Nosey Parker

‘A Taste of Deceit’ – Valerie Keogh

After a row with her husband, Jocelyn Dexter leaves London and heads to their country cottage for a break. While she’s there, Jocelyn joins a group of women one night at the manor house nearby—and gets entangled in other people’s relationships.

Picking up on the tension beneath the surface, Jocelyn entertains herself by indulging in some snooping, and tries to pry secrets out of the locals. The tables turn when she discovers that someone is spying on her, and it becomes clear that someone wants her to go back where she came from.

Jocelyn considers it a challenge. But involving herself in the affairs of others will lead her down a dark path . . .

Set against the backdrop of COVID and lockdowns, this summer read lacks the spark that I have experienced with Keogh’s other books. I have read a lot of this author’s books in the past but I didn’t enjoy this one as much. For some reason, the plot failed to connect with me and I thought the story was lacking pace and suspense.

The protagonist, Jocelyn, was difficult to like. I found her an incredibly nosy character with little regard to others around her. Whilst her sarcastic commentary was entertaining, I disliked her shallow nature and lack of empathy towards others. Leaving her husband in London after an argument, she sees her cottage in a small village in the Cotswolds as a chance to get away and let the dust settle. However, rather than enjoying the idyllic setting, she is miserable, selfish and rather grumpy. Disliking her ‘cosy’ cottage, she seeks the company of others, taking a spot at an evening crafting group. After just one meeting, Jocelyn feels it is her right to intrude on the secrets of this group, ingratiating herself enough to gain their trust. Digging around, Jocelyn believes that this small group of women have more secrets than herself and she is determined to find out what they are hiding from the outsider.

Keogh cleverly creates a very claustrophobic atmosphere in this story. Firstly, the oppressive heatwave that exists is only slightly alleviated by the summer storms. The lethargy that comes from being so hot is tangible in the story and it also made me yearn for more summer weather. After what has felt like a very long autumn/winter, I actually felt a bit envious of Jocelyn feeling so hot and bothered! Secondly, the small, tight-knit community of Broadway leaves no room for outsiders, who are treated with disdain and suspicion. Jocelyn is on the receiving end of this distrust and I think this spurs on her behaviour to investigate her crafting acquaintances. Finally, the reference to the virus and lockdown was enough of a reminder of how limited movements were at this time. Whilst it does not dominate the narrative, the lessening of restrictions in this novel just reminded me of how suffocated society felt in an attempt to escape the infection.

Feeling lethargic myself, I struggled to engage with a narrative that felt quite obvious. I had foreseen how the final stages of the novel would develop, although this part was definitely the most gripping. Curious to see the consequences of Jocelyn’s actions, I found the final ten chapters or so to be thrilling and suspenseful. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the rest of the narrative, which I have found to be so unlike some of Keogh’s other books I have read. I don’t think it helped that I disliked Jocelyn’s character so much, finding her nosiness a rather grating quality. Whilst there are references to Jocelyn’s childhood and relationship with her mother, I think Keogh would have benefitted from expanding upon this further to help add a further dimension to her character.

This was a pacey read, aided by the very short, flowing chapters. However, I thought it was a story that took a long time to get started and I was just not convinced by Jocelyn’s behaviours. I have had many great reads by this author, but this one did not deliver as I had anticipated.

With thanks to Bloodhound books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.