Indelicate Deception
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Caty Robertson arrives in the world physically fragile and abundantly loved, destined to grow tall and strong like her parents. She's raised in the glow of Daddy's generous embrace of humanity and his entertaining stories about Caty's mother, Lenore. But Caty doesn't remember her mother, and Daddy is vague about the reasons for her absence.
By young adulthood, Caty creates an idealized vision of her parents' romance in Berkeley of the early '70s, a hotbed of social and political change. Lenore is a brilliant law student, eager to tackle every injustice. Roy is an injured Vietnam War veteran and talented chef who dreams of owning a restaurant. The lovers are unlike each other in every way—race, class, politics, and values—yet they soar high on their love, powering through money troubles, his PTSD, and her family's disapproval of their relationship.
Why, then, does Lenore leave Caty and her father? The separation was amicable, Daddy says, and although they've lost touch, he's sure "she's livin' a good life" wherever she is. Sensing more to the story, fearing a hurt greater than Daddy lets on, Caty undertakes a secret investigation to protect his feelings. As she begins her search in earnest, she uncovers startling, unimaginable details—but the facts remain elusive until she tracks down her mother and demands the truth.
Indelicate Deception celebrates the unbreakable bond of love between a father and his daughter while unraveling the self-deceptive path of a woman who could have had it all.
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"A beautifully crafted and deeply moving story." BookView Review
"Layered…compelling…pulses with the page-turning urgency of a thriller. Characters shine with dimension and depth." BlueInk Review
"An absorbing tale that simmers with love, unresolved questions, and surprising twists and turns." The Midwest Book Review
"Gripping, intense, and profound." The Prairies Book Review
"An involving story of intergenerational discovery." Kirkus Reviews
"Recommended." The U.S. Review of Books
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the propulsive latest from Kemanis (Thursday's List), a young woman tries to find out what happened to her long-lost mother. Feisty firefighter Delicate Soul "Caty" Robertson, 19, was raised by her Black father, Paul Leroy "Roy" Robertson, in early 1990s Berkeley, Calif., after her white mother, Leonore "Len" Witaker, took off when she was an infant. In search of clues, Caty visits her estranged maternal grandmother, who tells Caty a private investigator tracked Len to Los Angeles shortly after her disappearance, but the trail went cold. Caty travels to L.A., where she manages to track down a woman who might be Len. In a parallel narrative set in the 1970s, flower child Len falls in love with Vietnam War veteran Roy, who dreams of opening his own restaurant. Len's well-off parents disapprove of the relationship and threaten to cut Len off from the trust fund established by her grandmother. Shortly before Caty is born, Len makes a startling choice that forever alters her and Roy's lives. A further twist near the end of the novel strains credulity, but for the most part, Kemanis adroitly portrays the longing that drives Caty's search. Readers who enjoy family dramas will find much to admire in this buoyant tale. (Self-published)
