Review of Deceptive Calm

[FelinaAlpuertoPittman2859+]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Deceptive Calm [/i] is a beautiful and heartwarming story of a colored woman who, after running away from her past transgressions and reaching greater heights in her career with her talent and physical attributes, got entrapped in an unhappy marriage for the wrong reasons to a wealthy Caucasian man from the upper echelons of society. Raised by a nun in an orphanage, Vanessa Condon was portrayed as a victim of prejudice at a tumultuous time when skin color determined the superiority or inferiority of an individual’s qualities and abilities.

Proverbial knowledge teaches us that intrinsic virtue is not visible to the naked eye, and people tend to judge from what they see or hear externally.

The narrative touched on sensitive topics and issues such as bigotry, particularly racial discrimination between whites and blacks, and abortion guilt. The title was in reference to the main character’s life after she inappropriately concealed her real identity and race and masqueraded as Vanessa Vaughn. There was a “calm.” or period of tranquility in the scheme of fortuitous events for harboring a lie, but then the false serenity presaged a storm or a spell of difficulties when the truth emerged.

The plot also offered some moral implications about influence and affluence. Too much power and prestige can corrupt and destroy a soul and darken the perspective and discernment of a person in a dilemma. In the case of Vanessa’s husband, Tod Von Westerkamp was more concerned about protecting his reputation upon discovering that the ethnicity of their offspring from their union revealed a glaring disparity.

Money cannot always buy the basic essential sources of love, happiness and peace in this material world.

I gave the book a four out of five rating because it was an ideal, measured blend of drama and suspense, which, when combined suitably, creates an indelible impact on readers. The author presented an ensemble of developed, delineated and well-defined characters. The sexual content and profanity in the novel might be too explicit and offensive to the conservative bracket but might well be accepted and tolerated by the progressively moderate group.

American historical aficionados will appreciate the plethora of verifiable and authentic accounts from the past, spit out by one special character, Sister Rosalie, the surrogate mother of Vanessa, who just loves to cite interesting and little-known facts and details from the 19th century US civil war.

Deceptive Calm [/i] is a testament that a person’s character is not solely based on their outer appearance but lies deeper in their personality and actions.

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Deceptive Calm
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[Shem Murundu]

This was such an informative review and makes me want to read the book. Keep it up.

[FelinaAlpuertoPittman2859+]

Thank you!

[Gerry Steen]

I read and enjoyed this book. Patricia Skipper created an amazing character in Sister Rosalie—she was my favorite character.

[FelinaAlpuertoPittman2859+]

I agree with you. Of all the characters in "Deceptive Calm," Sister Rosalie was the one who stole the spotlight for me!!!