The Good Liar
The Good Liar book cover

The Good Liar

Hardcover – April 3, 2018

Price
$21.48
Format
Hardcover
Pages
382
Publisher
Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1503951631
Dimensions
5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
Weight
1 pounds

Description

Review A Goodreads Hottest Mysteries & Thrillers of 2018 Selection A BookBub Best Mysteries & Thrillers of 2018 Selection “A riveting thriller…” — Entertainment Weekly “[A] complex, thought-provoking psychological thriller…Who the good liar may be, and what that phrase might actually mean, are questions that will resonate long after the book is finished. Many will devour this book in one sitting.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Give this to fans of seemingly benign characters with dark inner lives like those in Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies .” — Booklist “[Catherine McKenzie] builds suspense in steady, page-turning steps all while drawing the reader into the lives of her characters…Each woman has secrets and each is a bit of an unreliable narrator of her own life to nice effect.” — Library Journal “Secrets and lies swirl on these pages, intermingling with guilt and doubt. For readers who love experiencing one event from multiple perspectives, this is a gripping novel to pick up this spring.” —Bookish (A Spring 2018 Must-Read Book) “McKenzie has effected something of a Trojan horse: The Good Liar is a novel of ideas in the convincing guise of a page-turner.” — Montreal Gazette “Perhaps liar should instead be plural—the lies are abundant, making it a satisfying page-turner that leads us toward a twisty surprise ending.” —Bookreporter “A phenomenal psychological thriller that will keep readers guessing all the way to the end. Catherine McKenzie never disappoints.” —Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and Every Last Lie “With twists and turns, the lives of three women intersect in the most unexpected ways during the aftermath of a tragedy. Thought-provoking, suspenseful, and mysterious, The Good Liar is a true page-turner that explores the ways stories are connected and created, and what can be hidden underneath. This is a book you won’t be able to put down!” —Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger “A riveting story that revolves around the aftermath of a national tragedy: three women, three separate yet deftly intertwined lives. I adored the look at the story behind the story, the background lives of the women we so often see in the news. The twists are shocking, the characters are well drawn but unpredictable, and the conclusion is as poignant as it is surprising. The Good Liar is thrilling, captivating, and not to be missed!” —Kate Moretti, New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Year and The Blackbird Season “Lines will be crossed and secrets revealed when tragedy intersects three women in The Good Liar , a guilty pleasure you won’t be able to put down until the very last page. A must read!” —Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, authors of The Good Widow “For many years, Catherine McKenzie has been writing some of the best thrillers around. She’s outdone herself with The Good Liar , the powerful and heartbreaking story of the painful aftermath of a national tragedy. It’s sharply written with engaging characters and twists and surprises up until the very last page. A smart, fast-paced, and riveting thriller!” —David Bell, author of Bring Her Home “In her latest, Catherine McKenzie continues to prove she’s a master at crafting psychological thrillers. In The Good Liar , we follow three women—Cecily, Kate, and Franny—in the aftermath of a horrific tragedy through their web of lies, secrets, and deceit. The story is layered with superb twists and expert pacing, deftly building in suspense until its stunner of an ending. A compulsive read that kept me guessing!” —Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everything We Left Behind and Everything We Keep “In The Good Liar , the lives of three women become entangled in a single tragedy. With her compelling characters, whip-smart dialogue and edge-of-your-seat pacing, McKenzie asks how well we know those around us—even the people we love the most.” —Paula Treick DeBoard, author of Here We Lie and The Drowning Girls “Put The Good Liar at the top of your summer must-read list. Catherine McKenzie isn’t just a talented storyteller; she has a knack for asking the questions every woman secretly asks, and answering with a story that expresses our collective dreams and fears. The Good Liar brilliantly weaves three stories about regular women coping with the aftermath of a tragedy. But this book is far more than a first-rate page turner; it’s an exploration of the cost of keeping secrets, how the bonds between women both chafe and comfort, and how in the midst of the terror and beauty that is life, we find grace.” —Allison Leotta, author of The Last Good Girl “Catherine McKenzie has done it again with her latest novel, The Good Liar . In yet another page-turner, three women, linked by trauma, transform from images seen through the camera’s lens into human and relatable characters as their layered lives come into focus. As you settle in for this tense and compelling ride, you’ll start to question who ‘the good liar’ really is—Cecily, Kate, witnesses, the media, friends, family, or maybe even Catherine McKenzie herself.” —Emily Bleeker, bestselling author of Wreckage and When I’m Gone About the Author Catherine McKenzie, a graduate of McGill University, practices law in Montreal, where she was born and raised. An avid skier and runner, Catherine’s novels Spin , Arranged , Forgotten , and Hidden are all international bestsellers and have been translated into numerous languages. Hidden was an Amazon #1 bestseller and a Digital Book World bestseller. Her fifth novel, Smoke , was an Amazon bestseller, a Goodreads Best Book for October 2015, and an Amazon Top 100 Book of 2015. Visit Catherine online at www.catherinemckenzie.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/catherinemckenzieauthor, and on Twitter or Instagram at @CEMcKenzie1.

