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In a third installment of Future Imperfect, P. I. Barrington brings to a close the final saga of her gritty and suspense filled trilogy in a futuristic world. In the previous book, three of the Las Vegas Police force personnel along with a news anchor, were lost underground after an internal power struggle within the New Creation Religious community. They were all present when a bomb went off, causing the cave in, killing hundreds of those present.
An intense rescue operation is underway, with Charlie Bowman, the Las Vegas Police Chief in charge. At every turn, his old nemesis mayor, John Long, puts his operation into jeopardy. Long’s daughter was kidnapped and impregnated years previous, and he chose to blame the police force instead of the actual perpetrators. His animosity only continued to grow as he made the choice to lock his daughter away from the world in a facility, due to her mental state after her rescue. She absolutely believed that her baby was put there by an alien and no amount of therapy could alter her thoughts.
However, there is more to the situation then Charlie is aware; there are secrets that John has long held that could shatter the very city they are both trying to save.
In addition, as the power struggle goes on above the cave in, Payce Halligan, along with Gavin McAllister and Nick Kinkaid, are buried in the rubble but manage to escape serious damage. Payce and Gavin are separated from Nick who was last seen with Amy Strand the news reporter. As they try to rescue themselves, they actually find themselves getting deeper into an underground compound that is well developed and full of equipment, years ahead of that which they are used too.
As another collapse of the underground occurs, Gavin is lost and Payce is found by none other then Logan McKaye, the young intern who had saved her from her previous encounter while in the hospital. But something is not right about the whole situation. He refuses to help her look for Gavin or her other friends, and he drugs her, making her more malleable to his commands. She is unable to help herself and follows his instructions, and yet she is devastated at losing Gavin.
As time runs out, our friends are only getting deeper. Will Charlie Bowman find them in time, before John Long calls off the search? It is essential that hey receive food and water as well as air, but can he find them all alive or will he have lost them in his attempt at rescue? What is the truth in a scam that is stranger then fiction, and will Payce lose Gavin just as she realized her feeling for him?
In Final Deceit: Future Imperfect, P.I. Barrington has only added a layer of intrigue to an already dangerous situation. She has continued to build on her characters, evolving them and yet keeping their same gritty attitudes from her previous work.
She has pulled in some unexpected villains as well as heroes, and added another twist to the strangeness of the New Creation community, bringing an ending that has been anticipated by those readers of her prior two installments.
P. I. Barrington has built a futuristic world in her trilogy that is interesting, close to the Vegas that we know but dryer and grittier, with debauchery and crime common place. Her characters are interesting and the backdrop of this series along with her characters could make for a number of books set in the same place starring the same LVPD characters.
I would recommend this book for its thoughtful and unforgettable rendition of a futuristic Sin City, and for the characters that she has peopled it with. If you like science diction, or just a good suspenseful mystery you will like this book. This was a great ending to an imaginative series.
