Teasing out the extraordinary within the everyday, False Pretences is a contemporary novel in mosaic. Through the separate yet interlinked stories, it traces the lives of two women as they deal with the complexities of love, private terrors, violence and - most precarious of all - hope. There is mystery, wry humour, sometimes tragedy be-neath the jaunty surfaces glimpsed through the years, until, by the end, we have encompassed their lives.