The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte: Deliciously entertaining

Written as a tell-all diary of a woman framed for murder, The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte is a tale of injustice, strength, love, revenge, and patisserie-making.

Setting the tale in bawdy nineteenth century Wolfftown, a fictional port town in Tasmania, Lesley Truffle (her real name!) brings to life a town of "unconventional morals" where men are men and Gentlemen have double standards.

With a spine of steel and an all-round education our hero Sasha rises to the top of Society using enterprise and wit. Yet she is still considered prey, along with all young women in Wolfftown, to men from bar to ballroom. It is due to her refusal to succumb to one man's cat-and-mouse game that she has been stuck in a (beautifully decorated) tower in the Wolfftown Gaol. Will she ever see freedom again?

The voice of the title character is a riveting confidante as she bares all in this delectable story. With just the right mix of ingredients, there is much to entertain as Truffle demonstrates a breadth of knowledge on Shakespeare, early Tasmanian (Vandemonian) history, depression and patisserie-making, to name a few...

Delightful. Those who enjoy reading for language, character or world building will equally love this book. Not for young readers... 😉

Hands up who knows what a Sachertorte is? It's chocolate orange cake. Librarians love chocolate. And cake.

The Scandalous life of Sasha Torte
by Lesley Truffle
Published by HarperCollins New Zealand
ISBN: 9781460751442