A man takes part in a very unusual bet, a wife serves up a dish that utterly baffles the police, a game of cards between two couples is the basis for some shocking deceit … Deception highlights a domestic familiarity always on the edge of something much, much darker.

From Roald Dahl, the master of the sting in the tail, a newly collected book of his darkest stories. ‘The cruelest lies are often told in silence …’ Why do we lie? Why do we deceive those we love most? What do we fear revealing? In these ten tales of deception master storyteller Roald Dahl explores our tireless efforts to hide the truth about ourselves. Here, among many others, you’ll read about how to get away with the perfect murder, the old man whose wagers end in a most disturbing payment, how revenge is sweeter when it is carried out by someone else and the card sharp so good at cheating he does something surprising with his life. Dahl understood our deepest secrets, desires and fears and Deception is one of four books - the rest being Lust, Cruelty and Madness - that explore our hidden selves. %%%‘The cruelest lies are often told in silence …’ Why do we lie? Why do we deceive those we love most? What do we fear revealing? In these ten tales of deception master storyteller Roald Dahl explores our tireless efforts to hide the truth about ourselves. Here, among many others, you’ll read about how to get away with the perfect murder, the old man whose wagers end in a most disturbing payment, how revenge is sweeter when it is carried out by someone else and the card sharp so good at cheating he does something surprising with his life. Dahl understood our deepest secrets, desires and fears and Deception is one of four books - the rest being Lust, Cruelty and Madness - that explore our hidden selves.