Book Review: Heart of Deception by M. L. Malcolm

Heart of Deception by M.L. Malcolm
Book 2 in Heart of Lies series
AKA. Deceptive Intentions

ARC, Paperback, 352 pages

Harper Paperbacks

April 5, 2011

★★★★★

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received for review from publicist

“Leo Hoffman is a man of many contradictions. He is a Hungarian national with a French passport, a wealthy businessman with no visible means of support, and a devoted father who hasn’t seen his daughter in years. He is also a spy. 

Recruited by the Allies to help lay the groundwork for their invasion of North Africa, Leo intends to do as little spying as possible; he just wants to earn his American citizenship, get to New York, and find his daughter, Maddy. But while Leo dodges death in France and Morocco, Maddy learns the truth behind her father’s mysterious past, and as she matures, this haunting knowledge compels Maddy down her own dangerous path of deception and discovery. 

Spanning the years from World War II to the turbulent 1960s, this sequel to Heart of Lies tells the riveting story of a family struggling with the choices that war forces them to make, and the consequences that take a generation to unfold.”

M.L. Malcolm really knows how to suck you in and keep you wanting to read more. Just check out the way this book opens:

“If the city of Tangier had been a woman, she would have been a whore, and a wealthy one. Brazenly straddling the northwest tip of Africa, she brushed one of her sultry thighs up against the undulating waves of the turquoise Mediterranean Sea; the other unfolded west, perpetually teasing the unquenchable desire of the gray Atlantic Ocean” (Malcolm 3)

Talk about scandalous, huh?! The novel isn’t written entirely in this fashion, but Malcolm creates descriptions that allow the reader to vividly imagine the story that is being told. The plot is also very fast paced where words are not taken for granted and each passage is important to the story.

If you have read Heart of Lies, Malcolm’s previous release, you will notice that this story is more of Maddy’s story than the previous novel was. We still see some of Leo’s life as a spy, but really this is more of Maddy’s coming of age story. As much as I enjoyed reading the very believable evolution and problems that Maddy faces, I still missed Leo’s story. We get tiny snippets of his spy missions, but I want more! I found this story to be slightly less exciting than Heart of Lies but I think this was mostly because the bulk of the story takes place in America in the mid 1900’s, whereas Heart of Lies has more exotic locales and cultures that I had not read about before.

This was a great read with twists and turns that will keep you pouring over the pages until the very end. I am wondering if there will be a third novel because the ending certainly leaves the option open and I would love to see more of Maddy and Leo.

If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Man of La Book
• Reading Through Life

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by M. L. Malcolm

Heart of Lies (Heart of Lies #1)
[My Review]

The Cuban Connection

Find M.L. Malcolm: Website | Facebook | Twitter




Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Interview with M.L. Malcolm

Today I have the great pleasure to welcome M.L. Malcolm to The Maiden's Court.  M.L. is the author of Heart of Lies and the newly released Heart of Deception.  I loved both and my review of Heart of Deception will be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned.  Let's welcome M.L. and learn the answers to some of my most pressing questions.

You stated previously in a guest post on this blog that some of the events in Heart of Lies were inspired by events that your family members had experienced. Did any of the events in Heart of Deception stem from anything your family experienced?

I was actually estranged from my own father for many years, although under very different circumstances, and my experience did not cause me to make the same kind of choices Maddy makes; but I suppose on an emotional level writing about some of what Maddy deals with provided me with a way of processing my own loss. There are also some personalities in our respective families (mine and my husband’s) that I drew upon. In particular the character of Bernice was inspired by my husband’s maternal grandmother, Edith Gulton, who earned a PhD in chemical engineering in 1922 and was a true partner in the business she and her husband built. Edith was brilliant but not terribly warm, a female “Dr. Spock,” (the Star Trek variety), at least until you got to know her very, very well. And her niece really was a piano prodigy.

The story told in Heart of Deception is mostly Maddie’s story – what led you to tell more of her story this time as opposed to Leo’s story?

