The Good Liar - Nicholas Searle

The Good Liar is Nicholas Searle's first novel.

Roy is an octogenarian......conman. When we first encounter Roy, he is trolling Internet dating sites, looking for an older woman he can separate from her money. His latest date is Betty - and he thinks she's perfect for his needs. "I do it because I can, because I'm good at it. And these people, these stupid complacent people...They need shaking up."

But is she as clueless as Roy believes? Perhaps not - small snippets of dialogue led me to believe she wasn't. From Betty's thoughts..."Evidently he sees her as the gullible type."

Searle is very adroit in his storytelling technique. Chapters flip from current day to the past as Roy's life is exposed in reverse. We begin in the immediate past and travel back to his childhood, as the present unfolds. Searle has plotted an inventive, complex life for Roy. As each chapter revealed more, I had an inkling of where the end (or beginning) was going. Although I was partially correct, Searle still surprised me.

This is a slow building story, but Searle kept me engaged throughout. I was so curious after every chapter in Roy's life as to what would come next (or before) And throughout it all is Betty - an unknown quantity. What game is she playing at? Are they both good liars?

Roy is, quite frankly, despicable. I grew more and more disgusted as his past came to light. Although we don't know as much about Betty, I was quite drawn to her, hoping......well, I had a certain ending in mind.

I thought The Good Liar was quite a clever, unusual debut - one I enjoyed.  Read an excerpt of The Good Liar.

"Nicholas Searle grew up in the southwest of England and studied languages at the University of Bath and the University of Göttingen, Germany. He spent more years than he cares to remember in public service, in the UK and New Zealand, before deciding in 2011 to leave and begin writing fiction. The Good Liar is his first novel. Nicholas lives in Yorkshire, in the north of England." You can follow Nicholas on Twitter.See what others on the TLC book tour thought. Full schedule can be found here.