The Liar's Girl

The Liar's Girl is a book with such an intriguing premise. What if your boyfriend turns out to be a serial killer and how do you ever move on with your life? Well, if you're Alison Smith you don't really.

Alison is the main voice we hear from, both 'now' and 'then'. Ten years ago she had just become a student at St John's College, Dublin, her best friend, Liz, at her side. Very soon after she met Will and they entered into a relationship. But students were going missing, their bodies found in the canal and it was Will who was charged with their murders and dubbed The Canal Killer.

Now, new developments and a possible copycat mean that Alison is back in Dublin where she finds herself right back in the middle of the action. I really found show more her to be a fascinating character, considering all that she had been through and the way it had affected everything that happened afterwards.

We also hear a little from Will, although most of what we read about him is from Alison's point of view. The parts that come from him, though, are what provide the framework for the whole story and he too is a thoroughly fascinating character as I couldn't quite get a handle on whether he was telling the truth or manipulating Alison,

This is a book I was really looking forward to reading and I wasn't disappointed at all. I raced through it, desperate to know if there really was a copycat killer, what really happened in 2007 and what was going to happen to Alison and Will next. It's such a cleverly plotted thriller, fast-paced and completely gripping.

I kind of want to know what happens to Will, Alison and Michael Malone, one of the Garda detectives (who I thought was great), next but I don't know if they have another story in them or not. But I think it shows how engrossed I was as I don't quite want to let them go.

This is a story full of suspense, full of mystery, full of me wondering if Will was really the killer or not. The ending was pure class, in fact the whole book was pure class. I loved it. show less

4.25 Stars — Poor Alison Smith. She couldn’t wait to move to Dublin and attend St. John’s College with her best friend Liz, but her happiness was short-lived. Will, the charming boy Alison fell in love with freshman year, turned out to be a serial killer, and worse yet was that his last victim was Liz. A decade passes with Will locked up and Alison trying to forget that terrible time, when a copycat killer strikes. Will has new information to share that may help police, but the only person he’s willing to talk to is Alison.

THE LIAR’S GIRL is an absorbing slow-burn novel of suspense. I was easily wrapped up in the lives of the characters. The author has an engaging and descriptive writing style that makes the reader feel like show more part of the story. The mystery was constructed well and kept me guessing. I loved that final disturbing twist which brought everything together.

I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Alana Kerr Collins, with smaller parts by Alan Smyth and Gary Furlong. Ms. Collins’ performance of Alison was fitting with her character – not overly dramatic, yet emotional and expressive when the situation called for it. Alan Smyth narrated Catherine Ryan Howard’s previous book DISTRESS SIGNALS, and I loved, loved, loved his performance. Though his part was smaller in this book, he was just as wonderful. I’d listen to anything he narrates.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

Nichts hat Alison weniger erwartet als Besuch von der Polizei. Von der irischen Polizei und das, wo sie seit zehn Jahren in den Niederlanden lebt. Nach den schrecklichen Vorfällen war sie geflohen und hat sich mühsam ein neues Leben aufgebaut und versucht zu vergessen. Doch jetzt beginnt alles scheinbar von Neuem. Der so genannte Kanalkiller von Dublin hat wieder zugeschlagen, aber eigentlich sitzt dieser doch im Gefängnis? Sie selbst hatte auch keine Zweifel mehr an der Schuld ihres Freundes Will, nachdem dieser die Morde an den Studentinnen gestanden hatte. Doch nun werfen die neuerlichen Tötungen Fragen auf und Will möchte reden, aber nur mit einer einzigen Person: mit Alison. Ist er womöglich doch unschuldig?

Catherine Ryan show more Howards zweiter Krimi war einer der erfolgreichsten Titel im angloamerikanischen Raum 2018. Es braucht nur wenige Seiten, um dies nachvollziehen zu können: die Autorin packt einem vom ersten Moment und man ist derart gefesselt von der Geschichte, dass man den Roman kaum beiseite legen möchte. Ein Thriller, der zwar durchaus bekannte Muster zeigt, aber dennoch überraschen kann und unerwartete Wendungen aufbietet.

Auf zwei Zeitebenen werden die Ereignisse der Gegenwart und der Vergangenheit erzählt. Interessant dabei bleibt, dass manche der Figuren doch so zweideutig und vage bleiben, dass man bis zur letzten Seite nicht sicher ist, ob man ihnen trauen kann oder ob sie ein falsches Spiel spielen. Die Protagonistin Alison bleibt dabei als 19-jährige Studentin etwas unbedarft und naiv und ist auch zehn Jahre später nicht viel weiter. Nichtsdestotrotz trägt die Figur die Handlung überzeugend und man kann ihr emotionales Hin-und-Hergerissen-sein sehr gut nachvollziehen.

Der Fall ist plausibel konstruiert und clever spielt die Autorin mit den Wissenslücken und voreiligen Deutungen der Figuren, um so nicht nur ihre Charaktere in zweifelhaftem Licht erscheinen zu lassen, sondern auch dem Leser einige Fährten zu legen, denen man bereitwillig folgt.

Kein Thriller, der an die Grenzen der Nervenanspannung geht, aber der Schreibstil hält die Ungeduld und Vorahnung konstant oben und lässt sowohl das Setting wie auch die Figuren authentisch und glaubhaft wirken. Es braucht keine brutalen Szenen mit detailreichen Schilderungen von Verletzungen und dem Aussehen der Leichen, um spannungsreich gut zu unterhalten. show less

Guinness topped with champagne. A crime against both substances.

The Liar's Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard

My review:

I was up mostly all night reading this book last night.

It really has everything I look for in a good and well written thriller.

And I so wish GR had 1-10 stars. Because 1-5 ratings are so vague. I mean..they could mean anything. In this book's case it means.......

I could not tear my eyes away.

Plot was all consuming.

Characters fully developed and interesting.

Un...put...down..able.!

But it also means there were some things I found so utterly unrealistic I could not find my way to a four.

The plot is fascinating. Allison was in college when she met Will. She quickly fell in love with him. They spent all their time together.

Until show more the police came for him.

They came for him because, you see, Will is a serial killer. The evil "Canal killer", the most famous of all serial killers in Ireland. While Allison was falling in love Will was just pretending to love her back as he killed five girls including Allie's best friend Liz.

But now, ten years later, there is a copy cat. He has struck twice and will strike again. And Will says he has information. But he wont tell the cops what it is. He will speak to Allie only.

I LOVED the plot. It was sinister and wrapped in darkness with some really creepy moments. I must give a shout out to the first scene which is one of the eeriest and creepiest I can remember reading in recent memory.

Liar's Girl is long, it is complex but it is so INTERESTING because one wants to know. Is Will really Guilty? Does he know ANYTHING? Is this just a copy cat or maybe Will had a partner back then who is at work now continuing the deadly killing spree? I just COULDN'T put this down.

But....and this is a big negative...the first half is so much better than the second. I really found the length of time Allie spends with the cops unrealistic as the fact that she single handedly solves everything herself. Also..the cops give her so much information its absurd. It does bring the book down a bit. I feel bad saying that because this book is so GOOD but the unrealistic actions by Allie and the police always had me knowing I was reading a book and I did not get swept in as much as I'f have liked because there was no rhyme or reason to anything that Allie and the police did.

SPOILERS:

The ending was a shocker for me and GREAT....I'd kinda like to see a part two of this. I was not expecting that ending but it validated me in a way because I hated Will and I was constantly asking myself why. Even when it was thought he might be innocent, I really disliked him. So....five stars for the ending!

I'd recommend this. I just wish it had not gone into "girl solves crime by herself because it was not realistic at all. But the book gave me a sleepless night of fun reading! show less

I was immediately drawn straight into this complex and unusual story. The characters and situation had me gripped the whole way through the novel. The setting in Dublin was incredibly evocative and atmospheric. The author obviously knows the area very well. I thought the dual narrative was really effective. We were mostly in the present day with main character, Alison but we also got glimpses of her time at university when the crimes first took place. These sections focussing on life as a new student felt so realistic and instantly reminded me of my own first few weeks of university. I thought the story was well paced, it was not hugely full of action but the story built up to a twisty conclusion beautifully. I would definitely be on show more the lookout for new work from this author. show less

When Ali is nineteen she begins college at St. John's and meets charismatic, attractive Will and they become inseparable. Ali is shocked when she learns that Will is the Canal Killer - having stalked and drowned five young women in the muddy waters of the Grand Canal, including Ali's best friend, Liz. Will has been sentenced to life in jail. But it's been ten years and Will is locked up in the city's Central Psychiatric Hospital, so when a young woman is found in the Grand Canal the Garda detectives visit Will in hopes that he can help them solve the copycat killing. But Will won't speak. The only way he will is if Ali comes to see him. The last thing Ali wants is to leave her anonymity and the Netherlands to return to a time she's show more worked so hard to forget. But the right thing to do is to go back and so she does.

I really had to think about what to rate this. The first chapter was great, it was strong, it pulled me in. I loved the setting. I really enjoyed the chapters about Ali's past, about the excitement about going to college with her best friend and how everything is so new to them. The characters were three-dimensional. But I felt like in the present chapters there was just a whole lot of the same thing going on which also made it feel as though a whole lot of nothing happened. Ali was brought back to Ireland to solve a case - really? The detectives are trained to do this sort of thing, that's their job and they had to bring in someone else to do it for them? It just didn't sit well with me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an ARC. show less

One of the best suspense novels I've read in a while. Maybe some points lack believability, but overall the story comes together well. The characters are sympathetically written and enough local color is provided to be entertaining without being overwhelming. Very enjoyable for a serial killer story!