Nicholas SearleReseñas
Autor de The Good Liar
Reseñas
The Good Liar: A Novel por Nicholas Searle
Roy, an octogenarian con man is looking to make one final coup. He meets septuagenarian Betty through a dating app and intends to defraud her of he life savings. But is Betty as naïve as she seems?
It is hard to say too much about this book without giving the ending away. Enough to say that the book follows Roy’s attempt to con Betty interspersed with time shifts to his eventful and somewhat nefarious past.
In some respects this a hard book to review. Roy's past is revealed bit by bit in reverse so each turn is fairly well signposted before hand yet I also really engaged with some parts of it. I quite liked the basic idea, some of the techniques used and I liked the ending even if I had worked out many aspects of it beforehand. However, I was expecting something like a Tom Ripley character, charming but ruthless, but frankly Roy just wasn't that likeable and lacked any real menace.
Ultimately I found this an engaging but flawed novel. In the end felt that it read rather more like Tessa de Loo's 'Twins' than Ms Highsmith's renowned novel. However I would still read another book by this author. Now I'm off to see the movie.
An enjoyable cat and mouse game where you are not sure at first who is the cat and who is the mouse. It's much less violent than the film with the man more of a conman and opportunist and not so much of a thug.
There are some really good ideas in this book but sometimes they get lost in the welter of well-meaning. Ideas about modern politics are pushed through less likely characters and it all becomes very confused towards the end with the plot turning in on itself. Searle can plot a decent story and has really modern ideas about the nature of spying but tighter editing would make his books sing more.
Review of the Audible Audio edition (2016) narrated by Martin Jarvis
I missed this when it came out in 2016, but having recently seen the trailer for the film expected in November 2019 I just had to know more. Even if I'm likely spoiled for the film now I am still eager to see Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren play the lead roles in the screen adaptation which likely will be reasonably faithful to the book.
The quirky nature of this is that the back story is told in reverse order in alternating chapters i.e. you get a present day chapter, and then a peak into the recent past, then the present day moving forward in time, then further into the past moving back in time, etc. This increases the tension considerably and you can't read fast enough to find out what will happen and especially what will be revealed in the past history.
The narration by Martin Jarvis was excellent in all voices.
Trivia and Links
See the trailer for The Good Liar film version here.
Nicolas Searle has once again written an excellent thriller and continues the good work that he began with the Good Liar. He is following in the well trodden footsteps of Le Carre and others, and he knows how to keep you hooked until the end.
Jake Winter has an asset in play, all he has to do is lead the team to the local railway station and see who the asset meets. All the police and the spooks are close and following and then boom, his asset detonates a bomb. Then the subsequent public inquiry he is under pressure, to tell the truth and not to avoid answering some of the questions. Some of the establishment would like someone to pin the blame on for the terrorist outrage.
While he has to attend the public inquiry, he also has another asset in play who is almost ready to reveal who the main person is behind the outrage at the railway station and who is intent on terrorising this northern town. He knows that his new operation with Rashid has to be a success, a recent returnee from the Middle East, he needs for this to turn out a success and everything else will be duly forgotten.
Jake is beginning to be disillusioned with the operations, disillusioned with the service and the lies. This not being helpful when you have people’s lives in your hands. The service is also worried about Jake and the operation, even more so the closer the operation is to the final ‘event’.
With so many questions of trust, do you trust your asset, do you trust yourself, do you trust everyone else around you? Jake is a character that many people could identify with, especially the self-doubt and the panic when under a serious amount of pressure from the boss.
A Fatal Game is a great story of our times that will keep you gripped from beginning to end.
Roy is after her money, Betty isn't to gullible though and is planning to do the same to Roy.
The book jumps back and forth to when Roy is a young man and tells the story of earlier con tricks.
Roy is actually Hans who was young German informant just before the outbreak of World War II. He reported the Schroder family a wealthy family with 4 daughters and his own Parents.
It was bleak for people who got reported to the Gestapo.
The youngest Schroder girl survived the war and made it all the way to her 80s she was now known as Betty, she planned the whole thing with a bit of help to bring down Roy. Beat him at his own game.
