Deception: The Sunday Times Bestseller 2022

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As Alice journeys into the past she discovers her mother may never have been the woman she claimed to be . . . 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. Faced with this staggering deception, Alice decides she must learn the whole, terrible truth about her mother.

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. Belle is the first novel in the Belle series. It is 1910 in London, and a young girl has grown up in a brothel all her life without ever knowing it. Now that she is 15 years old, she has suddenly discovered that all is not as it seems in the Seven Dials. Even though she grew up there, Belle’s life is forever changed and her innocence gone forever when she sees one of the girls that lives there brutally murdered. 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.This book brilliantly builds intrigue as Alice uncovers her mum's life of deception, lies and love * Woman & Home * Written with Pearse's typically engaging and effortless style of storytelling, Deception is an intriguing book of highs, lows, struggles and perseverance' CULTUREFLY

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. 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. Lesley Pearse (born 24 February 1945) [1] is a British novelist, with global sales of over 10 million copies. [2] [3] She started writing at the age of 35, but was not published until she was 48. [4] After her mother's funeral, Alice Kent is approached by a man who insists he's her real father. Initially upset and disbelieving, Alice soon discovers that tugging at this loose thread unravels the expertly woven tapestry of lies which was her mother Sally's life.This story is cleverly written from Alice’s perspective and as Alice is on her journey of discovery, it switches to that of her mum. There are no massive twists, just a really well thought out plot which is both interesting and compelling.

Her life is as interesting as the fiction that she writes, and perhaps even stranger. Lesley Pearse has had a very dramatic and eventful life. Her mother died when she was just three years old under circumstances that were tragic. Their father had been at work at sea and a neighbor spied Lesley and her brother outside without coats and that led to finding out that their mother had died. 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. A twisting, turning and utterly addictive tale of mystery, hardship and self-survival * Lancashire Evening Post * 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. After the funeral of her mother, Sally, Alice is approached by a man call Angus Tweedy. He claims to be her father and tells her that he served time in prison for marrying Sally bigamously. What does he expect to get from telling her this now, thirty years on? How can her adored dad Ralph not be her true father? And why did her mother betray her so badly?I really liked Alice, mostly due to her ability to be rational and level headed. No matter what she found out, she always seemed to be able to keep calm and understand things from her mother’s perspective. Not only that but she carried the burden of this on behalf of her younger sister and her dad to protect them. It was interesting to read about Alice realising that some of her own character traits were inherited from her mother. 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. This is a dual-timeline story which opens with Alice on her way to her mother's funeral. When a man approaches her and says he's her real father, Alice is horrified but as she starts to uncover Sally's secrets she realises that there was so much that she didn't know. Interspersed with Alice's story in 2015 is that of her mother from childhood onwards. Both threads are absolutely engrossing. I particularly enjoyed how Alice discovered details from her mother's life that she would never have known had she not met that stranger at the funeral. Pearse weaves the two stories together seamlessly and to brilliant effect. 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.

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. Her first novel was published in 1993 and is called Georgia. It was followed by the novels Tara, Charity, Ellie, and several more. She has also been published in the Great Escapes Collection. Personally, I found "Deception" to be thoroughly enjoyable. Lesley Pearse’s work is a definite recommendation if you have an affinity for crime and mystery genres. Before starting this book, I didn’t know if I was going to be getting sad vibes, happy vibes or something in between and to be honest, I feel a mix up of all of the emotions after having finished. Following Alice’s journey into her mother’s past felt like I was experiencing all of the surprises along with her. It was certainly a reminder to me that we’re all just humans. We tend to hold our parents to such a high standard when in reality they make mistakes and bad decisions the same as anyone else. A gifted storyteller who continues to give fans, old and new, quality entertainment and another addictive, engrossing saga.

Sally was very much a closed book but with her new found surprising information Alice is very much determined to open it up. Alice starts to dig into her mother’s past and she throws up some surprising facts that she perhaps wished she had left buried but at the same time a clearer picture of her heritage starts to form for her and along the way she does find some romance. The majority of the book centres around Sally and her deception of which there were many. It begs the question what happens when the person closest to you has led a life of lies and secrets and deceived so many? She already knows her mother was manipulative at times, vain, very secretive and never spoke of the past. Thank you to @michaeljbooks and Lesley Pearse for this advanced copy of Deception in return for an honest review. This is a heart-wrenching journey as dark secrets are exposed and we understand the decisions Sally was forced to make * Candis * 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.