As Kelly goes undercover as a homeless woman, she meets many interesting people at Loving Grace, including Nettie, an indifferent employee there; Gordon, the handsy manager; LuAnn, a brutish bully who seems to run things among the women; and Robyn, a teen runaway whose parents didn't approve of her girlfriend. Despite Kelly's need for info in the hopes of finding Amber before it is too late, she has to tread easy with these women, because they are all spooked, in one way or another. After a few long conversations, Kelly does suspect that Robyn knows more than she is saying and would be the right age to have known Amber at the shelter, but when Robyn disappears the next morning, leaving her precious journal behind, Kelly is sure something's up.
Kelly has another shock that greets her when she comes home after her initial stay at Loving Grace - her ne'er-do-well half sister Hannah has come to visit and she is staying with Kelly's next-door neighbor/ex-mother-in-law, Arlene, and Kelly just can't stomach Hannah's drama right now. What on earth could she want? She doesn't have time to dwell on it, because while Amber and Robyn are AWOL, a body is found in the park near the shelter. It's a Loving Grace resident who was clean, yet somehow OD'd. To make matters worse, Kelly is attacked while she is following a suspicious resident of Loving Grace, and when that person is then murdered, Kelly thinks she might be in over her head. At least she can rely on her cop boyfriend Kyle for comfort, right? Wrong. Kyle is working hard to impress his boss since he just made detective and he thinks Kelly just might be a thrill-seeker who is unnecessarily putting herself in danger. Plus, now Kyle is investigating a murder and Kelly is under suspicion. So awkward.
She can always find joy in her darling daughter Mitz, which is fortunate, because Jeff's new girlfriend and baby-mama Linda (a former close friend of Kelly's) has decided to redecorate every square inch of Kelly's former home and is making life weird and uncomfortable. But you know, weird and uncomfortable seems totally on-brand for Kelly Pruett. She'll get through this case just like she always does - with the support of family, sometimes coming through in those she least expects.
Deceived is a really twisty-turny mystery, but I like how the characters are evolving in each story. Characters that started off as annoying are becoming endearing, and we're really seeing Kelly's support system grow and blossom. In no big surprise, I loved Deceived and I can't wait for the next installment.