Good book easy to follow, I guessed the outcome quite early but I still enjoyed this story.
kennengelernt - recht ungewöhnlich für zwei Menschen über
80. Doch nachdem Roy bei Betty eingezogen ist, führt er
etwas im Schilde. Denn Roy ist ein Krimineller, ist es sein
ganzes Leben lang gewesen. Nach und nach, erzählt in
Rückblicken, erschließen sich die Lebensgeschichten der
beiden Protagonisten, die an ihrem Lebensende - zufällig?
aufeinandertreffen. Mit dem britischen Debüt halten die
Senioren als Hauptfiguren auch im Krimigenre Einzug. In
Großbritannien war das Buch, dessen Filmrechte bereits
vergeben sind, ein Bestseller. Searle, aus Cornwall
stammend, lässt seine Verbindung zu Deutschland - er
studierte in Göttingen - auch in den Plot einfließen.
Ebenso Gesellschaftsroman wie Thriller - ab mittelgroßen
Bibliotheken empfohlen. Der Kölner Tatort-Darsteller
Dietmar Bär liest sowohl Roys als auch Bettys Parts
spannungsreich und kurzweilig (Buchbesprechung folgt).
Having read Searle's first novel 'The Good Liar' I knew that this would be a fast-paced and twisty story but this second book is way beyond the first. Given recent events in which former leaders of the opposing sides in the Conflicts have been prominent there has been a lot of looking back at the bad times of the 1980s and 1990s, the shootings, the bombings and the general sense of fear. Searle looks at the impact on the communities and the individuals, the reader feels empathy for Francis, caught up in something that he can't get away from, and also for Bridget, her life limited to an isolated house and a distant husband. The title refers to both the O'Neill family and also the bigger IRA family and there is a dark sense of humour here, the obsession with cups of tea and cleaning the house, but there is also a rattling good storyline. The final twist is excellent - I didn't suspect who was the traitor.
Nicolas Searle second book, A Traitor in the Family, goes inside the family of a Republican fighter during the troubles in Northern Ireland, not an easy subject at the best of times. The book starts in 1989, with a murder of a soldier based in Germany, through to the Good Friday Agreement and beyond. Searle examines the problems of a soldier and his wife have when you feel oppressed by another nation’s armed forces in your own country.
Francis O’Neill has been brought up in a strong republican family in West Belfast and his family would be well known amongst the families along the Falls Road. He had been taken under the wing of Gentleman Joe Geraghty who guided him and taught him in the ways of the Republican Army and pressed him into active service.
Having been brought up in Carrickcloghan, Bridget had dreams of going to University to study English and make something with her life. When her sister left for Cork, her mother convinced her to put off University for a year or so. She found work in the local post office on the counter and still loved her reading when she was at home. Her world was turned upside down when she met Francis O’Neill in a pub, she knew his reputation, but she was in love, her life was never the same again.
When they were allowed to fly to Singapore for a wedding it was Bridget’s first time out of Ireland and she did not really want to mix with others in the wedding party. Wandering around she met Sarah who would become a friend, and she found herself enjoying her company and she enjoyed her time. Whereas Francis went out hard drinking, even though many were English, he did not allow that to get to him, until he was picked up by the local police. In the police station, he met an English spook who did all the talking and gave him his number to remember, Francis was not going to help him.
Bridget never talked to Francis about his work and where it took him so that she could not say anything if the RUC ever came calling, which they would. But Bridget had Sarah to talk to, which she did on a regular basis and even though she was careful she did not want anyone to know about their meetings.
It was a job in England, a flatbed truck with a device to take out a power substation should cause maximum damage and cause chaos in London. They all stuck to the plan, made sure nobody was following them, made sure that all of his team knew their jobs and got on with it. While taking a pit stop on the M25, Francis was arrested by armed anti-terrorist police, his interviews would consist of him saying no-comment. It did not matter, he was sentenced to 41 years in prison, and he was sure that someone had given the mission up, and handed him over to the police on a plate. Francis wanted answers even if it would take the whole of the 41 years.
Francis had served 7 years by the time he was eligible for early release as part of the Good Friday Agreement and he went home to brood. He wanted answers still, but none were going to be provided, and one person he suspected wanted to kill him. Even when he was spirited away in the dead of night he and Bridget would not be safe, who could aid them now?
