A passionate author, a gourmet editor, a stalking pianist, a depressive puppeteer, a seductive psychologist, a ghost lawyer, a mother hen concierge, a poetry glasses maker ... these are the main characters of this suspense fiction novel where lies and manipulation are at the heart of a story full of mysteries.

2010 - Clémence James, a silent and lonely pianist, receives a package containing 502 drawings made by her mother Julia, during her long hospital stay in a Norman convent after a serious car accident. Clémence is upset because her mother was declared dead just after the tragic event in 1989. These sketches prove she was alive until 1999. Ten years of lies … Clémence was unable to visit her. Julia James was a writer. Just before her accident, she took refuge in a small Norman house in order to finish working on her manuscript. It was entitled The Great Art of Small Scams. In her fascinating writings, Julia indicates the progress of her research into history of impostors, liars, and other deceivers. But these notes will remain a draft forever and, it is a shame for her editor Marius who, now retired, has chosen to drown his fears into the culinary art. Why did someone fake Julia’s death? Was it her husband, who was about to divorce and wanted to rush things in order to get married again quickly with another woman? Or her publisher, who granted her an astronomical advance he had to pay every month for the writing of a book that would never be released? And, was the accident really an accident? The truth is probably hiding near the Norman house where Julia stayed with her daughter at the twilight of her life. Behind the half-timbering of this house and across the surrounding area, a large-scale sham had emerged and had spread like weeds. Did the author find out about it? Twenty years later, Clémence is determined to drop the masks.