The Joker's Hand: The Joker's Hand

A grieving artist. A master art restorer. She wants to restore the truth. He wants to entangle her in forgery. Jane Kelly has a future at Oxford, but grief and ambition pull her in another direction. Instead of returning to university, she returns to Tom Keating-the irascible, wildly talented art restorer who once taught her everything. Together, they escape London and set up a studio in a derelict barn, hoping to breathe new life into faded canvases... and maybe themselves. But the line between restoration and deception blurs quickly. With shady dealers, family conflicts, and Jane's unresolved past threatening their fragile peace, she must discover what kind of artist-and woman-she wants to become. And Tom, haunted by years of secrets, must decide if this new life can offer the redemption he never thought he deserved. The Art of Deception is a tender, witty, and sharply observed novel of love, reinvention, and what it means to leave a mark on the world-truthfully or otherwise.