The Deceived

A freelance operative and professional “cleaner,” Jonathan Quinn knows better than to get emotionally involved in any of his jobs. But Quinn’s latest job is different. A friend has been murdered. A woman has gone missing. And for Jonathan Quinn, this time it’s personal.

When Quinn is called to a busy L.A. port where a shipping container has just come in from the sea, he is stunned by what he finds: inside the crate is a dead man—a man who once saved Quinn’s life, a former CIA agent named Steven Markoff. Now Quinn has to do more than clean. He has to find Markoff’s girlfriend, Jenny, who’s disappeared, to tell her that Markoff is dead. And he has to find out why someone sent Markoff’s body to him. Joining forces with his colleague and closest friend, Orlando, Quinn won’t stop until he uncovers the truth behind his friend’s violent death, the astounding reason Jenny vanished—and what she knows about the most explosive deception of all.

Brett Battles lives in Los Angeles and is the author of two acclaimed novels in the Jonathan Quinn series: The Cleaner, which was nominated for a Barry Award for Best Thriller and a Shamus Award for Best First Novel, and The Deceived. He is at work on the fourth book in the series.