
Member Reviews

Just wasn't for me, the story changed from past to present without notice so very confusing where you were at and took much forensic information.
A forensic scientist knows an innocent man has been sent to prison, should she tell the truth and maybe lose her job or keep quiet and keep her career.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an arc of 'The Good Liar'. Faced with a moral dilemma what would you do? Doctor Claudia O'Sheil, forensic scientist has to make that choice. A psychological suspense story with a very clever twisting and turning plot-line that makes for a great read. It's well researched and well written and one that I'm happy to recommend.

Professor Claudia O'Sheill is a forensic scientist, an expert in blood splatter probability. She is recently widowed, her husband James died in a car crash. Claudia thinks he may have committed suicide.
She is at a seminar with her boss, Lord Philip Ardmore. Claudia is trying to steel herself to tell the truth, a truth that will end her career and that of her boss.
The problem for Claudia is that with James gone, she is the money earner. Philip has been very generous making her a Director, she is very well paid and lives in a rent free house in Belgravia. Philip's company also pays the fees at an exclusive school, where Claudia's two sons go to.
Whilst Claudia waits for her speech, her mind goes back twelve months. She and Philip were called by the police to a murder scene. An Earl Jonathan ( Jonty ) Stewart and Francesca his fiance have been brutally murdered in a frenzied knife attack. The police suspect Jonty's son Viscount William Stewart.
Claudia finds out that James's mentor Charlie Taunton is William's solicitor. A brilliant mind, he Claudia feels will find the truth and serve William well. Then events start to go wrong, leaving Claudia struggling. Should she after all tell the truth?
Another brilliant and well researched book from one of my favourite authors. Very well recommended.

2025 – June – Denise Mina – The Good Liar ***
Sadly, only three stars from me. There is a real punchy storyline involving the blood-spatter expert Claudia, who has a world-leading technical system – about which she has growing doubts. After a double murder, a well-connected man is convicted, based significantly on her system’s evidence, but Claudia senses, then gradually knows, that her evidence is faulty and the wrong person is in prison – and who she needs to unmask – at great risk to herself and her family. Lots of details help the story but for me, there was confusion between the time of the murder and a year later as we move back and forth in time. A very clever plot – with two more accidental deaths (or are they?) – as it moves to the conclusion. I did want to finish the book, but felt it could have been better organised. Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance copy.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Pacy,, interesting with quite a few twists and turns. Claudia was an interesting and credible character. Original storyline.A good summer read

This was an ok book but the narrative felt a little forced at points trying to make it into a longer story. There are some good areas in it but it also keeps stretching although there is a good twist towards the end.

Denise Mina’s "The Good Liar" focuses on the dilemma faced by Claudia O'Sheil, a blood splatter expert, who, about to give a talk at a glittering event knows that what she wants to say, will end not only her career, but others as well.
Whilst the premise of the novel seems good, I personally found this book to be one I had to force myself to return to.
The narrative toggles between timelines, which can be disorienting, and while Claudia is a layered protagonist, the supporting cast feels underdeveloped. The pacing is inconsistent, with moments of genuine suspense diluted by lengthy introspection and detail, that just left me confused. The central mystery unfolds predictably, and the final twist, though dramatic, lacks the emotional payoff I needed.
Overall, this is a book I think might be better turned into a television series, where some of the other characters can be given more space to develop and visuals would help get across some of the detail.

The Good Liar, a forensic scientist has to choose, tell the truth or continue with the lie, let an innocent person rot in prison or out the real murderer.
I feel there is too much detail in the blurb that has been published about this book, leaving little to learn. It flips from the present to a year again when the murders happened. I found it an easy read, but wasn't taken back with any suspense or twists. I didn't feel the main character was nervous and I didn't get any build up of anticipation towards the reveal at the end.

What a superb book. The author has created yet another masterpiece.
The main character is intriguing and incredibly realistic. The plot is thought provoking and evolved smoothly. The ending is....
One theme here is personal value systems and the prominence of "truth" in decision making. If I was put in a similar situation I would be very proud of myself if I did the right thing. I am not as confident about that as I would like to be!
Denise Mina is an author to admire.

This is the story of a woman from a relatively humble Scottish background who has risen in her career to the point where she mixes with powerful and rich people. Not everyone who inhabits those realms is trustworthy and she slowly uncovers evidence of various underhand dealings, including murder. As a widow with two young sons and a addict sister, she must also negotiate family problems. Naturally, life for Claudia is hectic and complicated.
There are lots of characters and it was occasionally difficult to remember who was who, but the main ones are well-delineated. The plot is convoluted enough to keep one guessing. I could have used a few more indications of when it was 'now' and when it was the past, though.
A stunning book. Gripping and dark but beautifully written.

