“Truly compelling . . . an engaging fictionalized account of an absorbing espionage case.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Gods of Deception is an accomplished and compelling novel of enormous ambition, and it offers the most searching and thoughtful examination of the crisis and transformation of the old WASP elite that I have seen. David Cleveland is a major American novelist whose ear for language, eye for both natural and artistic detail, cultural scholarship, understanding of human character, and feel for American social reality make him a national treasure.”
—The Washington Examiner
Walter Russell Mead, global view columnist at the Wall Street Journal
About the Author
David Adams Cleveland is a novelist and art historian. His latest novel is Gods of Deception (April, 2022). His third novel, Time's Betrayal, was acclaimed Best Historical Novel of 2017 by Reading the Past. A Starred Booklist Review noted that Time's Betrayal, "raises the bar for multi-generational epics . . . the writing is gripping throughout . . . this unforgettable tour de force is well worth the time." Pulitzer prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler called Time's Betrayal...
About Gods of Deception
A thrilling tale of espionage, a family saga, a stirring love story, and a meditation on time and memory, astrophysics and art.
This epic novel tells the fascinating story of the famous Alger Hiss spy case, told through the eyes of three generations, and takes readers on an unforgettable journey into the human heart as well as into the past—a past that is ever present.
Gods of Deception Book Trailer
Praise for David's Books
“A magisterial achievement.”
—Medium: The Reading Lists
(on Gods of Deception)
“Gods of Deception is a powerful novel about guilt, family, art and spies, which spans generations going back to the Cold War and America's hunt for Communists in the 1950s. With Russia reemerging as a belligerent force in world politics, it's also a very timely read.”
—Crime Fiction Lover on Gods of Deception
“This monumental work is in a league of its own and a class by itself. Time's Betrayal is a large-hearted American epic that deserves the widest possible, most discriminating of readerships.”
—Bruce Olds, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author for Raising Holy Hell and The Moments Lost onTime's Betrayal
“David Adams Cleveland uses his gifts as a storyteller to imagine deeper human truths behind the headlines. Gods of Deception is a lushly vivid tale of a haunted time.”
—Evan Thomas, author of The Very Best Men and Being Nixon (on Gods of Deception)
“Operating on many levels, Love’s Attraction… is a spellbinding journey of identities, inheritance, art, secrets, and inexplicable passion, whatever ‘passion’ might imply… Cleveland is a literate writer of staggering talent…”
—Eleanor Hubbard, NPR on Love’s Attraction
“Time's Betrayal is a vast, rich, endlessly absorbing novel engaging with the great and enduring theme of literary art, the quest for an identity. David Adams Cleveland has instantly taken a prominent place on my personal list of must-read authors.”
—Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer prize-winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain on Time's Betrayal
Also by David Adams Cleveland
