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As Teo said in The Good Liar, “It can be hard to keep three narrative threads balanced.”

This plot-driven story was presented from three different perspectives. Each POV had a very different voice, and sometimes even the format changed. It worked overall; however, the syntax of some sentences seemed jumbled. I frequently found myself reading a sentence or quote again and again. That’s not to say that the author has a poor writing style. An audio version would likely deliver those lines in a much more understandable way.

Though there are many twists in The Good Liar, they’re predictable and far-fetched. I was surprised that it was considered a thriller by so many readers. It’s definitely a mystery, and perhaps a bit suspenseful, but there were not many scary (or thrilling) moments. Unfortunately, almost every character behaved exactly as expected. I appreciated the way author Catherine McKenzie explored the nature of female friendships, differences in maternal intuition, and the human need for acceptance. This isn’t a book I’d read again, but I’ll probably look for more books by this author.

I also finished this enormous Real Ghosts book by Brad Steiger.  This was a huge book — tremendously full of paranormal stories. I enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book. The final sections were too bizarre to take seriously. Many of the stories in this book could easily be found on the internet, especially the last list of briefly described phenomenon organized by city/state. Still, it was entertaining! I liked the first-hand accounts most of all.

Have you been reading this week?