An engrossing thriller, that while you may not like Francis you are full of sympathy for Bridget, a story full of twists and surprises. A Traitor in the Family delivers on every level.
No he is not.
The story is told backwards alternating with the the present. It is about a seventy year old con man living in England who has found the perfect woman to make his last con and leave her without her savings.
At the same time, his story is being told backwards so we might start to figure out who he really is and what is really going on.
The story takes time to pick up the pace and by the time it does, I already had figured out what the deal was going to be.
In short: meh.
1 
AleAleta | 23 reseñas más. | Sep 4, 2016 |
AleAleta | 23 reseñas más. | Sep 4, 2016 | Roy divulges very little of his earlier life to Betty, though it gradually emerges that he has a past … in fact, several pasts. Alternating chapters in the book take us steadily further back in his life, revealing a history of dodgy deals and a career of opportunism and seized chances.
Searle develops the tension adeptly, toying with the reader’s sympathy so that it switches to and fro between Betty and Roy. In addition to the carefully constructed plot, the book also offers a sensitive (yet also humorous) portrayal of ageing, and a rogue’s reluctant acknowledgement of the gradual curtailing of his powers.
I look forward to more reads from this author.
I’m still at a loss for words here in regards to this book. Categorized as a mystery thriller, I was ready to dive into a what seemed like a good, complex, and smart novel. All of those elements are here, but I must warn anyone interested in this title, that this book is nothing like the typical suspense thriller. If you are looking for a run of the mill whodunit, or even the usual murder mystery with a psychological thriller element, you will not find that here.
It started off with what is obviously a swindle type set up by an aging con, who calls himself, Roy, looking for enough cash to see him through his final years comfortably.
His target: Betty, a financially comfortable widow he meets online, hoping to rob her of her life savings. The only trouble he foresees is her grandson, who keeps a close eye on her, making his plan a bit risky. But, once he has ensconced himself in Betty’s home, the game moves along quite smoothly for old Roy and so the author gives us a bit of Roy’s history to keep us entertained while Roy sets his plans to rob Betty in motion.
I must admit, I really, really, really struggled with this book all the way up to about the sixty percent mark. Roy’s incredible past, which is repugnant to say the very least, alternates alongside the present day swindles he is cooking up for poor Betty. I knew there had to be a reason for this trip back through history, but it just wasn’t adding up for me. To say this novel is understated is, well, an understatement.
However, once the fog began to thin out, the story flowed much easier and moved along at a slightly faster pace, and as a result it held my attention. Still, the author doesn’t get in any hurry about explaining things or locking in the final pieces to the puzzle. Typically, this ploy works very well when ratcheting up the suspense level, but frankly, that gimmick fizzles here because by the time I got to the really good part, I was already more than a little exasperated at the pacing, so I was tired of playing coy and wanted him to just spit it out, in order to finally be done with it.
Because I was expecting something entirely different when I started this book, I was taken off guard by it, which is what lead to my overall frustration with it, but the concept is not lost on me now that I have completed the book. Despite moving at a snail’s pace, it is a very clever plot, written in such a way that the reader doesn’t guess at the outcome early on, and looking back on it now, I see the genius in writing it this way.
So, now that all is said and done, my feelings are a little conflicted. I understand the slow pacing now, but still think it went on far too long. But, despite having to wade through murky water, the wait was worthwhile.
I can’t lay out the plot, or go into the characterizations in detail because to do so would give too much away. I wasn’t sure what to think about the choices made by some of the characters, but in the end I was pleased with the result.
If you decide to give this book a try, exercise patience, and stick with it all the way to the end, and don’t give up on it. This is certainly a well thought out novel, and one that had me thinking over the details long after I had turned the final page. In hindsight, I have respect for the layout, am impressed with the details, and maybe, someday, now that my attitude towards the book is much improved, I may even attempt to re-read it with a more positive perspective going in.
