Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Secrets and lies have always been a draw for authors and readers, and this week, you are leaning into this trope with a book about a con, deception, or fake. You can look for your traditional mystery novel, read a nonfiction book about a famous event, or dive into the world of fake heiresses.

Con Artists & Hustlers: https://www.julesbuono.com/books-abou...
Books about Scams, Frauds & Hoaxes: https://lithub.com/11-legendary-liter...
Art Fraud & Theft: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/713...
Books about Fake News: https://thetrustedweb.org/top-books-a...
Fake Dating/Engagement/Marriage Romances: https://bookgirlsguide.com/fake-datin...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

What are you reading for this prompt? What would you recommend?

I've been wanting to read The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro for a while and it fits this prompt.

Other books I'm interested in:
The Plot - Jean Hanff Korelitz (theft of a story)
Brat Farrar - Josephine Tey (imposter)
Feint of Art (Art Lovers Mystery #1) - Hailey Lind

Edit: Actually reading Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie. (a character takes the identity of another)

I recommend:
The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde (mistaken identities) - short and funny.
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos - Dominic Smith

Kathy wrote: "I've been wanting to read The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro for a while and it fits this prompt.

Other books I'm interested in:
The Plot - Jean Hanff Korelitz (theft o..."

I love The Importance of Being Earnest! I never thought of that for this prompt.

The Lies of Locke Lamora is full of cons.
Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake is a classic.

I never thought about the fake dating trope, but there are dozens of those (probably hundreds).

Not sure which one I will read. The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays by Oscar Wilde, Passing by Nella Larsen, Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, Tangerine by Christine Mangan, Xingu by Edith Wharton, Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

I'm thinking of reading Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well.

Then I could later read All's Well about a company staging the play for the arts prompt.

This is an interesting prompt, but not among my faves.

I will read Othello by William Shakespeare for this prompt.

I must have had art forgeries in mind when this prompt won because I have an awful lot of them on my TBR right now. I really liked False Impression by Jeffrey Archer, and I want to try his new series. The first book (maybe all of them) involves an art investigation. ✔️Nothing Ventured. He also has several short story books, such as A twist of the Tale, that involve scams, fraud, tax evasion, etc. They all have nice twists at the end. These were great for long car rides.

Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake is very entertaining. It’s a little different than the film, but they are both great.

I read
✔️Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin- a gay atheist pretends to be Catholic to get a job with the church. Also fits cover items, bunnies

I have two that are on my need to read list. (HaHa. I just created that list in my head just now!)

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles is planned for a challenge in another group. I really enjoyed A Gentleman in Moscow by this author, so I am looking forward to this book.

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, which has been on my TBR since 2015!

Ive got 3 down for this:
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
Family of Liars
The Mammoth Book of Cover-Ups: The 100 Most Terrifying Conspiracies of All Time

...but I really recommend We Are Bellingcat: Global Crime, Online Sleuths, and the Bold Future of News was absolutely fantastic for sniffing out big fake news

I love theme/plot prompts! I noticed recently that I have a bunch of fantasy books on my TBR that are about thieves/criminals: The Lies of Locke Lamora, The Final Empire, Six of Crows, A Darker Shade of Magic. I've been considering making 2023 kind of my "year of fantasy" (this year was the "year of literary fiction " but oddly it turned out to specifically be "the year of literary fiction about grumpy old women"), so this seems like the perfect opportunity to tackle one of those!

I'm going to try suggesting some that would work for this prompt that you might not realize from the plot summary:

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson has an important deception at the heart of it. (view spoiler)[Cara is revealed to have taken the place of her doppelganger years before the story starts. (hide spoiler)]

Embassytown by China Miéville would work as a somewhat creative twist on this prompt. The aliens in the story can't lie in their language and lies and deception are a key part of the plot.

You Need to Know is a domestic noir by Australian author Nicola Moriarty which will draw you in to the family’s lives and secrets. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

I'll be reading The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. I'm slowly working my way through the series, which is about an FBI agent teaming up with a con man, so I know it fits with no spoilers.

