Book Review: Deck of Lies - Book 2: The Tower

Book: Deck of Lies - Book 2: The Tower
Author: Jade Varden
Published by: Jade Varden (self-published)
Date published: 2012
Format: E-Book
Length: 95 pages
ISBN: 9781476215921
Genres: Teenage, love, justice, law and order, fiction, school, chick-lit, friendship, whodunnit, murder mystery

Synopsis: A Tower of Deception...Death brings some families closer, but it's ripped mine apart. I wanted to convince the police that they had the wrong suspect...but I never expected them to start suspecting me. Now, I have no choice but to keep searching for the truth, even if all my relationships fall to pieces around me.

Someone is trying to make me look guilty. I never thought my mission to prove my own innocence would lead me to more family secrets. I thought I had already discovered the truth about myself. But every answer raises more questions, and everything I think I know is about to change...again.
I have to find the truth, no matter how much it hurts -- before I get charged with murder. 

The Review:

Plot & pace - Another solid novel by Jade Varden that meets up to the expectations left by its predecessor. Book Two did not disappoint. We begin with a well crafted Prologue that quickly recaps where we last left Rain, the central character and narrator of our story; in the aftermath of the murder of Laurel Riordan. If you've not read Book One, Justice, read my review for more context by clicking HERE.

After the prologue we pretty much take off from where we last left story. Rain is trying to piece together the murder and why, one of her only and closest friends, River Scott, is being 'targeted' as the number one suspect. Part of the reason why I enjoyed the opening so much was that it was not a repeat of Book One. We picked off, right where we left the story we the occasional sentence here and there jogging the readers memory to the important facts. Though I read the first book just coming up to four months ago, I could straight away remember the characters and preceding story-line and delve back into the twisted world of the Von Shelton family.

Rain is trying in vain to defend River; she even confronts the detective leading the investigation into Laurel's death. In doing so, she puts herself in the firing line; why does Rain know so much? Why is she so adamant he didn't kill Laurel? The strain of the case soon casts a shadow over Salone Academy and the Von Shelton Family when Andrew Von Shelton decides to be River Scotts lawyer. Many don't like the idea, forcing Carsyn and Rain to defend their fathers' actions, in a moment where they actually showed a bit of warmth to each other.

Sawyer Von Shelton, Rain's brother and long-term boyfriend of the later Laurel, is taking the death and case badly. Drinking heavily, he can only confide in his sister Rain. To add another twist to the tale, when some of Laurel's possessions are passed to Sawyer, they find a box full of obsessive articles and media clips about a dark Von Shelton family secret; their insane Aunt Elizabeth. The 'Paris Hilton of the 80s', Elizabeth fell from grace and seemingly disappeared over night. What is the connection? When Sawyer and Rain visit Elizabeth we find out two shocking revelations; I won't reveal all but let's just say the mystery behind Rain's biological parents deepens, along with the addition of some new murders to solve. This is where Book Two exceeds Book One; there are so many new riddles to add to the story. It's very well crafted and executed, sustaining a very tense chase, almost to the point of becoming a thriller!

What we do know is a possible motive for all the murders; anyone who dares to spill the secrets or gets close to finding out the secrets of the Von Shelton family. These adds to the suspect list; it's very cleverly put together as one minute you think it's one person and the next it someone else entirely. That is one thing you can state for the Deck of Lies Series, you can always expect the unexpected. But now as we lead onto the Third Book, Death, our main character is in danger - she knows the family secrets, she knows too much!

“Whatever you’re doing, be careful. Don’t forget that you’re trying to solve something that somebody doesn’t want figured out. More than one person might have been killed because of it.”

Characters - I thought I wouldn't go into the main characters as these pretty much lead on from the previous book. Instead, I'm going to list the suspects in this 'Whodunnit' and my theories as to which one is the likely killer.

• River Scott - A quite, reclusive individual with mental health problems due to the haunting images and effects of his fathers 'suicide'. Very unlikely to be River as he seems an almost too easy target in this case.
• Sawyer von Shelton - I can't honestly say how Sawyer is now related to Rain by the end of the second novel (it's really messed up). He seems the only other 'sane' one of the Von Shelton family who wants to get to the bottom of the corruption and family secrets. I wouldn't rule him out but I suspect it's unlikely to be him.
• Owen Harper - The ex boyfriend of both Carsyn and Rain, the lovable boy at school with a dark streak. This dark streak leads to obsession and control. But due to the time difference between the murders - we're talking decades here - I don't think he's the killer.
• Carsyn von Shelton - the evil sister. I would put money both her and her mother. I think they're both as twisted as each other in that they'd rather keep up appearances and reputation over anything else. I can see a double act working here; the mother in the early murders, the daughter in the later. 
• Asher von Shelton - the lawyer and possible father of Rain. Asher is a hard one to read, he's very detached and has little dialogue within the book. In that sense, he may be the dark horse in the story. He's controlling the murder case by being the defence lawyer and he's of course part of the family. Out of everyone he has the most to lose, a job, a reputation, a family, an estate... he may well be the killer.

Setting - again there is no overriding setting in this book. The atmosphere I felt was that the characters were constantly in motion and travelling, giving this idea that they were unsettled. It adds to the tension as you never can be certain where they will next end up.

Language used & dialogue - It's not a hard read; the language used in Young Adult novels is rarely difficult to digest. The book flows very well and has a good balance of dialogue with description without losing any of the pace.

Narration - The book is again told in the first person from the viewpoint of Rain however, in Book Two I think there is less personal observations from Rain as in Book One.

Themes & Ideas - A wealthy upper class family falling from grace; it's not a new concept but the writing skill and mixture of sub-plots makes certain this book stands out from the crowd.

The Verdict: In November of 2012, Verdict announced Jade Varden was the Indie Author of the Month and this book really validates why. An intelligent, very well calculated plot that thrills to great effect. This book exceeds Book One in its complexity, it's a more mature, gripping read. I cannot wait to read Book Three! 4* Stars.