Plausible Deception
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Oh - if you buy it, please take a picture of yourself with the book, maybe with some noteworthy landmark near you as a background, or with some famous person you bump into, or something like that. Then follow my Facebook author's page and share it there:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561161406771&mibextid=ZbWKwL
Alternatively, if you aren't a facebook person, you could share it here and, with your permission, I'd add it to the Facebook page.
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Well this was a good way to start the day - the book received its first professional/editorial review. Drum roll, please....
RECOMMENDED by the US Review of Books
Plausible Deception
by Dwain Lee
Butler Books, Louisville KYbook review by Amanda Hanson
"Kavanaugh looked over at Greg, then quickly at Dan, too, who had his arm around Greg's waist."
Dan Randolph and Greg Zhu are a married gay couple thriving in Louisville, Kentucky. Dan, a dedicated Presbyterian minister, and Greg, an accomplished professional violin maker, are navigating the complexities of their lives together. Recently, Dan has felt that he may be inadvertently holding back Greg’s career since Greg has not won any awards since they became a couple. This realization has created some stress for Dan. Greg heads to Anaheim for a convention, and Dan soon joins him. While there, they reconnect with their long-time friend, Bill Sloan. During the visit, Bill discovers that his prized Jackson Stradivarius violin has vanished. Detective Jim Kavanaugh is brought in to lead the investigation and quickly learns that Greg was the last person in Bill's hotel room before the violin went missing.
In his book, Lee tackles critical issues such as xenophobia, homophobia, and anti-Asian sentiment. He firmly illustrates that while gay men may openly express their sexual orientation, they continue to face pervasive societal prejudice. Lee underscores a historical reality where gay men had to live in secrecy out of fear of arrest, and he highlights that, despite some progress, negative attitudes toward homosexuals persist. Furthermore, he confronts racism head-on, revealing how it distorts perceptions of an individual’s character. Lee emphasizes that many individuals are quick to judge others based on race and sexual orientation, which obscures their ability to recognize the person for who they truly are. This harmful tendency to generalize stifles genuine understanding and acceptance. Readers will find this book compelling and engaging, full of numerous twists and turns that maintain excitement throughout the narrative.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review
2024 All Rights Reserved • The US Review of Books -
I got around to reading the book this week. I learned a number of things I didn't know about violins. The acknowledgments at the end helped explain why some parts seemed almost autobiographical to someone acquainted with the author via internet forum postings over many years.
All in all, I enjoyed it and the plot twists kept me guessing until the end. I'll share it with someone who might also like it.
Big Al
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@Big_Al yes, major parts of this book, and any follow-ups, are heavily autobiographical. It isn't a total 1:1 parallel, the Dan and Greg characters are always open to some fictional nuancing for the good of the story, but weaving much personal reality into the book is very intentional. As just one example, the scene detailing Greg's terrifying incident in LAX actually happened, almost exactly as detailed in the book. In fact, it was while discussing that event post-terror when I commented, "This is the kind of thing you read about in a book, not experience in real life!" which, after thinking about it, was how the idea for the book first came about.
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@AdagioM go to https://www.butlerbooks.com/plausible-deception.html . You can order it directly there, and somewhere on the order page is a prompt something like "Is there anything else we need to know about your order?", special instructions, etc. In that box, just say that you'd like an autographed copy. The publisher has a box of them and will be delighted to send you one.