Overall this one gets 4 stars
Searle sets up The Good Liar as seamlessly as Roy does his con. Very little in the opening chapters are as they appear, but just as a good grifter gently lures their mark into compliance so Searle does with pages that blend small glimpses of honesty with life’s trivialities. Modern technology is confusing, the old days were better, joints ache, as does loneliness. It isn’t until the pages of the past assert themselves and begin to form a more complete picture that doesn’t mesh with Roy’s description of his “humdrum” life that the reader gets an idea of just how far the game reaches. With no way of seeing what we see, it seems likely that the guileless Betty is bait for the shark that is Roy.
The genius of The Good Liar is in the fact that even for skeptics or the readers who figure out everything early, it doesn’t matter because the key characters do not. And so, there is the building tension that someone (but who?) is going to be very unhappily surprised by the end. Searle builds the suspense beyond the current mystery with the lives lived by Roy and Betty. In moving from now back to then, he makes the past more critical to the future than the present and makes The Good Liar anything but a con game.
I found the book quite slow to start with, largely due to scene setting and getting used to what at first appeared a jumpy format. Essentially the contemporary story of Roy and his target Betty, is told going forward but the intervening chapters reveal Roy's life story going back. However once I'd settled in I was hooked. I've no intention of giving spoilers, but Roy really is an unpleasant, self seeking character and you find yourself really wanting him at some stage to get his come uppance.
Roy has always been calculating and played the long game and you do begin to wonder whether he's left this final con just a little bit late at the age of 80. Throughout there is a hint that Betty may also not be what she seems which ups the ante in discovering whether Roy will succeed in his plan and how things play out for Betty. It's an ambitious plot and exceedingly well written to keep all the elements under control. Snippets of information are revealed throughout until we reach the final big reveal and it is a BIG reveal that I didn't see coming. Once that is out in the open the current situation falls into place but there's still a final little unanticipated twist.
It's a great plot, well told and at times it's hard to believe this a debut novel, it certainly bodes well for future books.
I received a free copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Roy’s life story unfolds backwards, decades at a time, alternating with his plan to con Betty, a woman that he met on an internet dating site, out of her life savings. But Betty seems a bit too easy a mark. Her grandson, who you would expect to be protecting her, goes along with her relationship with Roy a little too easily. Soon it becomes apparent that Betty has a hidden agenda of her own.
While this was not a fast-paced novel, I still found it gripping. As the story progressed, the tension increased. It took a little more work to follow than a linear story, and it wasn’t always immediately evident where we were heading and the significance of newly introduced characters, but it was worth the effort. I often found myself reading a little slower than usual so as not to miss any detail — there were many clues as to where this story was heading. The flow could have been a little smoother, but overall this was a great story with a satisfying ending.
Roy Courtnay has met his latest target through a dating website and is having lunch with Betty McLeish, a wealthy widow. As the novel unfolds it becomes unmistakable that Roy, a lifelong confidence man now in his eighties, has chosen Betty as his latest and last target and plans to try and swindle or deceive her in some way. Quickly he inserts himself into Betty's life and moves in with her.
Roy's intentions are not good. This is distinctly evident because most of the novel deals with Roy's life. Searle alternates chapters from the present day with Roy and Betty to Roy's past, starting with the more recent past and going back in time. Roy's character, or lack thereof, is clearly portrayed over time. He is a con artist, but he is also a sociopath. The lies he has told are enumerated, his manipulation of others is revealed, his ill-intentions over the years are uncovered, and the scams he has pulled over the years are disclosed.
But Betty, when talking to Stephen, her grandson, makes remarks that leave subtle hints of an agenda of her own. It is not until Roy's story goes back far enough that Betty's hidden agenda is disclosed.
There is suspense in the present day story with Roy and Betty, but most of the novel is a character study of Roy while it divulges his past sins and schemes. The structure of The Good Liar, telling Roy's life story while moving back in time, is clever and interesting, but it started to drag-out too long for me and made the pace feel too slow. For me, the chapters dealing with Roy's past schemes could have been abbreviated and I would still have the information I needed about his character.
I found the current day situation between Roy and Betty much more intriguing than the numerous cons in Roy's past. However, the ending is well worth the wait and the final revelations are unexpected. Betty is the far more interesting character, but we learn so little about her until the end.
The writing is quite good in this debut novel. Fans of historical fiction may also enjoy this novel of suspense because of the flashbacks in time in Roy's life.
Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher and TLC for review purposes.
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.
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