It's difficult to recommend something for this without giving away the plot. I think it doesn't give anything away to suggest The Likeness, Monstrous Regiment and Hogfather.

AH! I have so many good recommendations for this, as this is one of my favorite book elements!!!

My recommendations for this one are:
1. From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Fantasy Romance)
2. Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco (Fantasy Romance)
3. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Black (Thriller)
4. Roomies by Christina Lauren (Romance)
5. The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren (Romance)
6. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (Mystery)
7. The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer (SciFi/LGTQ/Romance)
8. Wish You Were Here by Jodie Picoult (Contemporary/Romance)
9. Lock Every Door by Riley Sager (Thriller)
10. I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid (Psychological Thriller)
11. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (Romance)

Has anyone read anything about Anna Delvey // Anna Sorokin? I might try My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress

That or I might try one of Lady Colin Campbell's books about the royals (eg. Diana or the Harkles)

If you want to read a classic, Jane Austen's Mansfield Park has a couple of cons in it.

I’ve done this one for this week and read

I listened to Meghan and Harry: The Real Story this week on audible and it was fantastic

I read .

I read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller for this prompt. I would recommend it - it is very good. There are several deceptions in the book that are very important to the story!

I’m reading Fairy Tale by Stephen King. There’s definitely deception going on!

I read Anon Pls. by DeuxMoi

I am reading 'the Little Red Chairs' by Edna O'Brien. I recommend the Ex Husband by Karen Hamilton and The Children's Hour by Marcia Willett.

Pam wrote: "I’m reading Fairy Tale by Stephen King. There’s definitely deception going on!"

I can't wait to read that one!

I used Verity for this prompt.

For this prompt, I read:
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton - 4.5* - My Review

I read Her Perfect Family for this.

I read Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

My recommendations are related in curious way:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. There's a Dumas Club in Harlem Shuffle.
Passing by Nella Larsen mainly takes place in Harlem.
And The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis involves Wall Street.

For this prompt i read The Only Suspect It is hard to describe the con without giving the plot away but ricl / Rollo/ Marina and Drew are all involved

I read The Book of Flora by Meg Elison, the third book in the Road to Nowhere trilogy. Any of the books in the trilogy would work for this prompt. They deal with a future in which men outnumber women after a plague, and gender and trans issues.

Tiffany wrote: "I read Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

My recommendations are related in curious way:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. T..."

Isn’t it fun when you find connections between books? Do you recommend Harlem Shuffle too? I plan to read at least a few 1920’s books this year, related to the Jazz age and the Harlem Renaissance, plus the new book Shrines of Gaiety.

I read The Missing Cryptoqueen: The Billion Dollar Cryptocurrency Con and the Woman Who Got Away with It by Jamie Bartlett about cryptocurrency fraud committed by Onecoin. Cofounders have been arrested except Ruja Ignatova have not seen since 2017. She is on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

NancyJ wrote: "Tiffany wrote: "I read Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

My recommendations are related in curious way:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandr..."</i>

Yes, it's excellent. Colson Whitehead wrote another winner. But it takes place in the early 60's.
[book:Passing takes place in the 20's & is devastatingly good.

I read The Lies of Locke Lamora
It's jam packed with con, deception, fakes, secrets & lies. A few parts dragged for me but I really enjoyed the complicated plotting.

I was looking forward to reading the rest of the series, but it seems like it's one of those that may never actually be completed. Book three was published 10 years ago and still waiting for#4 of 9.

I read Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun for this prompt. It might not be as full of cons, deceptions, or fakes as the pervious books but still feel like it fits the bill.

I also read The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, as I suspected I might. It is definitely a perfect fit for the prompt.

I really don't read a lot of books that would fit in this category, but I will give a shout-out to a surprisingly fun nonfiction book I read last year: Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts. This seemed outside of my comfort zone when I picked it up, but I enjoyed it a lot.

I'm probably going to read The Lies of Locke Lamora, as recommended by many people above. I've been putting it off for years as I like to binge a whole series in one go, but it seems like book 4 is still a long way off and I don't know how long I can keep waiting!

