The Good Liar cover art

The Good Liar

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The Good Liar

By: Nicholas Searle
Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
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About this listen

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING HELEN MIRREN AND IAN MCKELLEN

Brought to you by Penguin.

This is a life told back to front.

This is a man who has lied all his life.

Roy is a conman living in a small English town, about to pull off his final con. He is going to meet and woo a beautiful woman and slip away with her life savings.

But who is the man behind the con and what has he had to do to survive this life of lies?

And why is this beautiful woman so willing to be his next victim?

© Nicholas Searle 2016 (P) Penguin Audio 2016

 Crime Fiction Domestic Thrillers Espionage Psychological Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense

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Critic reviews

An assured thriller debut in the footsteps of le Carré, Highsmith and Rendell...The Good Liar makes you want to experience Nicholas Searle's next trick
This is set to be one of the books of the year that will get everyone talking....If you go in with absolutely no preconceptions, you will have your socks knocked, nay, blown off
A part-thriller, part-human condition novel that packs a tremendous punch
The Good Liar is a taut, compulsive thriller with a dark, intriguing heart. A Mr Ripley for our time (Jonathan Freedland)
All the ingredients are in this book...You're in safe hands with Searle's elegant writing
An incredibly dark, taut thriller...it deserves to be a bestseller. Think of Ruth Rendell morphing into John le Carré
Searle shows a gift for complex plotting. The Good Liar is packed with secrets and surprises, bluffs and double-bluffs
A perfectly entertaining way to spend a few hours
A confident debut...an easy page-turner
A cracking read
All stars
Most relevant
Led down a garden path with a nice little twist. Learnt not to trust anyone!

Never trust anyone!

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Would you try another book written by Nicholas Searle or narrated by Martin Jarvis?

Wouldn't read anything more by this author. Contrived and superficial - and long-winded with it. He can write very suspensefully from time to time, but the central idea of this book is too thin.

Has The Good Liar put you off other books in this genre?

No.

Was The Good Liar worth the listening time?

No.

Clever, but lacks any human touch

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This book is like marmite. You’ll love it, or you’ll hate it.
Some say it is slow moving and boring whilst others say it is well crafted and absorbing.
It takes some getting used to as the timeline is unusual and needs some patience, but it is incredibly well done.
I did grasp what was going to happen quite early on but it didn’t matter as it was a great listen.
Martin Jarvis is a top narrator and he does not disappoint. Thank goodness for him, as this book deserves a class act to create the voice of such an odious and psychopathic lead.
There are upsetting scenes and traumatic events.
This book has been made into a 2019 film starring Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, but I’m glad I’ve heard the audiobook first.

Unusual. Well Written. Brilliant Narration.

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This story works it's way back between past and present not a twist as such but it takes a really good turn - Martin Jarvis narrated this really well too - I would recommend this.

A really enjoyable listen

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A well written story of deceit and at times violent reaction.The characters personalities are slowly revealed as the reader comes to understand the cruelty and abuse of the past and the reality of the present day .

Hans evil nature and his detrimental influence on so many peoples lives .

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