Popular science writer James O’Hanlon introduces readers to a smorgasbord of creatures who use disguise, camouflage, mimicry and misdirection to beat their predators.

Think that a tiger could never vanish before your eyes? Think again.

The natural world is teeming with illusions that fool even the sharpest of our senses. There’s the deadly praying mantis that looks like an innocent pink flower. The cuttlefish that changes colour to hide its romantic intentions. And the bright orange tiger that becomes invisible in the dark green jungle.

All around us are worlds of light, sound and smell that are beyond human perception. In Liars, Cheats and Copycats, James O’Hanlon takes us around the globe to find the creatures that survive through breathtaking trickery and understand the evolution of this widespread deception. But be careful, once you have glimpsed this world, you’ll realise that nothing is ever as it seems.