A couple of recommendations:

- The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter: an alternate history mystery story set in a steampunk world where women's rights haven't advanced and the main character is forced to disguise herself as her (invented) brother in order to work as a private investigator.

- Silver Sparrow: a good option for people who prefer contemporary books, as it's set in late 20th century Atlanta. The two POV characters, Chaurisse and Dana, are half-sisters who have the same dad, but Chaurisse is unaware of Dana's existence, despite living in the same area. Dana is forced to limit her aspirations so her dad can keep his secret second family from becoming public knowledge.

- A Morbid Taste for Bones: The Cadfael Chronicles are set in 12th century England during a period of civil war, and follow a Welsh monk who solves local mysteries and crimes. This first novel features a deception that is mentioned a lot in later stories, but saying much more would be a spoiler.

I read Nothing Ventured by Jeffrey Archer. It's about an Art Forgery. It's not spectacular, but this author was a favorite of mine for a long time, so it's like comfort reading.

I originally was going to use Song of Achilles for this prompt, but I changed it and used Safe With Me by K. L. Slater. This book was chock full of cons, deceptions, and fakes!

Aimee wrote: "I'm probably going to read The Lies of Locke Lamora, as recommended by many people above. I've been putting it off for years as I like to binge a whole series in one go, but it seem..."

If it helps, Lies does wrap up nicely without a huge cliffhanger. I'm debating if I'll just stop now and wait and see if anything else gets finished or move on to #2? I'm glad I read Lies but leaning towards considering the story wrapped up and stopping there. I *just cant* with another 'Song of Ice and Fire' scenario ; )

Sheena wrote: "Aimee wrote: "I'm probably going to read The Lies of Locke Lamora, as recommended by many people above. I've been putting it off for years as I like to binge a whole series in one g..."

That does help, thank you! I might do the same. After George RR Martin and Patrick Rothfuss, I'm not sure I can take another sprawling fantasy epic with no end in sight sadly.

The Switch is another story by English author Beth O'Leary. It features 79-year-old Eileen who lives in a little Yorkshire village and her granddaughter Leena. Leena is struggling with corporate London life and Eileen has decided to try dating again so they decide to swap homes for the summer with fun and unexpected results. I won’t give any spoilers but there’s a couple of deceptions and cons in this book. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

I read The Violin Conspiracy for this one. It was a fast read, not as complex/nuanced as I would have liked, but the emotional core worked for me.

I've already completed this prompt, with a book that's part of a series I was already reading and serendipitously fell into place; but the deception/fake aspect is a minor spoiler so I won't mention what book / series it was just in case.

Yesterday, I started reading The Lost Metal and as in many of the Mistborn books, there are kandra who take on the appearance of other people to masquerade as them, as well a plot to uncover the real identities of members of the Set so I guess that could count as a con / deception too.
Thought I'd mention it for any other Sanderson fans who are only just getting around to reading the latest release and wondering where to fit it into AtY.

For this prompt, I read Troy: The Greek Myths Reimagined by Stephen Fry.

Fingersmith was a great book with several cons that I never saw coming.

If I can get to it, I want to read Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History. I started it years ago, it's a dense book, but I think important.

I’m currently reading The Picture of Dorian Gray and finished The Importance of Being Earnest but have chose The Woman in White for this challenge https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... crossing my fingers to see if I get it done this week.

I was excited for this prompt (it was my suggestion) and had a number of books I was considering. I ended up reading Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen which is about two women who get involved with importing counterfeit handbags. It's hard to pin down the genre - I guess it's a crime novel but with a bit of suspense thrown in. It was a delicious read but also surprisingly smart and complex.

Prompt 14 ~

A Book with a Con, Deception, or Fake

The Silent Unseen: A Novel of World War II by Amanda McCrina
Read ~ 4.16.23
Pages ~ 320
Relevance ~ Polish Resistance, spies, counter spies, British infiltrates into the Polish underground, double agents. Deception abounds!

Really good reading!

I read Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi, about an office worker in Japan who, by using her deception, brilliantly avoids performing menial tasks at work. Now, why didn't I think of that?