Soon to be a major motion picture starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen.“A superb thriller and a truly engrossing read.”—Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10When Roy meets a wealthy widow online, he can hardly believe his luck. Just like Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley, Roy is a man who lives to deceive—and everything about Betty suggests … Highsmith’s Tom Ripley, Roy is a man who lives to deceive—and everything about Betty suggests she’s an easy mark. He’s confident that his scheme to swindle her will be a success. After all, he’s done this before.
Sure enough, Betty soon lets Roy move into her beautiful home, seemingly blind to the web of lies he’s woven around her. But who is Roy, really? Spanning almost a century, this stunning and suspenseful feat of storytelling interweaves the present with the past. As the clock turns back and the years fall away, long-hidden secrets are forced into the light. Some things can never be forgotten. Or forgiven.
more
This was a very cleverly written book and it’s hard to believe it’s a debut novel. It starts with conman Roy about to embark on a date with Betty, a woman he met on the internet, and as the story progresses, we are taken through his previous life and career as a conman by a series of flashbacks. However, unusually, the flashbacks start from near the present, with each flashback going further back into the past. This device would not work in the hands of a less skilled author, but Nicholas Searle carries it off well. My only complaint is that with each flashback I had to flip back to the previous one to remember the exact year it occurred.
As the story gradually unravels, told in the alternating viewpoints of Roy and Betty, the twists and turns take it into a totally unexpected direction. The story that begins the book is nothing like the story at the end. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
What the what??
Roy is a slimy geriatric con artist who meets an easy mark on an internet dating site but maybe he’s not as smart as he thinks…
Disappointing. Hard to follow. Ending seemed a bit much
Fantastic story. A great twist in the plot. Well developed characters and storyline. Love this book and the style of writing.
Enjoyed the planning and plot in this book.
Didn’t finish, couldn’t get interested in this
I know I was supposed to ohh and ahh over this book, but frankly it was boring and in places hard to follow. Good ending
Extremely well written, unpredictable plot, great storytelling, a real page turner.
This novel was a gift to read. It was unpredictable and entertaining with wonderful characters.
Not one of my favorites
Not what I expected. The twists and turns kept me up all night reading to the end.
Boring.
Loved the book!
Good book, easy read but predictable.
Hope movie is better. Book jumped around back and forth between her and his childhood and I didn’t connect with the book very well.
One of the best books that I have read in the past year. It was incredibly rewarding to witness the con artist be conned.
I enjoyed the twist and turns in the story. The ending was excellent.
I could not put it down.It grabs you and doesn’t let go!
I read the first quarter of the book and could not see any plot, couldn’t keep characters straight. Nothing to keep me turning pages. I was very disappointed and kept thinking “and they made a film out of this”. SORRY
Hard to describe. I picked it up because I saw the movie and liked it. Of course, they are different from one another as most movies are; I can’t decide which I liked better. Interesting and somewhat surprising twists and turns. Good read.