3 out of 4 stars
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All Melissa Brooks and her friends wanted to do was enjoy their trip to Brazil and watch a few soccer games. It was supposed to be one of their last moments of freedom with each other, before they become bombarded with busy careers and wedding planning. Were they supposed to know, that one trip would be the game changer? Were they supposed to know, that an obsessed and money-hungry stalker would be the one to change the game? In P.A Schweizer’s Deception in the Danger Zone, we lay witness to how one moment can change the course of four lives.
Let me start off by saying, if you’re going to write a prologue, make it an interesting beginning to your story. P.A Schweizer did just that by opening right in the middle of what would be the, “OMG,” moment of the story. I became interested in the plot immediately because she succeeded in setting the tone with the prologue. Now, in terms of the plot of the entire novel, it flowed well in most parts but lost my interest in others.
I’ll explain… I know how hard it is to keep the plot interesting throughout the entire novel, especially in the middle. The beginning caught my interest and the end was decent enough. In the middle, reading the story became a tedious chore. After the group arrived in Brazil, readers are taken on a daily tour. I’ll admit, at first, I loved learning about the different monuments, places and history of Brazil. After more than enough pages, I was trying to figure out if this was a historical book and if I should take notes because there would be a test at the end. Don’t misunderstand, I was impressed by the author’s research and knowledge of Brazil. I also admired the fact that she used her story as an opportunity to teach her readers great lessons about another country. If this had been a historical novel or a novel where history was a main point of the story, I wouldn’t have any complaints. Deception in the Danger Zone is neither and the history lessons took up too much valuable time in the plot where perhaps there should have been more action or at least more interesting plot material.
Let me give out some more compliments now. I’m a stickler for character development. If a main character fails to change in some way, by the end of the story, the story fails. P.A Schweizer did not disappoint me in that department. When we meet the main character, Melissa Brooks, she comes off as a spoiled, rude and entitled socialite you would never want to meet in real life. She looks down on anyone who she believes is below her social and economic standing. There were many times I wished I could jump in the book and throw a bunch of bridge cards at her. Despite her annoying character, I liked that P.A Schweizer had created someone like Melissa. By doing this, the novel opens a dialogue about caste systems and inner wars between the rich and the poor. My favorite scenes in the novel were the ones where I could tell that Melissa’s character was evolving for the better. She slowly became someone more accepting and sympathetic to people less fortunate than herself. Melissa served as an example that anyone can evolve and rise above the horrid caste systems we are sometimes forced into.
I would rate this book, 3 out of 4 stars. Despite the fact that I wish the plot could have been more exciting and a few grammatical errors concerning quotation marks, it was an enlightening read. There was great character development with not just Melissa, but some of the other characters too. The novel is a great conversation starter about class struggles and discrimination. Even though, it was a little over done, some of the Brazilian history added a great touch to the story as well. I would recommend this novel to history enthusiasts as I feel they would better appreciate some parts of the plot more than I had. I think my real problem is, that the plot just didn’t have enough action or exciting moments for me. Even the moments with the stalker wasn’t enough to make it an exciting read. The novel wasn’t exciting but it was enlightening. Anyway, I should stop complaining and just be grateful. *Spoiler* There was no history test in the end!
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Deception in the Danger Zone
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