Written by 
Veil of Deception – Elizabeth Aragon
Genre: Action, Mystery, Romance
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: 6 December 2024
Format read: Ebook (PDF)
Source of book: A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest, paid review
My Thoughts
Veil of Deception is marketed as a murder-mystery romance and an intriguing genre blend that makes you wonder how these two elements play together. After all, we exist in an age where romance, and all of its variations, have dominated the reading world. You can credit that largely to BookTok.
However, what’s most surprising about this book is that there are enough action scenes to fill your standard Hollywood movie. In fact, while I would cite the description of “murder-mystery romance” as an accurate description, it’s not the complete scope of the wide-encompassing story that is contained within this compact read. There is a murder mystery, and there is a romance. But there’s also an international conspiracy plot with shades of the ongoing “Epstein files” controversy, multiple car chases, hacking, gunfights, and other high-octane scenes. There will be some minor spoilers ahead in order to explain aspects of the book.
This is a very enjoyable read, easy to enjoy within a day if you’re looking for a short read that packs a major punch.
Storyline & Plot
For the romance readers in the audience wanting to know what tropes are at play here, here’s what you’re looking at:
- Calm, confident, and very protective male main character
- Feisty, tough female main character
- Instant attraction, bordering on insta-love, but due to a lot of the action going on, there’s still plenty of tension when the characters are together.
- Lots of banter, as well as sweet, caring moments
- Dual POV
- Closed-door (no explicit bedroom scenes, for those who are concerned about that)
In addition, the romance element is really a secondary focus to the action/mystery plot. It’s an important aspect of the story, but not the foremost element. This is perfect for those who like their romance as a side dish to something else.
For everyone else, this book is best described as a fast-paced mystery in the first half, that morphs into an even faster-paced action story in the second half. What starts as a possibly low-stakes murder of a wealthy man unravels into a far-reaching global network of secrets and power. New enemies and threats pop up from every corner, and nothing is safe.
While the story itself is fictional, there are moments that call back to the state of our current world and make you think. For example, the aforementioned high-ranking shadowy leaders, student environmental protests, and the use of social media and modern technology as a tool for revolution. In fact, it is possible that by marketing this novel as a murder-mystery romance, it actually undersells its strongest plot points.
Characters
As you would expect, the plot focuses on our two main characters, Alex and Elena. As a pair, they complement each other well and both contribute to the mystery case at hand.
Alex – The Detective
Alex is a somewhat grizzled detective who has been around the block too many times to count. But he maintains a calm and confident demeanour throughout most of the book. Most importantly, he has a soft side, as shown by his care for Elena. As the action star and mystery-solver for the book, he already is very capable and successful. His development in the book is the new vulnerability and protective attitude he has towards Elena, and learning to work with her as a pair.
Elena – The Heroine
Elena is a bit rough around the edges in the beginning, but her street smarts and resilience make her a good teammate to Alex. She’s characterised early on as someone willing to take risks to secure her future, but also has a kind heart for others in spite of her difficult life. She has her own character arc as she learns more about who she is and resolves difficult experiences in her childhood.
The Other Characters
Everyone else in the story largely exists to support Alex and Elena’s story, but they work as supporting roles that havetheir own quirks. One side character sadly does not survive the story, and while the death is during an action scene, I would have appreciated it if the main characters had taken a moment to grieve the loss afterwards. Since that character plays an important role in the story, we would expect the characters to react emotionally to the sad event.
Writing
Aragon’s writing is very descriptive, detailed, and effective. She lays out tense interactions, car chases, and fights in a way that helps you clearly imagine what’s happening. The comparison to a Hollywood action movie is not hyperbole. She is able to describe scenery, character movements and actions, punchy dialogue, and fast-moving plot elements in a very movie-esque way. This makes it easy to visualise the possible movie adaptation of many scenes.
Perhaps Aragon is better utilised as an action writer than a romance one. That’s not a negative critique; it’s just a reflection of the fact that it is in the action scenes where her writing truly shines.
The romance is written effectively as a side plot, showing the natural chemistry and banter between Alex and Elena andtheir sweet moments in between the harrowing events they encounter. There are enough of the expected tropes of romance writing that a romance reader might expect. For example, because we get a split first-person narration between both characters, we get to hear their inner thoughts and feelings for each other. With this perspective, it’s easy to get on board with the relationship and support the characters.
The only point to be made against the writing is not about the writing at all, but about the text layout. The text of the eBook version that was read for this review was a bit small and required zooming in on the eReader in order to read well. Text size is important for the reading experience of any book, but for eBooks, it is worth considering the fact that eReaders come in a few different size variations and screen types, so having a good size or adjustable size is important, especially if it is a PDF format.
Overall, though, the text sizing is an easily fixable issue and a minor concern against a book that is otherwise an engaging story that pleasantly went against my expectations.
TL;DR: An intriguing genre-blend story with fast action and contemporary issues, set against a sweet love story.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Learn more about Crokes’ book review rating system.