• Author: Laura Shepherd-Robinson
• Series: Standalone
• Genre: Historical Mystery
• Star Rating: 5 stars

Plot: Following the murder of her husband in what looks like a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. Her confectionary shop on Piccadilly is barely turning a profit, her suppliers conspiring to put her out of business because they don’t like women in trade. Henry Fielding, the famous author-turned-magistrate, is threatening to confiscate the money in her husband’s bank account because he believes it might have been illicitly acquired. And even those who claim to be Hannah’s friends have darker intent. Only William Devereux seems different. A friend of her late husband, Devereux helps Hannah unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his death. He also tells her about an Italian delicacy called iced cream, an innovation she is convinced will transform the fortunes of her shop. But their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip and draws Henry Fielding’s attention her way, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything she can imagine.

his is the second Shepherd-Robinson novel I have read in my life and the last book was a 5 star and made it to the top read of that year. So going into this book I had high hopes. I expected a well-researched historical period, a layered mystery that would keep me guessing until the final page and characters that struggle under the weight of the world and societal expectations. And I got all of that and more!

Writing a review for a book like this is hard as the nature of the book is lies and deceit. The title of this book is not lying when it says “the art of a lie” because S-R really delves deep into the intricacies of lying, the perils of lying and the dangers of lying. You find yourself questioning every single character in this book, even the ones you thought you truly understood. Trying to review this book is hard because by page 35 (yes I checked) S-R drops a bomb on you so astounding you question whether you as the reader are supposed to know this! Writing a review for this book is so hard because the lies and twists and turns are woven so incredibly well into this novel that trying to explain any facet of book has you teetering into spoiler territory. But I will try my best.

S-R is a master at work with this novel. Highly researched and realised historical setting, a great look into the psychology and motivations of all of our characters, from trade apprentice all the way to Countesses, and again, as is expected, a deeply layered mystery. But it’s truly her characters and their lies that set this novel up. Despite everything you read and learn you can’t help but understand these characters and why they do what they do. You can’t help but feel for them and root for them despite the very huge cloud of retribution shadowing over them. I devoured this book purely because despite the initial draw in of the murder mystery I just want to follow these characters and I wanted desperately to know for good or for bad what happens at the end. 

I couldn’t look away from this book and neither should you!