The Art of a Lie

A Novel

By: Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Narrated by: Sophie Roberts, Justin Avoth

“Astonishing. The Art of a Lie is Laura Shepherd-Robinson at the height of her considerable powers. Of course it’s beautifully written and richly detailed, but it’s also fiendishly twisting and properly thrilling. A rare and wonderful story.” —Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author

In 18th-century England, a widowed confectioner is drawn into a web of love, betrayal, intrigue, and a battle of wits in this “twisty” (Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author) historical novel from the author of the USA TODAY bestseller The Square of Sevens.

London 1749: Following the murder of her husband in a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to turn a profit at her confectionary shop on Piccadilly as her suppliers conspire to put her out of business.

So when she learns that her husband had a large sum of money in his bank account, the surprise is, at first, extremely welcome. But her financial windfall attracts the attention of author-turned-magistrate Henry Fielding, who believes the money might have been acquired through ill-gotten means and seeks to confiscate it.

Endeavoring to prove otherwise, Hannah enlists the help of William Devereux, a friend of her late husband, who also tells her about a new Italian delicacy called “iced cream,” which she believes might transform the fortunes of her shop. As she and Devereux delve into the mysteries of her husband’s double life in Georgian London’s gambling dens, Hannah unravels secrets even more devastating than his murder.

Wonderful Book

Interesting book,lots of twists and turns.Amazing voices,and characters. Enjoy the book,have a dish of of ice cream ,

Love the intrigue and breadth of historical research.

Terrific story. Took me a bit to get into but the moment Book Two started I was hooked and barely paused listening until the end. If you enjoyed The Square of Sevens, you'll also enjoy this book. Delicious historical note and interview at the end, too. Ended up eating too much ice cream as I listened, IYKYK.

What a plot!

Full of twists, historical context and interesting characters this novel keeps you wondering which con will succeed all the way through. So well plotted and conceived, very much worth the time.

Exquisite writing and impossible to pause

Every inch of this story is a delight. The characters are so well developed; they became people I knew and rooted for. The twists were TWISTY. And now I shall dream of time-traveling back to Georgian London. SO good.

Great character personalities

I love this story. It needs to be on the big screen! Fantastic tale of romance, greed and trickery! The narrator’s did a wonderful job