Mastering the Art of Deception: A twisty operatic noir-edged espionage thriller

by Marlowe Edison

For readers who crave cinematic espionage—multi-POV intrigue, layered threads, and the slow-burn tension of Le Carré fused with the relentless drive of Greaney.

She’s a spy.
He’s her teacher.
One artifact could kill them both.

Annouie Bach is done—
done lying to her best friend,
done scraping by,
done pretending.

Then her handler makes her an find the lost manuscript, and she’s free.

The catch? Go undercover as a student of Antony Meyer-Edwards—a brilliant, arrogant music prodigy with secrets darker than her own.

When the artifact lands on his doorstep, everything detonates. Rival operatives close in. Mercenaries want her dead. And the one man who might save her… could destroy her instead.

Meyer-Edwards is magnetic. Infuriating. Impossible to read.

Getting close could set her free—or cost her everything.

Mastering the Art of Deception is a sleek, emotionally charged espionage thriller of mind games, simmering tension, and operatic stakes—for fans of Killing Eve, The Night Manager, and the unflinching grit of Le Carré and Greaney.

410 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 24, 2025

Reviews

[Ale · Rating 4 out of 5]

ITA
Ci troviamo a Londra, ma non è Londra, in una storia dove si alternano spie, ladri e falsari.
Tra i personaggi Anthony Meyer-Edwards un talentuoso e maledetto pianista, Timothy Gibson falsario e figlio di un tizio che dovrebbe essere il ministro della difesa, o simile, Nicholas Hope il “segretario (?)” del babbo di Timothy, detective Katrine Ratcliffe, questa si capisce, Annouie Bach, ecco a fine lettura di lei penso di non aver capito tutto, Andre Ladvick, super mega hacker e altri (anche il malavitoso italiano).
Tutto ruota intorno a tre cose: opere d’arte rubate, la ricerca di “Three Elements” di Rebrisi (che sono un dipinto, un manoscritto e una scatola di legno) e delle morti dietro alle quali si pensa ci sia un serial killer the Bayside Ripper.
La storia è interessante, avvincente, stratificata. Quando si arriva a metà e si pensa “ok, ce l'ho, ho capito” è come se l’autrice avesse preso tutte le componenti della storia, le ha messe in un vaso, gli ha dato una energica shakerata (o forse un gatto ha fatto qualcosa) e poi è andata avanti a scrivere la storia.
Quindi, ho pensato “ok, vediamo come finisce”.
Unica domanda: questo libro ha un prequel? Non lo so, però in molti punti vengono citate altre storie avvenute in altri posti, un mega furto di opera d’arte.
Consigliato lo consiglio, però spero che nei prossimi libri trattino meglio le opere d’arte, era orribile in questo libro.
Ho ricevuto una copia gratuita. Questa recensione contiene la mia opinione ed è pubblicata liberamente.

ENG
We are in London, but it is not London, in a story featuring spies, thieves, and counterfeiters.
Among the characters are Anthony Meyer-Edwards, a talented and cursed pianist; Timothy Gibson, a forger and son of a guy who is supposed to be the defense minister, or something like that; Nicholas Hope, the “secretary (?)” of Timothy's father; Detective Katrine Ratcliffe, who is easy to understand; Annouie Bach, who I don't think I fully understood after reading about her; Andre Ladvick, a super mega hacker; and others (including the Italian mobster).
Everything revolves around three things: stolen works of art, the search for Rebrisi's “Three Elements” (which are a painting, a manuscript, and a wooden box), and the deaths behind which a serial killer, the Bayside Ripper, is thought to be responsible.
The story is interesting, compelling, and layered. When you get halfway through and think, “OK, I've got it, I understand,” it's as if the author took all the components of the story, put them in a jar, gave it a vigorous shake (or maybe a cat did something), and then went on to write the story.
So, I thought, “OK, let's see how it ends.”
One question: does this book have a prequel? I don't know, but in the story quite often are mentioned other events that happened previously, such as a mega art theft.
I recommend it, but I hope that in future books they treat the artworks better, as it was horrible in this book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[book of august]

Marlowe Edison's writing was super sleek and stylish. I'm usually bored by fight scenes in books, but they were so well written in Mastering the Art of Deception that I could visualise them better than if I'd watched a movie. The descriptions of the settings were precise and inventive. The advanced AI idea, Oria, was very cool. If this is the author's debut work, she shows considerable promise.

However, the promises made in this particular work remained just that. Promises. Undelivered.

This book was a combination of a serial killer mystery, police procedural, art heist and spy thriller, but sadly, it didn't convincingly pull off any one of those sub-genres. There was simply too much intrigue. Too many secrets and missions. Too many persons of interest, whose motivations remained unknowable till the end of the book. Just when I'd start to get to know a character and their journey, the book would shift to another character, exploring their whereabouts and activities -- this was fine for the first third of the book, where, ideally, all the questions the book must eventually answer needed to be set out. However, here, I can't even begin to list down the sheer number of questions left hanging, unresolved.

The entire book had a manic pacing that amounted to nothing. I was fatigued by the non-stop switching between POVs, fake emergencies created to deliberately withhold information from the readers, and the constant movement of stolen artefacts (that I didn't give a shit about) from one character's hand to another.

There was no character development. Not even for the main main character Annouie. Her mission to save her father must ideally form the heart of the book, and yet, it doesn't. We only get vague suggestions about the incidents that led to her father's imprisonment. We get no glimpse into their relationship or how she ended up being this kickass covert operative, who, for some reason, lived in a warehouse. The hook in the blurb of her posing as an undercover student to Antony, the music prodigy, was one of the many ideas in this story that go nowhere. It was as if the author simply fit together the coolest ideas she could come up with, whether they made sense or not.

Every time a character was introduced, they walked into the scene with the swagger of a famous actor doing a surprise cameo, expecting the audience to erupt into applause. Why???? I DIDN'T KNOW THESE PEOPLE! This was a BRAND NEW BOOK, not some a continuation of a series!! And they all seemed to know one another... And they all individually and conveniently convene at the same spots, on several instances, whenever the author wanted something big to go down.

Overall, I found this book so frustrating because, despite the refreshingly unique writing, it failed to make me care.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚Mastering the Art of Deception
✍🏻Marlowe Edison
Blurb:
For readers who crave cinematic espionage—multi-POV intrigue, layered threads, and the slow-burn tension of Le Carré fused with the relentless drive of Greaney.

She’s a spy.
He’s her teacher.
One artifact could kill them both.

Annouie Bach is done—
done lying to her best friend,
done scraping by,
done pretending.

Then her handler makes her an find the lost manuscript, and she’s free.

The catch? Go undercover as a student of Antony Meyer-Edwards—a brilliant, arrogant music prodigy with secrets darker than her own.

When the artifact lands on his doorstep, everything detonates. Rival operatives close in. Mercenaries want her dead. And the one man who might save her… could destroy her instead.

Meyer-Edwards is magnetic. Infuriating. Impossible to read.

Getting close could set her free—or cost her everything.

Mastering the Art of Deception is a sleek, emotionally charged espionage thriller of mind games, simmering tension, and operatic stakes—for fans of Killing Eve, The Night Manager, and the unflinching grit of Le Carré and Greaney.
My Thoughts:
Just finished Mastering the Art of Deception and I’m a bit torn. I picked it up because of the tagline “Celaena Sardothien meets John Wick” and honestly, how could I resist? The book definitely had its moments, but overall it landed as a solid 3-star read for me. I might even bump it higher on a reread, though, since one of the things that threw me off this time was how the plot occasionally got a little confusing.

One detail I absolutely loved was right at the very beginning when we meet Tibs, the cat. As an animal lover, it was such a fun touch that instantly hooked me and made me curious about where the story would go. I just wish that same spark had carried through more consistently as the book went on.
Thanks NetGalley, Edison Publishing and Author Marlowe Edison for the advanced copy of "Mastering the Art of Deception" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#EdisonPublishing
#MasteringtheArtofDeception
#MarloweEdison
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: Mastering the Art of Deception by Marlowe Edison

The tagline that hooked me “Celaena Sardothien meets John Wick” actually delivers, and that alone feels worth celebrating. Edison gives us a heroine who is sharp, dangerous, and unapologetically ruthless, but also layered enough to make you pause mid-scene and think, oh, she’s breaking my heart while breaking bones.

