearts and planned to be buried beside the guy who literally died trying to murder me....

I love true crime and I have read many. This was one of the worst books I have ever read. Some of the situations are so ridiculously portrayed, you know they are exaggerated, if at all true. Every character fits into overused fictionalized story stereotypes. Imagine the worst Lifetime TV Movie, and it would be worse than that. To top it off, there are several descriptions of these two people, whom no one would want to imagine naked, in intimate moments described in typical romance-novel fashion. The bonus is the "love" poem, written by the victim, sounding more like the prose of a third grader. Such a waste of what could have been an interesting story.

This book is not worth reading, period. The writing style is extremely poor: the plot has too many loose ends, the editing is sloppy, the analysis shallow or non-existent, and the vocabulary is more primitive than that of my 8 y.o.'s easy chapter books. Content is no better. Ms. Gunn is a very poor role model for victims of spouse abuse. Even considering her feelings for her husband, she makes too many bad decisions. She is unable to learn her lesson and recognize the pathological nature of her husband and their relationship, and her "still loving him" and wanting to be buried next to him when her time really should not be celebrated. If you want to read a true crime novel, the choices of good reads are numerous (I see that Ann Rule has already been mentioned). If you are interested in psychopathology and in how to protect yourself or your loved ones from dangerous people, read "Women Who Love Psychopaths" by Sandra Brown.

This is a ... book. Unbelieveably, it's a true account of a woman who was used and abused by her husband and best friend, and was too stupid to realize it. I feel sorry for Brenda Gunn, and even sorrier for myself for having read this sad tale.

With Deadly Deception, Brenda Gunn and Shannon Richardson collaborate to present a true life story of duplicity, greed, dangerous passions, and one woman's courage. This is the story of an ideal courtship that concluded with animal activist Brenda Gunn marrying a handsome, charming man. Their life was lovely until an eccentric, wealthy client began to stalk and threaten her. Brenda's husband begins to change into a violent stranger, her house is burned down under suspicious circumstances; her care is run off the road and sent spinning onto the edge of a ravine; one by one her animals begin to disappear or are poisoned. Without any proof the police are unable to help her and the killer is growing bolder. Finally, Brenda takes maters into her own hands just to live through the night. Highly recommended reading for those interested in true crime stories, Deadly Deception is the substance of horror movie thrillers -- and yet it really happened to a most remarkable woman.

The true life story of Brenda Gunn, who just wants to be happy. When Glen enters her life, it is as if all her dreams comes true. What follows is a tangled web of deceit, deception and ultimately dispair. The story could be chilling...but the writing style is so over the top that it distracts the reader. The writing is more like a trashy romance novel, which obscures the true life aspects of the story. Brenda Gunn's story deserves a better telling...I beg to disagree with a previous reviewer, this story would benifit from a detached viewpoint. I am giving it one star in honor of Brenda's bravery, without her it would get no stars.

Worst book I've ever read. Read it recently (2012). Half-way thru I knew I should have stopped reading this, but couldn't because I had to see how bad it could get. What I can't believe is that this woman would marry a man whom none of her family had ever met, although they lived in the same area as she did and they all appeared to be a very close family. When she finally figured out the "supposed plot" of her murder, why didn't she find sanctuary with her parents, who seemed to want to help her in any way? Brenda never learned the lesson of not to marry a man without a job! Why did she not go to the authorities about this "Morgan" character who was "supposedly" stalking her for months? And what about Morgan, who was found on her property right after the shooting? Did he simply disappear like "Jane?" And how long had Jane & Brenda been "best friends?" This entire story as told in this rendition is fishy. It would be great if someone would do some real research on it and write the true story. In addition, it irked that the author continually miss-spelled "all right" as "alright." Her credibility is shot with that alone. How this ever got published is the big question.

Can we ever really trust the person we love, the person we marry? Brenda thought she could, but this chilling true story proves that she was wrong. Dead wrong. Terrifyingly enjoyable, DEADLY DECEPTION will keep you up at night. Lock the doors, pull up the blankets, and make sure you know who's sleeping next to you.