I first conceptualized the story as a multi-generational saga, so I knew from the beginning that the focus was going to shift from Leo and Martha to Maddy, although in the very first draft of the book Leo was the character who died in Shanghai. My mother and sister, who were reading chapters hot off the press back then, both called me and said, “YOU KILLED THE WRONG PERSON.” Which is a little off-putting. I mean, it’s my book, I can kill whoever I want to, right? But then I realized that they had a point—Leo is more complex. In Heart of Lies Leo has to make some difficult choices in order to survive, and the second book, Heart of Deception becomes an exploration of the law of unintended consequences, especially with regard to how his choices affected his daughter’s life. However I was very pleased that, according to the reviews, I succeeded in making Heart of Deception a “stand alone” sequel, because I didn’t want readers to feel as if they can’t read it without reading Heart of Lies first.

The story in this book spans a decent amount of time, many different locales as well as following two characters very different lives. How do you keep yourself organized while writing and did you work out the two storylines first and then bring them together or did you write them simultaneously?

I did two enormous timelines, one for Leo and one for Maddy, wrote them simultaneously, and then occasionally adjusted things to be able to incorporate the historical events I wanted to write about. For example, I knew that Maddy was going get involved with someone dangerous, because I saw her as unconsciously mirroring her father’s life. Without giving away too much, the federal investigations that I talk about in the book occurred in 1962-1963, so that’s when Leo had to come home. Similarly, Leo is recruited to work as a spy in 1939. The American O.S.S. wasn’t operating in Europe until 1942, but President Roosevelt sent the diplomat, Robert Murphy, to North Africa in 1940 to keep tabs on what was happening there. Murphy recruited twelve men—nicknamed “the Apostles”—who were allegedly vice-consuls monitoring compliance with foreign trade agreements, but who were in fact serving as gatherers of intelligence for the U.S. and its allies. So I knew that’s where Leo needed to end up as well, and anything going on in Maddy’s life would have to fit into that timeframe.

Is there any chance that we will see a third book in this saga or are Maddy’s and Leo’s stories all wrapped up?

Never say never! I’d like to think that Leo has earned a happy retirement, but when the story closes Maddy is not yet thirty-five, so who knows? And aren’t you curious about whether or not she and that cute prosecutor finally get together? I am. Then there’s her daughter, Martha Anne….

Can you give us any hints of what you are working on currently?

I am writing the third book in this series, although it’s not a sequel, it’s a spinoff, like “Rhoda” or “Frasier.” Katherine O’Connor, one of my favorite characters and Maddy’s best friend, is getting her own book. She does become a foreign correspondent, and her book is very different; all the action takes place in less than three years, and much of it is written in first person. It’s set in Cuba in the early 1960s, and I have been having a blast with the research, although I have yet to get to Cuba!

M.L. has won several awards for her fiction, including special recognition in the prestigious Lorian Hemingway International Short Story Competition, and a silver medal from ForeWord Magazine for Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year 2009.

M.L. has lived in New York, Florida, Boston, Atlanta, France, and Los Angeles. She currently resides in Washington, D.C.

You can find more about her books by checking out her website.





Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

2 Exciting Giveaway Opportunities

I am excited to bring to you two very different (but also very similar) giveaway opportunities - both in relation to author M.L. Malcolm!

The first is an awesome giveaway sponsored by the author herself.

Win a Week at a Mountain Top Retreat

On April 7th one lucky person will win a week’s stay for up to six people at Laurel Edge, a lovely three-bedroom, fully-furnished mountain home located just outside the beautiful resort town of Highlands, North Carolina. Built on twelve tranquil, tree-covered acres atop an imposing mountain ridge, the home boasts breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hiking, white water rafting and trout fishing are all available close by, as are many fine restaurants.

Enter by pre-ordering Heart of Deception, and sending proof of your purchase to mlmalc50@gmail.com, or by following these instructions for a non-purchase based entry (located about halfway down the page).  I am providing a link to Amazon where you can pre-order the book, or from any other of your favorite stores.

The other giveaway is being held here on The Maiden's Court - for one copy of the book Heart of Deception.  This is one of my most anticipated reads for 2011 so I am excited to be offering it to you.  This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada.  Just fill out the form below to be entered.  The winner will be announced April 2, 2011 (this will give you enough time to cancel your pre-order if you should win - book goes on sale April 5, 2011).  

Best of luck in these two great giveaways!




Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

About My Life - Guest Post by M. L. Malcolm

I have the great pleasure of welcoming author M. L. Malcolm today to The Maiden's Court. Her wonderful new book, Heart of Lies was released this past June and you can read my glowing review here. Without further adieu...

About My Life

Guest Post by M. L. Malcolm, Author of

Heart of Lies

My mother-in-law was born in Germany. Over the years I collected many riveting anecdotes about how various members of her family had managed to escape the Nazis. One of them made it to Shanghai, a city whose history had fascinated me ever since I visited it as a tourist back in 1988. This incredible family history provided the makings of a great book, but I didn’t really want to write a WWII story, so I looked for a way to explore those experiences in a meaningful way within a different historical context: another time and place.

My husband’s grandfather was born in Budapest in 1901, so that’s where I began my research. I found out that by the turn of the 19th century the Hungarian capital was in the throes of a true renaissance. While the rural population of Hungary lived in conditions unchanged since the middle ages, the citizens of Budapest enjoyed innovations in engineering, technology, architecture and the arts; for example, it had the second underground subway system in Europe.

When World War I ended, with Hungary on the losing side, the country fell into complete economic and social chaos. Soviet Russia capitalized on the mess by helping to set up a communist government led by a Hungarian of Jewish heritage. This regime used extreme violence to counter any resistance to its “reforms,” and the whole disaster ended with a Romanian invasion. The Hungarian war hero Admiral Nicholas Horthy finally seized control, but some of his followers sought vengeance for the “red terror” as well as the empire’s demise, so they began slaughtering communists, Jews (communist or not) and others deemed “intellectuals.” During this “white terror” they killed an estimated 5,000 people.

The events in Hungary after World War I struck me as a tragic precursor to the Holocaust, so I chose that period as the starting point for Heart of Lies. Then I looked for an actual historical event that I could incorporate as the reason for my main character, Leo Hoffman, to have to flee to Shanghai. I came across a Hungarian counterfeiting scandal that had international ramifications; it was the perfect catalyst for Leo’s escape, and the timing enabled me to move the action to Shanghai and write about that amazing place during its “golden age.”

Because of agreements negotiated by several different Western countries, Chinese law did not apply to citizens of these so-called “treaty nations” while they were in Shanghai. From the 1840's until just before World War II it was the only place in the civilized world where you could enter without a passport or a visa and just set up shop. Opium smugglers mingled easily with bankers and industrialists, while the city’s minimal entry requirements enabled over 20,000 Jews to survive the Holocaust by escaping to Shanghai.

During this phase of my research I discovered the notorious Shanghai gangster, Du Yue-sheng, and he provided a perfect nemesis for my main character, Leo Hoffman. I did change one letter in the spelling of Du’s name, because his nickname was “Big Ears,” which I didn’t find very villainous.

I’d like to think that Heart of Lies is not only historically accurate, it’s also historically driven, and hopefully provides some very entertaining educational bits along the way, taking full advantage of the magic of time and place.

Although born in New York, M.L. Malcolm spent most of her childhood in Florida. Her education gradually brought her back north, as she earned degrees from Emory University and Harvard Law School. However, after practicing law for three years, M.L. determined that "she and the law were not meant for each other," and she is now a self-described "recovering attorney."

M.L. has won several awards for her fiction, including special recognition in the prestigious Lorian Hemingway International Short Story Competition, and a silver medal from ForeWord Magazine for Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year 2009. She has also amassed an impressive hat collection (and yes, she does wear them). Her novel, Heart of Lies, was published in June of 2010 by HarperCollins.

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Giveaway - Heart of Lies by M. L. Malcolm

Good morning everyone - I hope you are all ready for this wonderful giveaway I have for you today. I have up for grabs, 1 copy of Heart of Lies by M. L. Malcolm, thanks to the fabulous publicist.

"Leo Hoffman was born with a gift for languages. When his dreams for the future are destroyed by World War I, the dashing young Hungarian attempts to use his rare talent to rebuild his life, only to find himself inadvertently embroiled in an international counterfeiting scheme. Suddenly Leo is wanted across the European continent for a host of crimes, including murder. Left with no options, he must escape to Shanghai with his lover, carrying with him a stolen treasure that could be his salvation . . . or his death warrant. But the gangsters who control the decadent Asian city have no intention of letting him outrun his past. And when the Japanese invade, one wrong move could cost Leo Hoffman everything he holds dear.