The worldbuilding is sleek and cinematic: smoky bars, whispered alliances, fights that read like they were choreographed for the screen. Edison keeps the pacing high and the tension tight, and while there are a few indulgent descriptions of gleaming blades and moonlight, it mostly adds to the atmosphere rather than bogging it down.

What I appreciated most, though, was the voice. The banter crackles. The characters spar with words as much as weapons, and the dialogue often lands with that mix of wit and bite that makes a book compulsively readable. More than once I caught myself thinking, “if anyone spoke to me like that, I’d be furious and probably a little smitten.”

It’s not perfect, there are a few pacing hiccups, but as a whole, this is the kind of dark, stylish fantasy-thriller hybrid that feels made for both action junkies and readers who love their heroines with equal parts steel and softness.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ 2/5
I really love these kinds of capers, mysteries but I felt like I was missing some backstory; like it felt as if this was a the second or third in a series. It was written as if we should have had previous knowledge on some of the characters and their history. Maybe it was the narrative and POV it was written jn? I often had to re-read a passage because I was confused at who was who, how how they were related to each other, or what role they played in the story. This also contributed to the pacing of the story too which I thought was choppy and hard for me to get into.
Maybe I’ll try this one again in the future but for now it was a miss for me. From what I see, it appears this is the author’s first book so I definitely won’t dismiss trying any future reads yet.
Thank you Edison Publishing for provide a copy of this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[lisa's bookshelf :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

alright so here’s my personal review
i’m going to be honest, it felt more like a mystery than a thriller to me. the pacing was quick, the writing style was engaging, and I liked how easy it was to get pulled into the story !

Where it fell short was the intensity—I didn’t get that “edge of my seat” feeling I usually look for in thrillers. on top of that, I would have loved more character backstory, since it sometimes felt tricky to keep track of how everyone connected.

Overall though, it’s a solid debut. Marlowe’s writing shows a lot of promise, and I’d be interested to see what they do next. That was a 3 stars for me, which is good. I would recommend it if you want a mystery that’s straightforward and easy to read !

thank you to netgalley and marlowe edison for this arc!

[Miguel △ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished Mastering the Art of Deception and I’m a bit torn. I picked it up because of the tagline “Celaena Sardothien meets John Wick” and honestly, how could I resist? The book definitely had its moments, but overall it landed as a solid 3-star read for me. I might even bump it higher on a reread, though, since one of the things that threw me off this time was how the plot occasionally got a little confusing.

One detail I absolutely loved was right at the very beginning when we meet Tibs, the cat. As an animal lover, it was such a fun touch that instantly hooked me and made me curious about where the story would go. I just wish that same spark had carried through more consistently as the book went on.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot going on in this book, which was both good and bad. Lots of characters to keep track of, plot twists and turns, and a main character that I felt like I didn’t get to know all that well, but hope I’ll learn more about in the future. Annouie was interesting and really drove the story. And if you go into the book understanding that it’s only the first and ends on a cliffhanger you might have a bit more forgiveness for the lack of details about the her. The book worked in some ways, not so much in others. But it still made me curious enough to keep an eye out for the next one in what I assume is a series.

[Cheryl Tabor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This thriller takes you through some layers of deception. Annouie's a force of a character weaving in deep cover. There are many characters that create this ever increasing mystery. The story doesn't end here in the final chapter. We are left with a cliffhanger, anxiously awaiting book 2.

[Edna Hull · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable book . The mystery of the murders kept me engaged as the plot developed well with questions being answered as the story went on , I cannot wait for book 2 to continue following Annouie .

[Shannon Binegar-Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book by Marlowe. WOW it did not disappoint. Totally packed with secrets, lies and murder. Loved every bit of it. Looking forward so much for book two. I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book provided by book sirens.

[peckidge]

unfortunately i realized that spy novels are not my thing at all right now 🫩