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The Perfect Liar by Thomas Christopher Greene
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: January 15, 2019
Length: 288 pages
Amazon
{A Bit of Backstory}
Single Sentence Summary
Twisty tale of a husband and wife, both with secrets, both perfect liars.
From the Publisher
“Both Susannah and Max are keeping secrets from the world and from each other―secrets that could destroy their family and everything they have built. Thomas Christopher Greene’s The Perfect Liar is a thrilling novel told through the alternating perspectives of Susannah and Max with a shocking climax that no one will expect…”
The Draw
- It’s the perfect time of year for a fun thriller.
- I like a book where you don’t know who to trust.
- I’ve never read Thomas Christopher Greene before.
{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
Domestic Thriller Done Right – Domestic thrillers have become so popular they’ve almost morphed into a genre of their own. With such competition it can be difficult to find ones that rise above and feel fresh. Alafair Burke did it last year with The Wife (my review) and now Thomas Christopher Greene has done it again with The Perfect Liar. He’s created a unique couple, with some serious quirks that manage to keep you on your toes from start to finish. Bravo!
Drawn to the Dark Side – Max and Susannah are a couple in love, but also a pair with pasts. Greene delivers those pasts in small doses, slowly revealing that neither spouse is quite who the other believes them to be. Yet, both Max and Susannah are drawn to their partners’ underlying edge.
“She saw the raw power of that time, as if his mask had been ripped off, and again it both frightened and oddly thrilled her.
Theirs is a co-dependent relationship, feeding off of the others’ drama and their lies.
“Sometimes they were symbiotic like this – two minds connected by an invisible thread. Maybe that’s why she was calm. She was calm because Max was. He knew what he was doing.”
Even as more becomes known, the two can’t quite let go of “the marriage.”
Spectacular Ending! – I’ll give nothing away, but this was one that really worked. I’d begun to suspect, but I didn’t see how it would finally play out. And, the last two lines of the book? PERFECTION!
What Didn’t
Really? Moments – As in almost all thrillers, The Perfect Liar had a few scenes that seemed quite improbable. However, I easily forgave these because without them, what would be the thrill?
{The Final Assessment}
The Perfect Liar was my very first 2019 read, making for a wonderful kickoff to my reading year. It was just twisty enough to keep me thoroughly engaged and on my toes. The characters were exactly what you want in a thriller, and their actions (while not always sane) worked beautifully. Definitely a fun domestic thriller to add to your TBR list! Grade: B+
If you liked this book you might also enjoy:
- The Wife by Alafair Burke – A woman answers a knock at her door to find the police looking for her husband. Again. (my review)
- The Bird Tribunal by Agnes Ravatn – A woman takes a position as housekeeper and gardener, but both she and the man she works for are hiding secrets and nothing is quite as it seems. (my review)
Note: I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!
Disclosure: There are Amazon Associate links included within this post.
I’ve kind of been off thrillers lately, especially domestic ones, because they all just started sounding the same to me, but I might have to check this one out! Great review!
I’m just the opposite. Thrillers aren’t usually my thing, but I’ve read and enjoyed several already this year.
Great review! I really enjoyed his book The Headmaster’s Wife so am glad to see this one worked so well for you.
I guess I need to check out The Headmaster’s Wife!
I haven’t read this author. Your review makes me want to find a copy of this book.
Let me know if you try it.
It’s been ordered at my library so I put a hold on it. I’m #2 in line for it when it comes in.
I’m feeling more confident about this one since you gave it an A:) I’ve got it coming up and I haven’t read this author either so I’m looking forward to trying his writing.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one. So few people I know have read it.
Oh no, we are not aligning with this book. In fact, I’m not sure I even understand the significance of the ending. It felt unrealistic to me. I appreciated some of the twists, but was not pulled in by this novel.
Having said that, if you liked this book, then read his debut, The Headmaster’s Wife because that is some of the twistiest fiction I’ve ever read.
Catherine, you’ve given me a totally different perspective which I love! Now I’m curious to see where I fall on this one
You didn’t like it? That’s too bad. I thought it was fun and an easy read, but we can’t agree on everything. I do need to try The Headmaster’s Wife.
Wow now I want to read this, I didn’t even know it existed lol
A thriller like this sounds like it would make a great audio. I’ll look for it. I haven’t read this author either and now I’m curious about the ending, ha.
I think it would be great on audio and the narrator on it is Tavia Gilbert who is excellent.
Lovely review, Susie. I enjoyed this one, too. Even though it was a little dramatic, it was engaging and well-written.
This book is so awful. The writing is embarrassing, the story is predictable.
Too many “really?” moments for me.
Also some lazy editing. Max and a colleague make a date to go trail running and agree on 9AM. Ten pages lately the colleague picks him up at 10AM. There were a couple other plot holes as well. And the character of Freddy never clicked for me. It had it’s moments but I could easily have DNF’d.