The Art of a Lie, by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – Signed Independent Bookshop Edition – *Pre-Order 10th July 2025*

This is the pre-order page for the signed independent bookshop edition of The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson. Your order will be fulfilled upon publication: 10th July 2025.

Thats the trouble with stories, especially the ones you write for yourself.

Sometimes you think they’ve ended, when they’ve barely begun . . .

London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in what looks like a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. The Punchbowl and Pineapple, her confectionary shop on Piccadilly, is barely turning a profit.

Henry Fielding, the famous author and new magistrate, is threatening to confiscate the money in her husbands bank account, because he believes it might have been illicitly acquired. And even those who claim to be Hannahs 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 if only she can learn how to make it. But their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip and draws Henry Fieldings attention her way, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husbands murder.