In this sharp and funny debut set in Northern California during the 1980s recession, Fayette Fox delves deep into the dark heart of an ordinary American family – and finds out that make-believe isn’t just for kids.
Read an extractEight-year-old Ivy has a vivid imagination and tells lies so that people will like her. With her brother, Brice, in hospital, life at home feels unsettled and things become even more strained after her father loses his job, along with his sense of purpose.
Her parents might divorce and her best friend hates her but, ever creative, Ivy abandons her escapist fantasies and determines to uncover the truth.
The Deception Artist is her debut novel.