Catherine McKenzie

The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie is a 2018 Lake Union Publication.

An explosion in Chicago kills over five hundred people, disrupting the lives of three women in ways they never could have imagined. One is now a widow and single mother, one is a woman tempted to start her life over from scratch, and one who is desperately seeking her birth mother- a woman who presumably died in the fire…

This book is more of a character study than an outright novel of suspense. The explosion is believed to be a result of a gas leak- which means there could be compensation for the survivors. In the meantime, a viral photograph of Cicely, whose husband died that day, makes her an instant celebrity- a grieving widow- the perfect face for the survivor’s compensation fund. But Cicely is guilt ridden for many reasons- one of them being that she was supposed to have been in the building, too, but she’d been running late that day- and the other reason has to do with why she had been set to meet her husband there that day…

As the novel unfolds, we learn about Cicely’s inner turmoil, the secrets of her marriage, her best friend- also presumed dead- and the young woman who was looking for her birth mother who draws strangely close to the situation- and who may have ulterior motives…

The book is just as much of a messy family drama and character study as it is a mystery. It was absorbing at times, but I grew impatient with the slow pacing. It was thought-provoking, too, on occasion, but the suspense building was flat- with revelations quietly unfolding. This could be effective- but it felt anticlimactic, too.

The conclusion, though not exactly ambiguous- was not altogether satisfying. At the end of the day, I was not sure how I felt about the story or how to rate it. I think it was a failure to understand the thoughts and actions of the characters- which was riddled with poor, morally dubious decisons-and an inability to relate or connect to them- on top of the way it all came together in the end, that left me feeling mostly apathetic.

While the story had some merits, overall, it failed to make a big impression.

2.5 stars

+Kindle Unlimited- audio added… (mere)