Reviews - The Good Liar | The StoryGraph

18 reviews for:

The Good Liar

Denise Mina

3.54 AVERAGE

boiler_bookworm's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

gwenc0423's review against another edition

2.5

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

stacysom's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’ve long loved reading Denise Mina. She has a way of making her books both procedural and emotional — you understand her characters and their motivations. This one was a little more difficult for me to get into but by the end it was all clear. The back and forth timelines, maybe because they were recent to each other, made it a little difficult to get into. But in the end, it all paid off.

mmeminky's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

lower_colon's review against another edition

4.0

dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kayjaybee's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

tufriel's review

3.25

mysterious slow-paced

doreeny's review against another edition

3.5

This is a dual-timeline suspense novel.

Claudia Atkins O’Sheil, a highly respected forensic examiner, created a method of blood-splatter analysis that has established her reputation and that of her mentor and boss, Lord Philip Ardmore. From the opening the reader learns that she intends to reveal a secret that will ruin her reputation and career and destroy those of others too. Then the novel flashes back to a year earlier when she and Philip are called to a double homicide. The victims are Jonty Stewart, a close friend of Philip’s, and Jonty’s much younger fiancée. Jonty’s ne’er-do-well son William is suspected, but Claudia is not convinced and keeps investigating. Placing herself and her family in danger, she uncovers a web of deceit, financial misconduct, and several murders.

The dual timeline works well to create suspense. Most of the narrative focuses on the past and what Claudia slowly uncovers not only about the double murders but also about the death of her husband James and that of another man. Periodically the narrative switches briefly to the present as she vacillates between revealing what she has learned or keeping the secret and maintaining the status quo. Will she choose truth, justice, and duty or self-preservation and family security?

Claudia is an interesting and complex character. She’s obviously intelligent. Her love for her family is unwavering. She has a lot of stress in her life: she is grieving her husband who died suddenly in an unexplained accident; she is raising her two teenage sons by herself; and her sister is addicted to drugs. Others comment that she is a social climber and she admits that “she was seduced by power”; when an opportunity arises to go to a luxury hotel for lunch, she justifies her decision to accept the invitation though she knows that it’s not appropriate for a number of reasons. This desire for a life amongst the privileged makes her an easy target for manipulation.

I guessed early on the identity of the person behind the crimes, though I certainly didn’t know the details. This didn’t affect my enjoyment because I wanted to have my suspicions confirmed. In fact, the author may have wanted readers to guess the truth and not be blinded as Claudia seems to be.

The novel examines the relationship between expert testimony and justice. The novel asks whether expert testimony helps or hinders the pursuit of justice. The book also emphasizes how the wealthy can easily hide their crimes and use their power to manipulate others.

The novel is fast-paced and a quick read. There is tension throughout so interest is maintained from beginning to end. The ending is satisfying though there are unanswered questions that may irk some readers.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

sheilajsn's review against another edition

3.0

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Novel Suspects Insiders Club.

The book starts as blood spatter expert Doctor Claudia O’Sheil is about to take the podium at an event to talk about the famous murder case, The Incident at Chester Terrace, which happened the previous year. Her forensic research was the main reason why a person was convicted of the crime.

But here's what has been keeping Claudia awake at night: the evidence was wrong, which means that her life's work is flawed. She already suspects two people had been killed to stop this becoming public. Is she next? Is her family safe? Will she be able to tell the truth?

I really like Denise Mina's books and I love the way she writes her characters. Claudia is flawed and up until the last possible moment, we are not sure what she's going to do with the information that she's got. Will she play along, save her career and let a murderer walk free? Or will she tell the truth and destroy many lives, including hers?

heather_j_fitt's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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