Shades of Deception

Sequel to The Colours of Corruption and The Illusion of Innocence. The river Lea, 1902: Archie and his police sergeant pal Frank Tyrell must investigate the disappearance of teenager Lilian and the discovery of a corpse in the River Lea - Eleanor 'Nell' Redfern. Did her father's ambitious plans to marry her to a rail magnate force her to run away to her watery doom? And Lilian Steggles, a star swimmer with her eye on the 1908 Olympics - why did she disappear from home and where is she now? Archie uses his artistic skills to identify Nell and track down her story. It leads him deep into the world of music hall, spiritualism, ventriloquism and the corruption beneath it, until a terrible secret is revealed.

Jacqueline Jacques was born in Anglesey, North Wales but, having a close affinity with postwar Walthamstow, East London and nearby Epping Forest, is moved to set her novels in the area she knows best. Her working life as a teacher came to an end when the itch to write full-time became unbearable. Since then she has called herself a 'writer' though, nowadays, she finds other interests jostling for her attention, her long-suffering husband, Peter, not least among them. She busies herself, in shielded lockdown, with painting, crafting, working in the garden and on the allotment, attempting to convene the Buckhurst Hill U3A Bookclub on Zoom, and keeping their Creative Writing Group up to speed via email. Then, there are family and friends to enjoy, at a safe social distance, via WhatsApp and Zoom. Sadly, travel, holidays, theatre, concerts and art galleries are now relegated to being virtual pursuits. But the writing goes on, come heat wave or the hell of pandemic, while there's breath in her body and juice in her iPad.