Gripping but a dark tale.
Who covers for who? How can lives be so easily destroyed and seem to mean nothing? Innocent people being charged with crimes they could not have committed, .
This book has it all, career, family life, court drama rehab needed.
Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

A very sharp book from Denise Mina. I'm always sceptical of new fads where evidence is concerned so this was absolutely compelling for me and i wasn't in the slightest bit disappointed!

I found this book confusing with lots of characters which were difficult to remember. The timeline seems to jump back and forward with no explanation so things are difficult to follow. I have previously enjoyed Denise Mina’s novels but not this one. Disappointing.

A clever tale of someone facing an ethical dilemma.
Denise Mira is apparently an accomplished author who has written many books over the past 25 years. Despite this, I hadn't come across her before.
A wealth aristocrat and his fiancé have been brutally murdered in his home. the police and authorities are keen to blame his nerdowell son who is arrested, tried, convi ted and jailed. Forensic Scientist Professor Claudia O'Sheil has her doubts about the case but faces a dilemma. Should she present her evidence even though it would undermine her life's work and face professional and financial ruin.
This book is a mixture of a psychological thriller and a police/cour procedural. The story is cleverly thought out and compelling. It takes place over two timelines. One is the few hours leading up to an important announcement, and the other, which takes up the bulk of the book, takes events from a year ago up to the present day. I found this sometimes confusing, causing me to have to look back to the chapter heading to check which timeline it was on. This could well put some reader off. For me, the content of the story and the quality of the writing over come this.

Have previously loved some of the work by Ms Mina particularly Garnethill books and Paddy Meehan and have read all of them. Sorry to say that whilst I found this fairly entertaining it is not my favourite by this author. It just didn't grab me unfortunately. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

A year ago, a man and his fiancee were brutally murdered in their home. It sparks a high profile murder investigation. Doctor Claudia O'Shiel is a blood splatter expert whose evidence puts the killer in jail. But Claudia soon learns a horrible truth her evidence and testimony were wrong. Someone Claudia knows made sure of this.
Claudia is to give the speech of her career before the elite of London. She needs to make a choice tell the truth and blow everything apart or keep quiet, protect her children and save her career. Claudia revisits the terrible night, what did actually happen and what will she do about it.
This is an interesting book, it didn't always hit the spot for me and I had worked out who done it but it didn't spoil anything for me. I would recommend this book to any Denise Mina fan. I do love Denise Mina, her Garnethill series and Anna Fin books are amazing.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House, Vintage for the opportunity.

Good thriller from a good writer tho for me nothing has ever lived up to Paddy Meehan and Garnethill books. This does stand out as one of the better mass produced thrillers out there

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
I was looking forward to it as I like Denise Mina’s writing, but I was disappointed. It may be because I read an ARC, but there were no chapter headings to indicate the backwards/forwards in time of the story telling, and this was really confusing. The passage of time was not clear; at one point there was mention of 4 months passing, and this surprised me. People get sent to prison on the basis of one piece of evidence, ignoring the evidence that said they couldn’t have done it, or that was obviously planted. Claudia does nothing. She knows crimes have been committed that the police are not taking seriously, and she does nothing. She sees huge amounts of evidence pointing to the actual killer…..and does nothing.
It’s pretty obvious from early on who the baddies are.
I didn’t really get any ramping up of tension, the scenarios which should have been menacing or dangerous didn’t work for me. The story jumped about a lot, which gave it a lack of flow.

Claudia is a forensic scientist best known for her blood spatter analysis tool that is widely used in murder investigation. There is a lot of detail about this in the book and perhaps a bit too much. But despite the heavy science input the book is more about the influence and manipulation of people by those authoritarian people in powerful positions. One timeline of the book deals with the murder of a rich London couple in which Cludia’s blood spatter scale is used and the other timeline is a year later when Claudia is giving a speech at an important conference.
Claudia is superficially a pleasant character but she does tend to rub shoulders with powerfull people and drift along with others’ wishes. When she gives her important speech at the conference will she inform her audience of the doubts she has about her blood spatter scale or will she succumb to pressure and toe the line.
This was the first book I have read by the author and it has certainly made me want to read more.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I found it hard to get into, and quite slow in places. The storyline was quite sound, and on reflection quite unique and believable. It was centred round the world of the privileged, and their ability to make sure everyone danced to their tune. The main thing that I objected to was the overuse ‘F’ and ‘C’ words that I found quite unnecessary.