Heart of Deception
M L Malcolm

Harper
April 2011/ ISBN 9780061960196
Historical Suspense / Espionage
Amazon

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer

Leo Hoffman is a wealthy businessman, father and a spy. After the death of Maddy's mother during the Japanese attack of Singapore in 1939 Leo Hoffman married a hard-hearted woman who he entrusted to take Maddy to safety in the United States.

She took Maddy to Bernice, Maddy's mother's sister in Englewood, New Jersey.

Leo has completed his espionage missions and returns to the United States to reunite with his daughter. He finds Maddy has romantic ties with Bradley Harrington IV and a New York mobster, George Mondretti. Bernice does not trust Leo and tries to protect Maddy from him. Maddy is dubious about what she feels for her father's desertion and hates him, causing an enduring distrust of men in general.

This is a story of love, deceit and betrayal. It also depicts the enduring love of a father for his child and his desire to regain her love. There are glimpses of the real life of espionage agents.