Book Review: The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

The year is 1749 and Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. Following the murder of her husband in what looks like a violent robbery, her confectionery shop in London is barely turning a profit and her suppliers are taking advantage of her situation because they don’t like a woman in trade. Then there’s Henry Fielding, the famously moralistic author and dogged new magistrate, who’s threatening to confiscate her late husband’s money because he believes it might have been illicitly acquired. Even those who claim to have Hannah’s best interests at heart have ulterior motives. So when she meets William Devereux, a kind and charismatic friend of her late husband, Hannah is suitably distrustful of his intentions. Yet the more time she spends with Devereux, the more she begins to think he could be an unexpected saviour.

Using his financial influence and lauded position in society to his advantage, Devereux helps Hannah unravel some of the mysteries surrounding her husband’s death. He also introduces her to an Italian delicacy called iced cream, an innovation that could transform the fortunes of her shop – if only she can learn how to make it. But their friendship opens Hannah up to gossip, drawing Henry Fielding’s attention her way and locking Hannah into a battle of wits that could be the ruin of her.

Split into four parts that shift between Hannah’s and Devereux’s perspectives, The Art of a Lie is that rare kind of book that has the ability to completely blindside readers. As someone who’s always got a book on the go, I pride myself on sniffing out a twist before it happens. However, it’s safe to say that I wasn’t expecting a curveball twist so early on with this story and was joyfully surprised at the direction the novel suddenly took in part two without any prior clues or allusions. Laura Shepherd-Robinson draws readers into Hannah’s tale – her devastation in the wake of her husband’s death, her struggle and strife to keep her business afloat, not just for herself but for her late father’s legacy. Then we move to Deveraux’s POV and the novel pivots quite spectacularly, taking the characters down a dangerous road of deceits, double-crossing and the pursuit of justice.

Shepherd-Robinson immerses readers in the simultaneous glamour and grime of Georgian London, exploring class struggles, the complexities of relationships, and what it means to be a woman in a man’s world. But it’s the delicious cat and mouse game that ensues between the characters that is the real draw here. All of them have secrets to keep, pasts to bury, people to get back at, and the joy of this book comes from never quite knowing who will win at the end. Will Hannah be able to overcome her husband’s death and make a success of her shop? Will Deveraux get his heart’s desire? Will Henry Fielding catch his killer? There are plenty more questions to be answered, even more virtues I could extol about this brilliantly written novel, but with every word I’m at risk of giving something away. So I’ll end with this: If you love a slice of clever, witty and twisty historical fiction, then read this book. You won’t regret it.

★★★★★

The Art of a Lie was published by Mantle on 10 July 2025