“Messin with mes like wearin cheese underwear down rat alley.”-Ollie Chandler
Homicide detective Ollie Chandler has seen it all. Done more than he cares to admit. But when hes called to investigate the murder of a Portland State University professor, he finds himself going places hes never gone before.
Places he never wanted to go.
Because all the evidence is pointing to one horrific conclusion: The murderer is someone in his own department. Thats not the worst of it, though. Ollie has nagging doubts…about himself. Where was he during the time of the murder?
Joined by journalist Clarence Abernathy and their friend Jake Woods, Ollie pushes the investigation forward. Soon all three are drawn deep into corruption and political tensions that threaten to destroy them–and anyone who tries to help. But theyre in too deep to quit. Theyve got no choice. They have to follow the evidence to the truth…
No matter how ugly–or dangerous–it gets.
A gripping story of murder and spiritual struggle, Deception proves, as never before, the truth of Ollies first law: “Things are often not what they appear.”
1. Can you relate to Ollie Chandler? If so, in what ways? (Besides a fondness for pastry.) How are you different than Ollie? What do you like and dislike about him?
2. What are some of your favorite scenes in Deception and why? Who are some of your favorite characters? (If you read the prequels Deadline or Dominion, in what ways is this book similar, and in what ways is it different?)
3. What are your overall impressions of the book, positive or negative? What did you take away from it that might stick with you awhile?
4. Why do you think Randy Alcorn named the book Deception? What forms did deception take in this book? What forms has it taken in your life or someone close to you?
5. Ollie often feels like hes on the outside looking in when he views the hope and faith in Jake, Clarence, Little Finn, and others. Has there been a time in your life when you experienced this feeling? Explain.
6. Ollie hesitates to believe in a good God because he sees injustice all around him. Read Matthew 5:6 and Luke 18:78. What does Jesus tell us about those who long for justice, like Ollie, and the God who loves them?
7. Ollie had a number of difficult questions for God such as, why do people suffer, why did He let Sharon die, and if He can make things right quickly, why doesnt He? There are no easy answers, but what would you say to Ollie–or the Ollies you know? What hidden purposes might God have for the heartbreaking troubles people often face? (See an article by the author, “How Could a Good God Allow Evil and Suffering?” at www.epm.org/articles/allowevil.html.)
8. Ollie drinks excessively to try to relieve the pain caused from his wifes death and his struggling relationships with his daughters. What things do you find yourself doing to avoid feeling pain in your life? What other pain-relieving activities are common in our culture?
9. When you read about Carly entering heaven, what touched you the most? How does your view of heaven compare with this scene in Deception? What do you think about the allusions to a future New Earth? Have you been taught to look forward to a New Earth, as 2 Peter 3:13 says we should be doing? (See the authors book Heaven for more information on the New Earth.)
10. Does reading about Professor Palatines after-death experience affect your views about hell? What struck you about it?
11. When Sharon was sick and later died, well-meaning Christians made some unintentionally hurtful remarks to Ollie. Why do you think this sometimes happens? What do you say or do when someone you are close to is really hurting like Ollie was? What do you say to people who are without faith in Christ? Do you believe Romans 8:28 is true? Why or why not? Is there a right time and a right way to share whats true, and a wrong time and a wrong way to do it?
12. Jake and Clarence are loyal friends to Ollie. Theyre usually sensitive to Ollies skepticism, yet they seem unapologetic for talking about Christ. What does this teach you about friendships with unbelievers? Also, Jake told Ollie the hard truth when he needed to. Do you think this was right? How do your friendships compare to Ollies with Jake and Clarence?
13. If youre not a Christian, what did you learn about Christians in Deception? If you are a believer, what did you learn about non-Christians, including how they view Christians? What misperceptions do Christians and non-Christians sometimes have about each other? How can we improve our relationships with each other? (What do you learn from Ollies respect for Obadiah Abernathy, who he met in Dominion? Why was Ollie so touched by this old man?)
14. Do you relate to Ollies heartache and struggles related to his children–one who he lost, one who has chosen to cut off contact with him, and one, Kendra, with whom he doesnt get along? Admitting that he wasnt the best father, Ollie finally started working hard at his relationship with Kendra. Is it possible for difficult relationships with family members to improve over time? Why or why not?
15. How do the following verses describe God? Deuteronomy 1:31, Psalm 68:5, Isaiah 49:1516, Matthew 6:89, and Luke 13:34. How do they change or enhance your view of God as our Father or parent?
16. In a scene with Sharon, the Lord tells her that we humans long for the light, but hate it because it hurts our eyes; that we sometimes prefer the comfort of darkness to the pain of sight. Are there situations in the world around you, or in your own life, that this describes? Explain.
17. Jake told Ollie that death is not a hole but a doorway, but Ollie doesnt know what to think. Read John 5:24. What are your own beliefs about life after death? On what do you base these beliefs? What do people in our society commonly believe about the afterlife, and on what do they base their beliefs?
18. Seeing Jakes and Clarences hope and faith, something in Ollie wants to believe, but his deeply ingrained belief system is that you can only put faith in what you can see. Whether youre a Christian or not, what holds you back from fully believing the claims of Jesus Christ?
19. A theme running throughout Deception is that many things are not as they first appear. What situations or people in the book ended up not being what they first seemed to be?
20. “Examine the evidence. Then follow wherever it leads.” This quote was taped to Ollies fridge. At the end of Deception, Ollie decided to examine the two-thousand-year-old murder of Jesus mystery. Where do you think his investigation might lead? Have you undertaken that investigation? If so, where has it led you? If not, whats keeping you from it?