Books we love: Suburban Secrets and Surprising Transformations – Victoria Webster’s Two-Part Series

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Published on Tuesday, 02 September 2025 10:10

Last Updated on 02 September 2025

Monica Costa

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Behind the neat hedges and freshly painted doors of suburbia, life isn’t always as polished as it seems. That’s the world Victoria Webster opens up in her compelling two-part series, The Con Artist and Abigail’s World -two novels that blend humour, drama, and suspense in equal measure.

Webster, who writes under a pen name, didn’t set out to become a novelist early in life. But after years of rich experiences – marriage, divorce, and even dipping a toe into the unpredictable world of online dating – she found herself with stories too good not to tell. Rather than penning a straightforward memoir, she chose to weave fact and fiction into page-turning narratives that shine a sharp light on modern relationships and the secrets we all keep.

The first instalment, The Con Artist (2022), introduces us to Mitch, a man who is as charming as he is deceitful. With his wife Marnie quietly enabling his schemes, Mitch moves from town to town spinning webs of lies, conning unsuspecting women and later entire neighbourhoods. At times darkly funny, at others jaw-dropping in its audacity, the novel paints a picture of how charisma can so easily disarm us. For many readers, Mitch will feel uncomfortably familiar: the smooth talker who seems too good to be true – because he is.

But it’s in the second book, Abigail’s World (publishing September 2025), that Webster’s storytelling takes on a new, more intimate dimension. Abigail, a seemingly ordinary woman who appears in the first book, steps into the spotlight. Moving to a new house in the countryside with her husband, she’s thrust into a world of competitive neighbours, school-gate politics, and a marriage that suddenly feels less secure. When the infamous con artist resurfaces to wreak havoc, Abigail’s carefully balanced life is tipped upside down. Yet rather than crumbling, she begins to discover her own strength, her voice, and a new sense of identity.

What makes this series so engaging is Webster’s ability to mix biting social commentary with real warmth. The characters feel authentic because, in part, they are drawn from the author’s own lived experiences. Many readers – particularly women juggling families, friendships, and the expectations of society – will recognise themselves in Abigail’s journey from passive participant to resilient protagonist.

Both novels work beautifully on their own, but together they offer a layered exploration of deception, resilience, and reinvention. With sharp dialogue, moments of laugh-out-loud humour, and enough suspense to keep you hooked until the final page, Webster delivers domestic drama with a delicious twist.

For anyone who has ever wondered what really goes on behind the twitching curtains of suburbia, The Con Artist and Abigail’s World are irresistible reads.

Find Victoria Webster’s books now on Apple Books, Kindle, and in paperback from Amazon.

The Con Artist

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3FFTk8c

Kindle: https://amzn.to/4476ZOQ

Paperback via Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TkODUh

 

Abigail’s World

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3HLCkOh

Kindle: https://amzn.to/3ZlR3FO

Paperback via Amazon: https://amzn.to/4jJYIVz