An epic tale of intrigue, passion, and adventure, Heart of Lies heralds the arrival of a remarkable writer."

And here are the details:

- 1 copy up for grabs
- Only open to US & Canada (publisher's request)
- Giveaway will run from August 11th to August 29th. Winner will be announced August 30th.

To enter:

- Leave a comment below with your email address (required)
- Become a follower of The Maiden's Court (required)
- For additional entries (+1 for each): Blog post, Sidebar post, Tweet, Facebook, etc - just leave a link back to it here

Good luck everyone - this was one of my top reads so far this year!




Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Heart of Lies by M. L. Malcolm

Heart of Lies by M. L. Malcolm

Paperback, 336 pages

Harper Paperbacks

June 8, 2010

★★★★★

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received for review from publicist

“Leo Hoffman was born with a gift for languages. When his dreams for the future are destroyed by World War I, the dashing young Hungarian attempts to use his rare talent to rebuild his life, only to find himself inadvertently embroiled in an international counterfeiting scheme. Suddenly Leo is wanted across the European continent for a host of crimes, including murder. Left with no options, he must escape to Shanghai with his lover, carrying with him a stolen treasure that could be his salvation . . . or his death warrant. But the gangsters who control the decadent Asian city have no intention of letting him outrun his past. And when the Japanese invade, one wrong move could cost Leo Hoffman everything he holds dear."

I’m going to throw this out there, right off the top, I LOVED THIS BOOK! Prepare for the gushing.

This story is fast-paced, beautifully detailed, and really sets the reader right into the time and place – which could be challenging because there are several very different settings. The story is initially set in a couple of European countries – Hungary, France, and Germany. These are all areas that I am familiar with. Then the story shifts to Shanghai, China – this is where everything was new to me. China, between the two World Wars, was an extremely different place than it had always been and how it would become in the future. Many of the world powers had influence there at the time. I enjoyed learning about the areas where wealthy Europeans and Americans lived and the culture there. Toward the end of the book we move into the United States. Each of these locations were like characters themselves the way they were wrought out by this author.

Right from the very beginning I was invested in Leo’s story. He was a very unique person who was very driven for what he wanted – which happed to be a beautiful woman he meets by chance. His passion was so palpable. Although I can’t imagine myself ever being in some of the situations that he ended up in, it was so believable to the character and the time period that I was instantly absorbed. I think I fell in love with this character!

This is the second book that I have read recently that was set between the World Wars. It was enlightening to see how the impending war affected different places in the world – in this book you can see three very different perspectives. You really get to see how the tensions affect the people who are just trying to live their lives and get out from under World War I, only to be thrown into the impending World War II.

I honestly do not have one single bad thing to say about this book. From the time I picked it up I couldn’t put it down. This is certainly a book you should not miss!

To read an excerpt of the book (which I recommend) – check this out.

I have a giveaway of Heart of Lies coming up this week, as well as a guest post from the author, so keep watching for more.

---

I am now anxiously awaiting the follow-up novel, Heart of Deception! It is scheduled to be released in April of 2011 (so very far away) and sounds so exciting. Here’s the description:

“Leo Hoffman is a man of many contradictions. He is a Hungarian national with a French passport, a wealthy businessman with no visible means of support, and a devoted father who hasn’t seen his daughter in years. He is also a spy.

Recruited by the Allies to help lay the groundwork for their invasion of North Africa, Leo intends to do as little spying as possible; he just wants to earn his American citizenship, get to New York, and find his daughter, Maddy. But while Leo dodges death in France and Morocco, Maddy learns the truth behind her father’s mysterious past, and as she matures, this haunting knowledge compels Maddy down her own dangerous path of deception and discovery.

Spanning the years from World War II to the turbulent 1960s, this sequel to Heart of Lies tells the riveting story of a family struggling with the choices that war forces them to make, and the consequences that take a generation to unfold.”

---

 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Man of La Book
• Unabridged Chick

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes& Noble | RJ Julia

Also by M.L. Malcolm:

Heart of Deception (Sequel to Heart of Lies)
[My Review]

The Cuban Connection

 

Find M.L. Malcolm: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court