Over ten million of Pearse’s books have sold worldwide, despite waiting until the age of forty-nine to become a published author, and Deception shows off her writing at its very best. I found Deception more thought provoking and deeper than other Lesley Pearse books, although her central themes of identity and self-resilience endure. But she can’t do anything about it except for go along with it for a time as she is taken to the lively city of New Orleans. 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.

Angus Tweedy was a man Alice had never seen or heard of before and she doesn’t quite know whether to believe what he says and delve a little deeper or else to send him away. Weaving between two timelines, and exploring the disturbing truth of Sally’s past life, Alice must reconcile the mother she knew and loved with the determined, resilient woman who was forced to make some tough and heartbreaking decisions. Her mother’s death has caused successful hotel group manager Alice to reflect on her own brief and disastrous marriage at the age of just 21, and her secret hope that, despite the enjoyment of her single life, she might still find the love affair that ‘turns her life upside-down. Following Alice’s journey into her mother’s past felt like I was experiencing all of the surprises along with her. This underlying thread is seamlessly woven into the fabric of the story, allowing readers to connect with characters who navigate challenges and setbacks.Deception – a twisting, turning and utterly addictive tale of mystery, hardship and self-survival – is the remarkable 30th novel from Lesley Pearse, a master storyteller and one of the nation’s most prolific and best-loved authors. 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. All she has is herself on this journey to get out of danger and back into her life the way it used to be– or maybe something totally different. I thought that Lesley Pearse did a fantastic job of capturing the era she was writing about; especially the 1960s. The impact of constant change and uncertainty in Lesley's early years is reflected in one of the recurring themes in her books: what happens to those who are emotionally damaged as children.

Once again Lesley has come up with a brilliant story which although is life changing for the character Alice , could be totally believable . Shocked to her core, Alice questions what this stranger hopes to gain by this revelation after a gap of three decades, and how can her adored and loving dad Ralph not be her true father? Her father was away at sea and it was only when a neighbour saw Lesley and her brother playing outside without coats on that suspicion was aroused - their mother had been dead for some time.Lesley Pearse (born 24 February 1945) [1] is a British novelist, with global sales of over 10 million copies. It was an extraordinary childhood and in all her books, Lesley has skilfully married the pain and unhappiness of her early experiences with a unique gift for storytelling. She has also worked as a nanny and a Playboy bunny, and designed and made clothes to sell to boutiques. 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.

This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. The hardships, traumas, close friends and lovers from those early years were inspiration for her beloved novels. I didn’t find myself overly rooting for a positive outcome for her because to be honest she just came across as someone mostly out for herself.She was deceitful, conniving, a schemer, treacherous and nasty and despite her childhood I questioned was there really any necessary reason for her to turn out in such a manner? Her writing style is a breath of fresh air, effortlessly guiding readers through a story that is both engaging and easily digestible. But she finds out about that and death too when one of the girls is murdered and she is witness to it. But the timelines moved effortlessly back and forth and I didn’t find it difficult to follow the two strands of the story which eventually do intertwine. By the mid Sixties she was living in London, sharing flats, partying hard and married a trumpet player in a Jazz rock band.