The Good Liar by Nicholas SearleMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
In Nicholas Searle’s debut novel, two elderly people meet on a dating site. Each one has a hidden agenda…. Roy has been a con man for most of his life, and now in his 80s, he’s looking for one last score by targeting wealthy women he meets online. On the surface, Betty seems like an easy mark, but oblique references suggest from early on that she may be playing her own game with Roy. A different take on plot structure, this is a life told back to front; Searle includes flashbacks to Roy’s past, illustrating other cons and, slowly, explaining how he became the manipulator he is. This is a man who has lied all his life. Betty’s motives are a bit more shadowy…. The plot twist is complex and rooted in World War II. A gruff sociopath and a woman with a troubled history. Shades of Le Carré and Highsmith are here although Searle’s characters fail to inspire much deep interest or sympathy. The truth however is interesting and unexpected in this darkly humorous story.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment