Like me, you probably know those nice and well intentioned people who seem to attract the bad and the worst and whose lives seem to transition from one disaster to another?. I do, bless them, but are some things avoidable with the right choices? – Yep sometimes they are. So, let me introduce you to our central female character Amelia. The Promise is set in 1914 in London and reunites the reader with Belle Reilly in this sequel to Belle. Belle has finally found happiness and a life she has always wanted thanks to her husband Jimmy. Now she has achieved another dream that she has always wanted to follow; owning and running a hat shop. But when the first world war starts to slowly arrive like a ship on the horizon, Belle’s crazy life is about to change in ways that she never even saw coming. By the next evening, mum and kids are staying in a women's refuge and major plans to ensure a happier future are in motion. Of course, this doesn't sit too well with Don. One night, Eve decides to teach her husband a lesson... And it goes horribly wrong. Told as a child that she had too much imagination for her own good. She left home at 15 and headed to London where she worked her way through many jobs – from corsetry sales, to musician’s muse, to nanny; from gift shop owner to dressmaker – finally finding her true vocation when she became a published author age 49.'

Despite the drifting plotline and a crammed conclusion of events, this is classic Lesley Pearse through and through. Betrayal is a great read, if a tough one. Liar by Lesley Pearse is a historical drama, laced with a plenty of intrigue, romance, mystery and a touch of crime. Featuring a high driven lead on a quest to uncover the truth behind a series of murders, Liar is a consuming tale from bestselling British author Lesley Pearse. A Lesley Pearse book is always one that has a very easy flow to the writing. The characters are a mix of personalities bringing many relevant themes to the fore, in this case focusing on domestic abuse, bullying and dominating behaviour. As Amelia pieces together clues, the reader gets an insight into lives lived and the long lasting impact of actions taken in the past. Amelia has always doubted her own ability and, at times, her vulnerability exposes her to very confusing and very challenging situations. She questions herself many times, doubting her judgement, unsure of who and what to believe. Belle is the first novel in the Belle series. It is 1910 in London, and a young girl has grown up in a brothel all her life without ever knowing it. Now that she is 15 years old, she has suddenly discovered that all is not as it seems in the Seven Dials. Even though she grew up there, Belle’s life is forever changed and her innocence gone forever when she sees one of the girls that lives there brutally murdered. With Lesley Pearse's reputation for grippy, gritting stories that never shy away from the seamier side of life, I was expecting distressing themes from Betrayal. And, yes, this story pulled no punches – literally – from the very start.Amelia is a strong minded, often impulsive character who only sees the best in people. Along the way she encounters people who will threaten her and people who will cherish and nuture her. This book touched and covered so many tough subjects, that are relevant and happening in today's times! In this book, we see just how strong and resilient women can be even when things literally "beat" us down! We see that sometimes the people closest to us can hurt us the most and how total strangers can become the best of friends!

In this exciting and historical city, Belle gradually begins to come into her own. Now of age, she gradually learns how to operate skill fully within her life as a courtesan and even adapts to enjoy it. However, she is always thinking of the home she left behind. Even though she is the golden girl for right now of the prostitution world in this bustling southern city, she knows that she only has so long to dominate this cage before it turns into a prison once more that holds her forever. Got to say I don’t think I am the target audience for this book, generally I read a lot of what is classed ‘women’s fiction’ and love it but this for me actually did feel it was correctly labelled, a bit Mills and Boon ish in large swathes of it LIAR is not a typical murder mystery. There are none of the graphic descriptions of violence we now expect to read as standard in many crime fiction books. Lesley Pearse ‘does’ crime in her own gentle way. Bestselling author Lesley Pearse weaves her writing web of magnetism and lures you in with a tale of hard times, abuse and survival.

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Her life is as interesting as the fiction that she writes, and perhaps even stranger. Lesley Pearse has had a very dramatic and eventful life. Her mother died when she was just three years old under circumstances that were tragic. Their father had been at work at sea and a neighbor spied Lesley and her brother outside without coats and that led to finding out that their mother had died. Liar by Lesley Pearse is a satisfying read that will be sure to strike a chord with fans of the bestselling author and it may earn the British writer some new readers. This is a book that reels you in from the first chapter, throwing the reader straight into the heart of the abuse and the sense of danger and urgency flowing through those first few chapters. The book does slow its pace in the middle part of this book as Eve and her children try to live a new normal life but once again the book takes a dramatic turn of events towards the latter part of the book and we are thrown into despair and the adrenalin flows as everything comes to a head.