The prequel to The Vanished, this book was in the Summer Heat collection Come What May. Now available only at CaraPutman.com, order your copy for the special ebook price of $2.99 through April 16. Then the price will go up to $5.99, and the book will be available on other ebook platforms.

From a reader review on Goodreads.com:

The Art of Deception is about a former artist, Charlotte Montgomery, who stopped pursuing her love for painting in order to hide herself and her young son from an Italian crime family. There are a lot of realistic details about the painting process, so the intricately researched facts were much appreciated. I also liked the characters, especially Charlotte, a woman determined to keep her son safe at no small cost to herself. And I enjoyed getting to meet her boss who was just as determined to keep her safe from unscrupulous money launderers and FBI agents who might be willing to use her to accomplish their own goals. The book was well-paced with just enough intrigue and a few edgy scenes that it kept me interested in what would happen to Marie (aka Charlotte). The plot is tight and crackles with tension as Charlotte faces her former nemesis and convincingly explores taking down an Italian mob family. I enjoyed getting to know the characters who were believable and unique, but I mostly liked the “James Bond” kind of cleverness included in the story and waited breathlessly as I quickly turned pages to get to the conclusion.

From another reader review on Goodreads.com:

Cara Putman, in Art of Deception, artistically painted a story of life and fear as Charlotte Montgomery, known as Marie, ran from the past filled with the Italian Mob. Years after racing her son to his homeland – murder, kidnapping, mayhem, and mischief has followed. With a survivor’s instinct, Marie begins to fight back, reaching for an end to the running that has occupied her last eight years alongside her boss-accountant, Thayer Jackson. With fierce protection and faith, can Marie escape once again and finally return to using her birthname, Charlotte, forever? This was a great book and I give it 4 stars out of 5!

Another reader review on Goodreads.com:

Right from the start, this story absolutely drew me in, leaving me wanting to figure out what exactly had happened in Charlotte/Marie’s past. While the pace felt a little slower than what I’m used to in a typical suspense read, it was perfect for this story (and was still a fairly quick read too). Where many suspense stories are back-to-back action that keep you on the edge of your seat, I felt like this one really only had a handful of those high suspense moments… still the high stakes of protecting her child had me absolutely invested into the story just as well as an action-packed story would have. It was really an interesting look into the world of art forgeries and money laundering that felt unique and was quite entertaining too. There was definitely a hint of romance, but I definitely feel like that took a bit of a backseat in this one and didn’t really pick up until closer to the end, but I didn’t mind that one bit!