Deception: The Sunday Times Bestseller 2022

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Eve should never have married Don Hathaway. Yes, he gave her two beautiful children - Olly and Tabitha - but he is a bully. Worse than that, he hurts her. Alice's journey into her mother's past is one of incredulity as she discovers a woman shaped by a truly traumatic childhood... I loathed Sally at the start of Deception, but as she transmogrified into her different personas and Alice found out more about her, I felt I had come to know a real woman. Her life choices may have been forced upon her, unwisely chosen or even criminal, but what Lesley Pearse does so well is to show the reader why Sally behaved as she did so that there’s a reality to her actions and an understanding In the reader. This book brilliantly builds intrigue as Alice uncovers her mum's life of deception, lies and love * Woman & Home *

UK historical fiction sensation Lesley Pearse is in top form with her latest melodrama about a daughter confronted with a truth that leads to her unraveling the past. Deception has a seemingly simple plot as Alice tries to find out about her mother’s past, but told through Alice’s modern 2015 perspective interspersed by her mother’s decades of life, there’s a gradual uncovering that draws in the reader and makes them experience the truth in the same way as Alice uncovers it in a very satisfying narrative. Belle is set in London in 1910 and is the debut novel in the Belle series by Lesley Pearse. Belle is 15 years old at the time of this novel. As a young girl, she has lived in the Seven Dials in a brothel for all of her life and for most of it had no idea what was really going on in the name of commerce upstairs. She had accepted Sally's many faults, and reluctance to never speak of the past. But faced with this deception, Alice knows she must uncover the whole truth about her mother.A gifted storyteller who continues to give fans, old and new, quality entertainment and another addictive, engrossing saga. I have read a number of her books a few years ago and I saw this new one and thought I would buy it. I liked her as an author. This book felt like it was written by someone else. A bit disjointed and so boring! Alice always knew that her mother had faults and kept secrets but learning this information sets her off on a path to find out more about her life before Ralph. She wants to uncover the whole truth; the good and the bad. I personally love a dual timeline but so did not find that this flowed too week, it was quite disjointed. In this exciting and historical city, Belle gradually begins to come into her own. Now of age, she gradually learns how to operate skill fully within her life as a courtesan and even adapts to enjoy it. However, she is always thinking of the home she left behind. Even though she is the golden girl for right now of the prostitution world in this bustling southern city, she knows that she only has so long to dominate this cage before it turns into a prison once more that holds her forever.

A raw, truthful and moving account, building intrigue as Alice gradually uncovers her mother's life of deception, lies - and love' WOMAN'S WEEKLY It is there that she meets Etienne, a mysterious man who she first met when she was a child. Belle knows that she still loves her husband but never expected to meet the man who played such an important role in her youth here in Europe. As she continues to talk to him, the young woman and former courtesan finds herself torn when it comes to matters of the heart.

Deception is Lesley Pearse's 30th book. What an achievement! She's been a favourite of mine since the beginning and I think that Deception is the best of her most recent books. It has what I love about Pearse's books: the tough upbringing, the family dramas, and a thumping good storyline. After the funeral of her mother, Sally, Alice Kent is approached by a man named Angus Tweedy. He claims to be her father and tells her that he served time in prison for marrying Sally bigamously. Fleur was probably my favourite character to read about in the story. What a complicated, troubled and yet incredibly strong woman she was. Despite a bad start in life and many obstacles, she seemed to keep going. Some of her decisions were questionable but I found it difficult to judge her for them. She hadn’t had an easy life and even when she did find her peace, I’m sure her past troubled her right until the end.

Thank you to @michaeljbooks and Lesley Pearse for this advanced copy of Deception in return for an honest review. What I liked most about this authors writing was her ability to create characters that were complicated and messy but very relatable and likeable. It wasn’t the kind of story where I was wish wishing for a happy ending for everyone, I felt like I was wishing for contentment and closure. Which I suppose is arguably a happy ending. She is married now to her sweet husband. His name is Jimmy and he supports her as she supports them both on the hat shop she finally opened– her dream for so long, ever since she was young. But they can’t see what’s coming as the first world war gathers on the horizon and it is certain that a storm is coming. Belle’s life is so crazy but it’s about to change more than she ever knew possible– is she ready for it? As Alice journeys into the past she discovers her mother may never have been the woman she claimed to be . . .Lesley and her brother ended up in orphanages for three years after their mother died because their father was in the Royal Marines. They eventually got to go home again when their father remarried a sharp ex-Army nurse and was joined later by two more kids that were adopted by their father and stepmother, as well as a series of foster children that would come through. For me, Sally's tale was one of harshness, harrow and sorrow. There's little wonder why Sally continually reinvented herself to chase away those unbearable situations she found herself trapped in time and time again. It also becomes quite clear why she also chose to remain a closed book with her children and second husband. I actually preferred Sally's encounters to Alice's, whose were a bit too brief for my liking. Alice always knew there was something strange with her mum, she ever liked to talk about her life before Ralph, and so Alice decides to find out the whole story. Alice’s investigations take her on a journey whereby she discovers her mum’s chequered past and meets many of the people who were involved in her earlier life. As Alice’s trip into her mother’s life comes to a close, she must weigh up her conscientious and decide just how much she will confront her dad Ralph with, and how much he already knows. But, after one drunken rage too many, she has the courage to leave him. Eve is warned that it's a difficult path, yet she needs to give her children hope for the future. Raunchier than I’m used to from Lesley Pearse, Deception conveys the eras, particularly of Fleur’s experience, to perfection. Touches of realism such as the musical Hair add a sense of authenticity and the sexist, male dominated world feels so convincing.

Deception is a book that I didn't want to put down. I raced through it, finding it so easy to read but also gritty and gripping. I liked the social aspects of down-at-heel London, to Bristol and Devon, over the course of 40 or so years. Sally had quite a life and it made for fascinating reading. She had accepted Sally's many faults, and her reluctance to ever speak of the past. But faced with this staggering deception, Alice knows she must uncover the whole truth about her mother.She had accepted Sally's many faults, and her reluctance to never speak of the past. But faced with this staggering deception, Alice knows she must uncover the whole truth about her mother. I have read all of Lesley Pearse’s books over the years and as a rule thoroughly enjoy them. However this is not one of my favourites. A true highlight for me was Sally, a very intriguing character, leading a very colourful life, I could have easily read a whole book on just her and what happened. Pearse’s Belle Series debuted in 2011 with the publication of Belle. It was followed by The Promise, where main character Belle is desperate to do anything to make her life better. The third book in the series came out in 2014 and is titled Survivor. She already knows her mother was manipulative at times, vain, very secretive and never spoke of the past.