Features & Highlights

  • Can you hide a secret with the whole world watching?
  • When an explosion rips apart a Chicago building, the lives of three women are forever altered.
  • A year later, Cecily is in mourning. She was supposed to be in the building that day. Instead, she stood on the street and witnessed it going down, with her husband and best friend inside. Kate, now living thousands of miles away, fled the disaster and is hoping that her past won’t catch up with her. And Franny, a young woman in search of her birth mother, watched the horror unfold on the morning news, knowing that the woman she was so desperate to reconnect with was in the building.
  • Now, despite the marks left by the tragedy, they all seem safe. But as its anniversary dominates the media, the memories of that terrifying morning become dangerous triggers. All these women are guarding important secrets. Just how far will they go to keep them?

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(2K)
★★★★
25%
(1.6K)
★★★
15%
(975)
★★
7%
(455)
23%
(1.5K)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Lots of Lies . . .

The plot of "The Good Liar" focuses on an explosion in Chicago which killed over 500 and how this tragedy impacts several different people. As the story progresses, the reader realizes that lies abound.

Cecily lost her husband in the explosion and is trying to rebuild her life with her two teen-aged children; she's participating in a documentary about the event - perhaps to bring her closure. It is believed her friend Katelyn, employed by her husband's company, died too . . . But did she?

As I read this novel I became increasingly disturbed by inconsistencies. Perhaps that was the author's intention, as the book deals with lies. I could not, however, get past one inconsistency. When Katelyn appears alive in Montreal, one explanation is she got out of the building which exploded unscathed and that she decided to take the opportunity to run away from what was an unhappy life. If this decision was unplanned, why did she have her two passports (she held dual Canadian/US citizen) in her purse? In my experience one doesn't carry one passport, much less two, unless one plans to travel; she had both passports on her at the time of the explosion, which leads me to think that she was planning to run to Canada (she even says at one point that she knows Canadians must enter Canada on a Canadian passport). At this point in the story I began to doubt the tale, and from then on the author lost me.

A disappointing read.
7 people found this helpful
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Love the questions asked in this book, and the characters the author creates

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book feels like it's trying to straddle the line between thriller and drama. I actually think it would've been stronger with an all-in on the marriage/friendship drama with a side of suspense. Naturally, we want to know what's going to happen in the end, and the plot has a few twists and turns, but that is secondary to the deep emotional story at the heart of the book.

In making this a plot-driven novel, we lose a little bit of character depth. Not only that, Cecily's 'big secret' pales in comparison to Kate's, yet both are treated somewhat similarly. And in the end I felt the POVs conflicted with one another a bit. It definitely feels like Cecily's story, but Kate's POV is really strong, even though those chapters are written in close third person instead of Cecily's first person.

There's a lot of heavy stuff in this book. I love the questions the author asks, and the characters she creates. However, I would've liked to have seen better character development, especially around their motivations at key points in the story. Information is revealed slowly, to create suspense, but the timing of these reveals doesn't always feel natural for the POV, which can break the spell for the reader. This also creates distance between the reader and POV character. I didn't always understand why a character felt the way they did, or feel like I knew them well enough to believe their actions.

All that aside, I did connect with the characters enough to keep reading, and their world felt very real to me. The best reading experience, for me, is to be invited into another person's life. I felt like I was part of this book, and remember it as though I saw it all myself. I'm glad to have read The Good Liar. I just think it would have been stronger with a more character-driven approach, since the issues at stake are so deep and complex.
5 people found this helpful
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The language is offensive in several places.

Initially I thought the plot was good, but couldn’t really like any of the characters in the book.
2 people found this helpful
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Good psychological suspense story

3.5 stars

This psychological thriller revolves around three women whose lives are profoundly affected by a disaster. Their names are Cecily, Franny, and Kate.

*****

The story: Cecily Grayson, running late as usual, was hurrying to meet her husband Tom when his Chicago office building blew up in front of her eyes. Shocked into immobility, with ashes raining down on her, Cecily just stared at the building until a stranger grabbed her hand and yelled 'run.' Cecily's savior was Teo Jackson, a documentary filmmaker who happened to be taking photos in the area.

Teo admitted to snapping a picture of Cecily in the midst of the explosion, and - with her permission - sold it. The photo went viral and Cecily became the 'poster child' for the tragedy, which killed over 500 people, including her husband. The hubbub resulted in Cecily and her children, Cassie (now 15) and Henry (now 13), being thrust into the public eye.

Investigators determined that the disaster, called 'Triple Ten' - because it happened on October 10th at 10 A.M. - was due to an accidental gas explosion, and a fund was established to compensate the victims' families. Applicants had to prove their relative was killed in the blast, and rejected claimants could appeal to the 'Compensaton Initiative' - a committee co-chaired by Cecily and a twentysomething woman named Franny Maycombe.

Franny, an adoptee who had just reconnected with her biological mother, was shattered when her 'real' mom was killed in the blast. The biological mother's family - husband Joshua Ring and daughters Emily and Julia - were denied compensation, and Franny has been petitioning the Compensation Initiative, trying to get money for them.

