Deceived: A Kelly Pruett Mystery

Deceived is the third book in Mary Keliikoa's mystery series surrounding PI Kelly Pruett and, here, she gets a call from Bernie Sokol, a regular client of her father's, who needs some help regarding a discreet matter at Loving Grace, the women's shelter he started in honor of his deceased sister, Grace, who OD'd many years before. It seems his teenaged granddaughter, Amber, who has been off and on drugs several times, has recently gotten herself clean and is recuperating at Loving Grace, but has discovered some unseemly behavior there and is investigating it, or she was until she promptly dropped off the face of the earth following a cryptic phone call. Bernie is cagey and doesn't want to involve the cops and to be honest, he's not sure if he can trust Kelly the way he did her father, Roger. You bet she's out to prove her worth to him, though, especially since he has been a regular process-serving client since her dad's death, but she is anxious to show him she can handle the tough stuff as well. And, since no one knows whether Amber has gone to ground or she's been put out of commission by someone who didn't like her snooping, time is of the essence.

As Kelly goes undercover as a homeless woman, she meets many interesting people at Loving Grace, including Nettie, an indifferent employee there; Gordon, the handsy manager; LuAnn, a brutish bully who seems to run things among the women; and Robyn, a teen runaway whose parents didn't approve of her girlfriend. Despite Kelly's need for info in the hopes of finding Amber before it is too late, she has to tread easy with these women, because they are all spooked, in one way or another. After a few long conversations, Kelly does suspect that Robyn knows more than she is saying and would be the right age to have known Amber at the shelter, but when Robyn disappears the next morning, leaving her precious journal behind, Kelly is sure something's up.

Kelly has another shock that greets her when she comes home after her initial stay at Loving Grace - her ne'er-do-well half sister Hannah has come to visit and she is staying with Kelly's next-door neighbor/ex-mother-in-law, Arlene, and Kelly just can't stomach Hannah's drama right now. What on earth could she want? She doesn't have time to dwell on it, because while Amber and Robyn are AWOL, a body is found in the park near the shelter. It's a Loving Grace resident who was clean, yet somehow OD'd. To make matters worse, Kelly is attacked while she is following a suspicious resident of Loving Grace, and when that person is then murdered, Kelly thinks she might be in over her head. At least she can rely on her cop boyfriend Kyle for comfort, right? Wrong. Kyle is working hard to impress his boss since he just made detective and he thinks Kelly just might be a thrill-seeker who is unnecessarily putting herself in danger. Plus, now Kyle is investigating a murder and Kelly is under suspicion. So awkward.

She can always find joy in her darling daughter Mitz, which is fortunate, because Jeff's new girlfriend and baby-mama Linda (a former close friend of Kelly's) has decided to redecorate every square inch of Kelly's former home and is making life weird and uncomfortable. But you know, weird and uncomfortable seems totally on-brand for Kelly Pruett. She'll get through this case just like she always does - with the support of family, sometimes coming through in those she least expects.

Deceived is a really twisty-turny mystery, but I like how the characters are evolving in each story. Characters that started off as annoying are becoming endearing, and we're really seeing Kelly's support system grow and blossom. In no big surprise, I loved Deceived and I can't wait for the next installment.