Heart of Deception: A Novel

by M.L. Malcolm

Overview

From M. L. Malcolm, the acclaimed author of Heart of Lies, comes a powerful sequel that spans the years from World War II to the turbulent 1960s—the riveting story of a family struggling with choices forced upon them by war . . . and the consequences that will take a generation to unfold.

Aman of many contradictions, Leo Hoffman 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 engage in as little espionage as possible—just enough to earn his American citizenship so he can get to New York and reunite with his daughter, Maddy. But while Leo dodges death in France and Morocco, Maddy is learning shocking truths about her father's mysterious past—haunting knowledge that will compel her down her own dangerous path of deception and discovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062078919
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/17/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	853 KB

About the Author

M. L. Malcolm has won several awards for short fiction, including recognition in the Lorian Hemingway International Short Story Competition, and a silver medal from ForeWord magazine for Historical Fiction Book of the Year. Malcolm has lived in Florida, Boston, Washington, D.C., France, New York, and Atlanta, and currently resides in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

The search of Leo Hoffman, a dashing spy, for his daughter, Maddy, drives Malcolm's engaging, if at times sketchy, sequel to Heart of Lies. After the death of Maddy's mother, Martha, during the Japanese attack on Shanghai in 1937, Leo married a hard-hearted woman he entrusted to take Maddy to safety in the U.S. By 1942, 12-year-old Maddy has come to live with her aunt, Martha's sister, Bernice Mason, in posh Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Bernice hopes to protect her from Leo, a mysterious man she doesn't trust, who by now has reached North Africa. Leo's encounters with such real-life American intelligence figures as Col. William Eddy and Carlton Coon lend verisimilitude to his WWII exploits. Maddy's later romantic travails with Bradley Harrington Gordon IV and New York mobster Gene Mandretti yield unexpected conflicts. Shifting between Leo and Maddy, Malcolm movingly depicts the enduring love of a father for his child. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Malcolm masterfully captures intensity and flavor of the time-span in which this tale is set, and stays faithful to the accuracy of the history that swirls around this fascinating family story.” — Ventura County Star on Heart of Deception

“Engaging....Malcolm movingly depicts the enduring love of a father for his child.” — Publishers Weekly on Heart of Deception

“Malcolm spins a mesmerizing tale of love, deceit, and betrayal as a father and daughter are torn apart by a world increasingly spinning out of control.” — Booklist on Heart of Deception

From the Publisher

Malcolm masterfully captures intensity and flavor of the time-span in which this tale is set, and stays faithful to the accuracy of the history that swirls around this fascinating family story.

Ventura County Star on Heart of Deception

Malcolm spins a mesmerizing tale of love, deceit, and betrayal as a father and daughter are torn apart by a world increasingly spinning out of control.

Booklist on Heart of Deception

Malcolm spins a mesmerizing tale of love, deceit, and betrayal as a father and daughter are torn apart by a world increasingly spinning out of control.

Booklist