Lovers and Liars

by Sally Beauman

Overview

In the first book of a trilogy of seductive, suspense-packed Sally Beauman novels, a man and woman stumble upon a political conspiracy in which nothing is what it seems . . . and no one can be trusted
Just after New Year’s, four small parcels are delivered to Paris, Venice, New York, and London. Photojournalist Pascal Lamartine is sent a woman’s left-handed black leather glove. Reporter Gini Hunter receives a pair of handcuffs. They soon discover that the anonymous packages may be linked to a breaking sex scandal that could rock the world’s political stage.
Who sent the packages, and why? As the dogged journalists delve into a sordid world of lies and deceit, call girls and secret trysts, Gini and Pascal rekindle their own passionate affair. The truth goes back farther than they imagine . . . to the other side of the world and a long-awaited revenge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781480444768
Publisher:	Open Road Media
Publication date:	09/24/2013
Series:	The Lovers and Liars Trilogy , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	736
Sales rank:	407,877
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Sally Beauman was born in Devon, England, and is a graduate of Cambridge University. She began her career as a critic and writer for New York magazine and continued to write for leading periodicals in the US and the UK after returning to England. In 1970, she became the first recipient of the Catherine Pakenham Award for journalism, and at the age of twenty-four, was appointed editor of Queen magazine. Beauman wrote for the New Yorker, the Sunday Times, and Telegraph Magazine, where she was arts editor.

Her novels, which include the New York Times–bestselling sensation Destiny, have been translated into over twenty languages and are bestsellers worldwide. In addition to her works of fiction, Beauman published two nonfiction books based on the history and work of the Royal Shakespeare Company: The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Centenary Production of Henry V (edited by Beauman, with a foreword by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, 1976), and The Royal Shakespeare Company: A History of Ten Decades (1982).

Beauman passed away in 2016 at the age of seventy-one.
Sally Beauman was born in Devon, England, and is a graduate of Cambridge University. She began her career as a critic and writer for New York magazine and continued to write for leading periodicals in the US and the UK after returning to England. In 1970, she became the first recipient of the Catherine Pakenham Award for journalism, and at the age of twenty-four, was appointed editor of Queen magazine. Beauman has written for the New Yorker, the Sunday Times, and Telegraph Magazine, where she was arts editor.

Her novels, which include the New York Times–bestselling sensation Destiny, have been translated into over twenty languages and are bestsellers worldwide. In addition to her works of fiction, Beauman has published two nonfiction books based on the history and work of the Royal Shakespeare Company: The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Centenary Production of Henry V (edited by Beauman, with a foreword by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, 1976), and The Royal Shakespeare Company: A History of Ten Decades (1982).

Sally Beauman is married to the actor Alan Howard. They divide their time between London and a remote island in the Hebrides. They have one son and two grandchildren.

Hometown:

London, England

Date of Birth:

July 25, 1944

Place of Birth:

Torquay, Devon, England

Education:

B.A. in English Literature, Hons Cantab, 1966; M. A., Hons Cantab, 1969

Editorial Reviews

A compelling blend of romance and suspense adds zest to this ingeniously plotted, complex yarn from British writer Beauman, author of the bestselling Destiny . In 1982, American schoolgirl Gini Hunter was drawn into a brief, passionate affair with French photojournalist Pascal Lamartine while visiting her father in war-torn Beirut. Twelve years later, the estranged lovers are reunited on a London News story about salacious doings of Kennedy-esque ambassador John Hawthorne and his posh, Lady Bountiful wife Lise. Meanwhile, four mysterious, identically wrapped packages have been delivered in New York, Paris, Venice and London: to Gini, Pascal, an imbibing gossip columnist and an Oxford-educated ex-commando. Following such disparate clues as marked passages from Paradise Lost , handcuffs and prostitutes' lingerie, Gini and Pascal uncover more than strange sexual proclivities: they find links to Hawthorne's ignominious actions in Vietnam and are drawn into the resulting tangle of deceit and revenge that culminates in graphic violence. So neatly does Beauman interweave patterns of truth and trickery that virtually nothing is known for certain until practically the last page. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Two former lovers, Pascal Lamartine and Gini Hunter, are drawn together in a deadly investigation of a possible scandal involving a highly placed U.S. diplomat who has presidential aspirations. As they dig deeper into the story, they uncover layer upon layer of lies and betrayals. Unsure of whom they can trust, they must come to grips with their own complex pasts in order to fully trust one another. Beauman (Dark Angel, LJ 9/1/90) twists her plot and characters again and again, keeping Pascal, Gini, and the reader guessing about the true nature of the scandal and those involved. Fast-paced and intricately plotted, this book should appeal to readers of romance and intrigue. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/94.]-Barbara E. Kemp, Library Consultant, Reston, Va.

Library Journal

Beauman, who assaulted the best-seller list in 1987 with "Destiny", is almost certain to do it again. Her new novel starts out with a bang: in London, reporter Gini Hunter opens an unexpected package containing a pair of handcuffs; in Paris, Gini's former lover, French photographer Pascal Lamertine, gets his own mysterious parcel containing a silky black glove. Soon the two find themselves working together on a news story--investigating the rumors about John Hawthorne, the JFK-like American ambassador to England. Is he a sadist, a masochist, or maybe it's his wife who's the kinky one? Meanwhile, Gini and Pascal, who have not seen each other since their affair in war-torn Beirut 12 years before, must confront their own feelings while trying not to get entangled in the intricate web of passion and deceit swirling around the Hawthorne story. Unfortunately, Beauman spins the web for way too long. Most readers will be caught up for about the first two-thirds or so of the novel (just when they've invested too much to abandon it) but will then find their interest winding down as Gini and Pascal run into too many dead ends and too many dead bodies. Worse, the final chapters require more than one reading to figure out who actually done what, an arduous task after 500 pages of foreplay. Still, Beauman knows how to ladle up the requisite stew of passion, power, erotica, and evil, and with the help of an extensive ad campaign (and a 100,000-copy first printing), you can count on demand--and on weary patrons returning the book after its due date.

Ilene Cooper