Nicholas Searle: The Good Liar, 9780241206935, Viking Penguin, Penguin Random House UK

Viking Penguin advertises Nicholas Searle’s “The good liar” as their psychological thriller of 2016. I would not go as far as that but is  a pretty good read if you get over the dislike for the main character, Roy Courtnay which I could not in the beginning.

I hated this son of a bitch from the start; he is a real piece of work, a slime bag, out on the make for wealthy, lonely widows, planning to not only steal their hearts but naturally also their fortune.   The book opens up with Roy dating Betty, the widow of an academic who is looking for a new partner, still quite attractive, a woman accustomed to provide a comfortable life for the right man. Or so it seems.  Before you know it, Roy has moved in with Betty scheming when to make his next move with the help of his side kick Vincent. Her family watches him suspiciously. I found the beginning a bit boring but please stay with it – it all comes together in the end.

Flashbacks to Roy’s life in 1973, 1963, 1957 and 1946. Told in retrospect, fascinating chapters of Roy’s life are opened and leave no doubt; here is a man who has lied his entire life, making a living from being a conman. My dislike of him grew with the number of pages I read, stories unfolding of the lives he destroyed, his lack of conscience and clever scheming, occasionally meeting his own master, like in Lord Stanbroke for example.  The book becomes more intriguing as you go along but really begins to gather speed from page 176 onwards. It is the year 1938 in Berlin, the Nazi’s are on the rise and a boy called Hans and his socialist father Konrad Taub visit the wealthy Schröder family, landowners with 3 daughters, Charlotte, Hannelore, Lili being the youngest.

Anything I would reveal about the story from now on  would give up clues about the direction this novel might be taking.  I sensed the ending but it did not spoil the rest of the book, confirming some shocking developments I had guessed but surprising me with other turns the novel took. The last few pages I personally found a little weak, the thriller becomes more interesting as details of Roy’s and Betty’s past are uncovered.