Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clever Deception | 2016 | M.A. Comley | Buy |
| 2 | Tragic Deception | 2016 | M.A. Comley | Buy |
| 3 | Sinful Deception | 2017 | M.A. Comley | Buy |
| 4 | The Child in the Tree | 2019 | M.A. Comley | Buy |
| 5 | The Lady in the Street | 2019 | M.A. Comley | Buy |
| 6 | The Man in the House | 2019 | M.A. Comley | Buy |
The Deception series by M.A. Comley centers on crimes rooted in manipulation and betrayal. The first three books – Clever Deception, Tragic Deception, and Sinful Deception, all published in 2016 and 2017 – form a tight early cluster that establishes the series’ focus on the damage that deception does to individuals and communities. The writing here is faster-paced than in some of Comley’s longer DI series, suited to readers who want crime fiction in shorter bursts.
The final three books – The Child in the Tree, The Lady in the Street, and The Man in the House, all from 2019 – bring the series into contact with the D.I. Helena Stratton storyline. These titles appear in both series, reflecting Comley’s habit of building extended universes where characters and cases cross over between nominally separate book groups.
If you are working through Comley’s catalog systematically, the Deception series is worth reading before or alongside the Helena Stratton books, since the two share key entries. The Deception titles also appear in the Crime After Crime series, so they sit at a crossroads of several reading paths through Comley’s work.