After the funeral of her mother, Sally, Alice Kent is approached by a man called Angus Tweedy. He claims to be her father and tells her that he spent time in prison for marrying Sally bigamously. What does he hope to gain by 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?

This story has a dual timeline, Alice, trying to piece together the secrets her mother had kept from her and, from Sally, from when she was younger. Some of the things that are hidden away in Sally's past are quite heartbreaking. The more that Alice digs into her mother's past, she finds out some interesting things, This is a story of hard times and abuse, but it's one of survival too. Lesley Pearse has a canny knack for telling a good tale, keeping your attention throughout and never disappoints.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #MichaelJoseph #PenguinRandomHouse and the author #LesleyPearse for my ARC of #Deception in exchange for an honest review.

There were parts of this book that I loved and others not so much. I did enjoy the dual timeline that followed Alice in the present day and Sally, her mother. in the past. Alice throws herself wholeheartedly into tracking down people who knew her mother many years ago and who might help her find out the many secrets that she has kept from her family for years. What triggers this is that a man who is unknown to Alice turns up at her mothers funeral and claims to be her (and her sister Emily's) father. I found it strange that Alice didn't pass on this information to her sister and nor did she include her in the quest to discover the truth about their parentage. I didn't find either Alice or her mother particularly endearing and despite the fact that the latter had experienced some terrible things as a child I still couldn't find many lovable traits in this person. The multitude of men she becomes sexually involved with as well as friends and acquaintances from her past became quite confusing to me as there were just so many names. Even Sally herself went by at least two other names as well. This is maybe just a 'thing' of mine as I do struggle with books where there are a great many characters to keep track of. Others may not find it quite so difficult to keep up! This was a good book on the whole, as are all Lesley Pearse books, but I do have to drop two stars purely for the reasons of too many characters and not very likable protagonists from my point of view. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC for which I am happy to give my honest and voluntary review.

At her mother Sally's funeral Alice Kent spots a man in the congregation that she, her father and sister Emilly, don’t recognise. Approaching him he introduces himself as Angus Tweedy and asks if he can speak to Alice and Emily privately. Alice arranges to meet him the next day where he tells her that he was married to her mother and he is actually Alice and Emily's father. Reeling, Alice must decide if she should tell Emaily and the man she always thought was her father, Ralph. She knew her mother wasn’t perfect but this is a massive shock that could tear the family apart at the worst possible time.
Alice begins to investigate her mother’s past before she tells anyone but what she discovers is as shocking as it is hurtful.
This story takes you on a journey through the recent past to the present, tracing the sometimes tragic life of a woman who was beautiful, intelligent and at times selfish, but who put her children first.

Love this author and loved this story. Kept me engrossed from start to finish., Any Lesley Pearse fans or first time readers will love this book.
The story of a woman who gets a heart wrenching surprise after her mother has passed away. What we think we know can all be turned upside down with just a few words from a stranger . Recommend this book *****

Another good read from Lesley Pearce, I have enjoyed all her books and this does not disappoint.

a whole new world opens up to 2 girls when they meet someone at their mother funeral, who tells them he is their biological father., why did no one know this? One sister sets out to find the truth and discovers why her mother kept so many secrets.

Deception is a gritty tale of womanhood. It is told from a dual timeline of Alice and her mother. Alice is faced with the death of her mother and a very surprising encounter at the funeral.

The book follows her investigation and the discoveries she makes, about her mother’s past, herself and her family.

The story is fast paced to keep you interested and Alice does an enormous amount of detective work in a short space of time, finding links to her mother’s past. The characters are varied and interesting.

My favourite parts were those from the mother’s POV. The reality of her childhood is heart breaking and the uncovering of her true emotions and motivations is where the real story is.

The book is about a daughter Alice finding out the truth about her mother after she died she finds things out that would make your hair curl,. After the funeral she is approached by a man Angus who says he is her father which comes as a shock as she has been brought up by someone she always thought was her real father. as she finds out more about her mother she doesn’t want to tell her sister as it’s too terrible to tell.

The book gets better as it goes back to when her mother was a young girl and the horrific things that happens to her. I did prefer this side of the book as more exciting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

an interesting read.... alice is approached by a man after her mothers funeral saying that he was her father....and not only that he had married her mother whilst married to someone else and had ended up in prison for bigamy

as alice sought out more information on this and her mothers life she found out some very interesting things, some she felt she could share with her sister and the father, the one that had bought them up

an easy flowing book that keeps you interested enough to carry on...and what a life this woman led...from an abusive childhood to threatening a russian oligarch to then making a life for herself and her children down in totnes....

a lively read that will keep you interested right to the very end

On the whole a good read, at times it was almost a relaxing read ( at other times,see below,it was the opposite ) based around about a woman’s quest to find out the truth about her Mum (who once died was found to have secrets a plenty ) and her Dad ( still alive ), the book was told by the daughter and also back in time by the Mum, both sides of the story fused well throughout the book, I think I favoured the Mum’s as she had had quite the past and many a tale to tell!
The Mum ( who had various names ) had started life terribly and went on to work in theatre, fascinating to read about this and shocking how it must have been for young ladies in that era, as a trigger point for readers the subject of rape features twice in the book but without unnecessary detail and handled sensitively and with emotion
The ending which the book had been leading up to pretty much since page 1 was a whimper not a bang but, well, taking it all into account it didn’t matter too much
A part historical part now family saga thriller maybe sums it up

8/10
4 Stars

Another fantastic book by Lesley Pearse.
This story has a dual timeline. One from Alice trying to find out the secrets her mother had throughout her life and the second from Sally - the mother, starting back from when she was young.
A big story intricately interwoven which kept me turning the pages from start to finish. A big hearted saga!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review. I loved it.

