Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Book Summary and Reviews of The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle

The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle

The Good Liar

by Nicholas Searle

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • Published:
  • Feb 2016, 352 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About this book

Book Summary

Spinning a page-turning story of literary suspense that begins in the present and unwinds back more than half a century, this unforgettable debut channels the haunting allure of Atonement as its masterfully woven web of lies, secrets, and betrayals unravels to a shocking conclusion.

Veteran con artist Roy spots an obvious easy mark when he meets Betty, a wealthy widow, online. In no time at all, he's moved into Betty's lovely cottage and is preparing to accompany her on a romantic trip to Europe. Betty's grandson disapproves of their blossoming relationship, but Roy is sure this scheme will be a success. He knows what he's doing.

As this remarkable feat of storytelling weaves together Roy's and Betty's futures, it also unwinds their pasts. Dancing across almost a century, decades that encompass unthinkable cruelty, extraordinary resilience, and remarkable kindness, The Good Liar is an epic narrative of sin, salvation, and survival - and for Roy and Betty, there is a reckoning to be made when the endgame of Roy's crooked plot plays out.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Engrossing... An elegantly structured long con. The pace is almost maddeningly deliberate, with details about the characters and their schemes doled out like a controlled substance, but patient readers will be rewarded with devastating third-act twists and a satisfying denouement." - Publishers Weekly

"A gut-clenching cat-and-mouse game… This debut novel is a well-crafted, complex tale that will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers." - Booklist

"The truth is interesting and unexpected, but it takes too long to unravel." - Kirkus

"[A] fantastically assured debut…. The Good Liar makes you want to experience Nicholas Searle's next trick." - The Guardian (UK)

"As the tension mounts, the reader is kept guessing… The final denouement is a real cracker… Added to the fiendishly clever plot, Searle's writing is both drily amusing and elegantly crafted." - Daily Mail (UK)

"One of 2016's most intriguing debut novels." - The Independent (UK)

"[A] compelling premise.... Elegant writing." - The Times(UK)

"The Good Liar is a taut, compulsive thriller with a dark, intriguing heart. A Mr Ripley for our time." - Jonathan Freedland, author of The 3rd Woman

"What a clever and menacing novel The Good Liar is. I was gripped and horrified in equal measure and the ending knocked me sideways! I can't wait for everyone to read the book so I can talk about it." - Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina

"I was engrossed… As deceiver and deceived move towards each other with hypnotic predestination, the plot unfolds to a payoff as inevitable as it is shocking. A superb thriller and a truly engrossing read." - Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood

This information about The Good Liar was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

FictionZeal

from FictionZeal.com re: The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle
Roy has a history of duping people out of their money. He’s now in his eighties, and has set himself up with Betty, a rather gullible but affluent elderly woman. He just wants to be taken care of. But inwardly, he wants one more big fling; one more big con. Betty’s grandson, Stephen, doesn’t like Roy and suspects he’s up to no good.

The author methodically creates a man who is able to give readers the creeps. Searle peels back the layers of this man piece by piece, going from his most recent past to his early past. Yet he never lets us forget the present time – what is Roy planning now that he has successfully weaved his way into Betty’s life?

Present tense was used for some of the scenes which had existed in the past. If this was purposefully done, I thought it a bit odd. The characters were fascinating and well crafted, but I had a difficult time relating to any of them. The mood of the storyline was dark and foreboding. Yet, curiosity carries the reader forth to a rather satisfying ending. Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Nicholas Searle

Nicholas Searle grew up in the southwest of England and studied languages at the University of Bath. He spent more years than he cares to remember in public service before deciding in 2011 to leave and begin writing fiction. The Good Liar is his first novel. Nicholas lives in the north of England.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more literary fiction...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...
  • Book Jacket
    The Rest of You
    by Maame Blue
    At the start of Maame Blue's The Rest of You, Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner, is ringing in her...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Most of us who turn to any subject we love remember some morning or evening hour when...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.