It's now the first anniversary of Triple Ten, and a memorial service is planned for the victims. Stories about the commemoration are all over the media. Kate, who works as a nanny in Canada, can't bear to watch these features - but her employer Andrea is addicted to the news. So Kate can't help but see what's going on in Chicago.

As the story unfolds, we learn that Cecily, Franny, and Kate are all harboring secrets.....but maybe not for long. Teo Jackson is making a documentary about families affected by Triple Ten. The film features Cecily Grayson and her children; Joshua Ring and his daughters; and Franny Maycombe.

Inevitably, unknown facts come to light.

The narrative alternates between the points of view of Cecily and Kate, with excerpts from Teo's interviews with Franny. Thus we see events from several vantage points.

Cecily is struggling to raise her teenagers without her husband, and trying to get on with her life. Her media exposure puts Cecily in the sights of paparazzi and reporters, some of whom will do anything for a story. (One of these guys should go to jail!)

Kate anguishes over her troubled past, and keeps busy with the two cute toddlers in her care. The kiddies are more perceptive than their self-involved mom, and almost expose Kate's secret.

Franny had a sketchy childhood and seems to have little use for the people that adopted her. She longs for a new loving family.

Some of the characters behave less-than-admirably, and would make great guests for television talk shows. (Calling Dr. Phil.....LOL)

There's surprise after surprise as the story proceeds, all of which leads to an eyebrow-raising finale that I didn't see coming.

I enjoyed the novel and recommend it to fans of psychological suspense stories.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Catherine McKenzie) and the publisher (Lake Union Publishing) for a copy of the book.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazing psychological thriller!

An explosion that tears apart a Chicago building, changes the lives of three women.
Cecile witnessed the building going down that day with her best friend and husband within its walls. She was supposed to be in that building when the explosion occurred.
Franny is a young woman that was watching the news and saw the devastation it caused. The woman she was searching for was in that building. That woman was her birth mother.
Kate, fled the disaster in hopes that her past wouldn’t catch up with her and find her.
These women are holding secrets that could cause further damage as the anniversary rekindles on the news.
Will they be able to continue to hold onto their secrets?
Which one is the good liar?
This is an amazing psychological thriller that will keep your interest peeked. The twists will keep you guessing. Be prepared to be up late to find out the conclusion to a book that you wish wouldn’t end.
Thank you to Lake Union, NetGalley and Catherine McKenzie ( an awesome author), for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
Do yourself a favor... don’t miss out on this thriller!
1 people found this helpful
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The Good Liar

3.5 stars

When an explosion rips apart a Chicago building, the lives of Cecily, Kate and Franny are forever altered. Fast forward one year to find Cecily still in mourning, Kate hoping that her past won’t catch up with her, and Franny searching for her birth mother.

The opening lines of this book grabbed me and I was hooked immediately. However, the power of those opening lines didn’t hold for the entirety of the story. I could feel this build up, this growing throughout the book like there was going to be something big. However, I don’t think it flourished and blossomed completely.

The characters are well written and developed nicely. Each of their lives has this underlying feeling of secrecy that you are eager to see come out. McKenzie really captures the mystery/suspense element. BUT! While the ending satisfied all points of the story, it did open another bucket of worms I wanted explored, but there was no more.

In the end, I’m glad I read this book and I would probably read it again. There was just something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley.
1 people found this helpful
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Devastating Lies

I Recommend This Book

Strongly
OMG! WOW! I am totally blown away by this incredible, riveting, psychological thriller , “The Good Liar” by Catherine McKenzie. I finished this in almost one sitting, only stopping to use the lady’s room. I highly recommend this intense captivating novel for anyone that appreciates an amazing chilling thriller. I can even see this being made into a screenplay for a major film. I, for one will be sitting in a front row seat.

Kudos and Bravo to Author Catherine McKenzie for writing such a descriptive and vivid novel that weaves and interconnects the lives of several characters and the explosive devastating tragedy.

The author describes her characters as complex and complicated. Some live in a dysfunctional life, and some are more pathological liars than others. Is there any one that doesn’t lie? There is the small white lie, as when your best friend who has worked hard dieting and exercising, who puts a very tight dress on, and asks you how it looks? There is the lie of omission, by not presenting it, or ignoring it, therefore, it really isn’t a lie? In Catherine Mckenzie’s novel, the lies and deep secrets get more intense and suspenseful. I would compare some of these lies in relationship to Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who wants to be a little boy, but his nose grows, every time he lies. In this case, Pinocchio’s nose would be wrapped around the world several times.

In “The Good Liar”, I appreciate the way that Catherine McKenzie takes a terrible national tragedy, and then comes up with three characters, who have such dramatic secrets and lives. There are twists and turns, and ups and downs, that I did not see coming. There are betrayals and danger. Do you really think you know someone? Think again, and enjoy “The Good Liar” by Catherine McKenzie. Happy Reading! I received an Advanced Reading Copy for my honest review and opinion.
1 people found this helpful
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Great author

Love this book. Go Catherine McKenzie is witty, smart and poignant. Love all her books.
Every one is excellent.
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Compelling read!

Is this going to be a movie???? It should be!!!
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Five Stars

Love this author, always an interesting twisted story