The Art of a Lie

Shepherd-Robinson’s bewitching latest historical (after The Square of Sevens) artfully folds real-life figures into its plot. In 1749 London, confectioner Hannah Cole flouts convention by running her shop, Punchbowl and Pineapple, instead of continuing to mourn her murdered husband, Jonas. With her inheritance delayed due to bizarre discrepancies in Jonas’s accounting, she must earn a living somehow. None other than famed novelist and magistrate Henry Fielding is investigating Jonas’s murder, and upon learning that the dead man was an unsavory rogue and a cruel husband, he starts to suspect that Hannah killed him. Hannah’s only ally is the new-to-town William Devereaux, who vows to help her and gives her the exotic idea to serve an Italian delicacy called ice cream. While Hannah tests recipes and delights patrons in Piccadilly with this new treat, William negotiates with Fielding on her behalf. Gradually, though, Hannah begins to question William’s motives. Shepherd-Robinson’s prose is superb, bursting with poetic description and immersive period detail, and she sustains suspense without resorting to cheap tricks. Readers will race through this. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary. (Aug.)