I love Lesley’s books and this one is a great read. It’s told in two times, the current timeline is about Alice looking into her Mother’s past after she dies and she finds out her Mother had a secret past. The other timeline is Sally’s past from when she was a young girl called Janet up until her past that her daughter knew. There’s a lot of things hidden away about Sally’s past some of it quite heartbreaking, but she was a strong resilient woman who was determined and courageous. This is a fabulous book and I give it a well deserved five stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lesley Pearse has long been one of my favorite authors where drama with a pinch of history is concerned, and this book did not disappoint.
A young woman’s plight to discover her true heritage in the wake of her mother’s passing is the crux of this story. I loved the intelligence and sensitivity with which it was written.

Totally absorbing,fast paced ,brilliant and enthralling. This is Lesley Pearse showing what a masterful storyteller she is. How many of us children know everything about our parents past? I was totally in step with Sally as she pursued every lead to unravel the mystery that was her late mother, Sally. Having been approached by a strange man at her mum's funeral and finding out he was her biological father, everything Alice thought she knew was turned on it's head. Her journey into the enigma that was her bewitching mum, is at times, heartbreaking,funny, beguiling and totally engaging. Expertly crafted storyline, believable four dimensional characters and a writer at the peak of her craft. 5* doesn't seem enough!

I have been a big fan of Lesley Pearse for many years and have enjoyed all her books and this one didn’t disappoint me . I found it hard to put down from turning the first page , Alice and her mum's story is so well written it gave me moments of sadness and moments of happiness.
I so recommend this book and my thanks as always to Netgalley and Penguin Books Michael Joseph for the early read.

Such a pleasure to read as usual. I have read and enjoyed all Lesley's books I just love her style and Deception didn't disappoint. The characters are all engaging and I was fully immersed in the intriguing story and wanted answers!
Every single person to whom I have recommended Lesley Pearse have become just as addicted to her wonderful books as I am. Another one soon please!

A gripping read from Lesley Pearse. What an intriguing story of a mother's deception. After the funeral of Alice's mother Sally a man approaches her and tells her he is her biological father who claimed to have served time in prison for bigamously marrying her mother 30 years earlier and so started an incredible story of learning of and uncovering her mother's past. Beautifully written.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Lesley Pearse for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I have read many of Lesley Pearse's books, not necessarily in order but then that doesn't matter as they are often standalone books (not always I realise). I have been disappointed with her more recent books and hoped she would revert to an earlier style of writing.
I was not at all disappointed.

This was a dual timeline book recording the story of a mother (who took on various names as her life evolved and it suited her) and her daughters - for one of whom her mothers tale changed her perceptions of her upbringing in a way that many of us could never imagine.
It was only later in the book the sisters shared what had been found.

I really enjoyed this book and could not wait for some spare time to read another chapter. It was an easy read but nevertheless kept my interest.

I wont provide any further synopsis so as not to spoil the story for others

Thank you again for the chance to read this book

Love all this authors books, this is no exception, u devoured it in one sitting
A sad story of struggle, abuse and hard times yet its a really uplifting story about survival and triumph. I think this author is so skilled in making what should be a really straight forward moral situation and weaving a story round it that means we really empathise and understand its easy to make judgements about people and situations but the reality is far more complex.

Alice and Sally Kent are at their mother’s funeral. When Alice notices a man that she has never met before at the back. When she talks to him, she finds out that his name is Angus Tweedy, and he wants to talk to them both about their mother. He claims to be their biological father.
Alice talks to Angus and discovers that her mother is not the woman that she thought she was and that her life was all a lie. Because of this she decides to find out the truth about her mother, visiting places of her mother’s past and her old friends to discover the truth.
Thank you, Penguin Michael Joseph, for a copy of Deception by Lesley Pearse. This is the fifth book from the author that I have read and enjoyed. But I have mixed feelings about this one. Although I found this to have an interesting storyline, I didn’t think it was one of her best books to date. The main characters were not very likeable which put me off a bit. 3.5 stars from me.

What do you do if you find out the day after your mother's funeral that your whole life was a lie and that your mother was not who you thought she was? This is the reality that Alice must face. How did this all start and was Sally just a cold-hearted person? There is also the dilemma of telling her sister and confronting the man she thought was her real dad. Surely he will be able to fill in the gaps?
To get to the truth we have to go back to 1950. Here we meet a young and very unhappy Sally with an alcoholic mother and an abusive and absent stepfather. Can one truly rise above your circumstances or will this scar you for life?
The deeper Alice digs into her mother's past the more disturbing the picture seems. But can you judge things at face value?

I find reading Lesley Pearse always effortless. Her characters are very believable and relatable and she never disappoints.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion