Tanen Jones – The Better Liar

Tanen Jones – The Better Liar

When her father dies, he leaves a wish in his will that Leslie Flores hasn’t expected: she will only inherit the money if her sister Robin also signs the papers. So she sets out for Las Vegas where Robin is supposed to live. They haven’t talked for a decade and Leslie is all but looking forward to do so now. But when she finally arrives at her sister’s apartment, she finds her dead and apparently, Robin has lived there under a false name. When Leslie makes the acquaintance of young charismatic Mary who dreams of a career as an actress, an idea forms in her head: why not take the woman with her back to Albuquerque and have her play Robin’s role for a couple of days? Nobody has seen her sister for ten years and Mary has some clear resemblance to Robin, so why should anybody become suspicious? It’s is a win-win situation, Mary could take her share of the money and make her start in Hollywood and Leslie would get her part of her father’s inheritance. Mary agrees but soon she realises that the respectable wife and mother also has some secrets she hides.

Tanen Jones’s “The Better Liar” is a highly surprising psychological novel with many unexpected twists and turns. The two protagonists develop from average women into enemies who fight their war on a very high emotional and psychological level. The story is told alternately from their different points of you, thus the reader is always aware of their respective plots and ahead of each character – at least you believe you are, but at certain point you also have to recognise that there are some highly relevant pieces of information they did not reveal to you and this makes things appear in a totally different light.

The novel starts at a rather slow pace with Leslie looking out for her sister and then finding her dead and seeing her father’s money in jeopardy. You wonder why she would take a stranger to her house, especially a house with a very young kid – this seems to be too dangerous, just for the money? Why does she need it, seemingly, she and her husband lead quite a good life. This and the question if she really succeeds with presenting a stranger as her sister seem to be the mystery of the novel, yet, with Mary’s arrival in Albuquerque, the real story slowly unfolds and the plot takes up pace and becomes much more dynamic and gripping.

Tanen Jones wonderfully leads the reader into wrong directions over and over again which I liked a lot. I totally adored how the two women play with each other and was eagerly awaiting the end to see who would finally win their very special game. Yet, some twists lacked a bit plausibility, but from a psychological point of view, a great read.

Dervla McTiernan – The Scholar

Dervla McTiernan – The Scholar

When on a late evening scientist Emma finds a young woman dead on the university premises, it looks like a hit and run without any connection to the place. But then, the police find out that she had the ID of another student with her and also wore her clothes. Carline Darcy, first presumed the victim, reacts very harshly to the police showing up at her apartment, but her behaviour makes her even more suspicious, especially since Carline comes from a very rich family owning the institute close to which the body of the still unidentified woman was found. As Cormac Reilly and his team investigate, more and more evidence pops up linking the rich girl to the murder. But also the scientist who found the victim is doubtful – wasn’t she connected to another murder just a couple of months before? And what about the fact that Emma is the leading sergeant’s partner?

Dervla McTiernan’s thriller is a highly complex police investigation that I thoroughly enjoyed to read. It moves at a high pace and on every new page, new evidence appears that leads to another thread that you could follow. To fully understand to extent of the case, it takes some time and you as a reader investigate along the police all the time. The fact that sergeant Reilly himself is personally involved gives it all a bit of an extra that made the whole story even more interesting.

There are two aspects in the novel that I found wonderfully elaborated. First of all, the ways dysfunctional families find their own modus operandi in which they proceed and which can never be penetrated by somebody from outside. It was mainly in a side plot that this a deeply developed, but it was also true for the protagonist’s family, just with a slight shift of interest. The second was the question of how far people are willing to go for success and recognition. These are highly valued in our times and often the main feature to define a person. If you cannot compete, you are nothing. With this attitude, to we dig our own graves in putting people under so much pressure that they cannot see a way out?

All in all, very gripping and real page-turner.

Rachel Rhys – Fatal Inheritance

Rachel Rhys – Fatal Inheritance

England, 1948. When Eve Forrester is informed that a certain Guy Lester has mentioned her in his last will, she cannot make any sense of it. Her husband is not very happy about the news, especially since it means his wife will have to travel to southern France to attend the opening of the will alone since he cannot leave work. Mr Lester’s notary Bernard informs the unhappy housewife that she together with Guy’s three children is the heir of a Villa in Cap d’Antibes. None of them is very happy about this, especially since nobody understands how Eve relates to the rich and famous of the Côte d’Azur. Eve prolongs her stay there to find out what had happened and it is obvious from the start that there must be a link to her mother who refuses to talk. The longer she stays and the more she mingles with her new acquaintances, amongst them a famous film star, the farer away Eve gets from her old life. But still, what was Guy Lester’s motivation, what is the secret that had been kept hidden for so long?

Rachel Rhys’ historical novel is the absolutely perfect summer read. Escaping the heat to the south of France to a time long ago and a gorgeous place with villas and parties and people living a life which you don’t find anymore. Added to this, the story comes with a certain mystery which slowly unfolds and finally bursts with a big bang.

First of all, I really liked the protagonist Eve. She is quite a lovable, modest young woman who is fascinated and appalled by what she sees at the Riviera at the same time. The peoples’ lifestyle is so far from her own life that she never really adapts and sticks to her own values and convictions. Even though she is greeted with a lot of hostility and rejection, she doesn’t forget her upbringing and manners. Just like at home, she feels a bit lonely and forlorn which make the reader stay on her side and support her against all the rest. The longer she is away from her husband, the more confident and independent she grows and I really appreciated the woman we see at the end of the novel.

The mystery was also very well played. It is all but obvious what had happened in England long time ago and the small pieces of information you get, just refuse to fall into place. It’s a riddle which takes the complete novel to be solved but when all is finally revealed, it makes perfectly sense and puts everything in a completely new picture.

All in all, an absolute joy to read and to indulge in on a hot summer day.