I became a huge fan of E. Lockhart when I read her book We Were Liars two years back, so much so that I used to personally recommend it to anyone who was interested in a psychological thriller. And you can imagine how overjoyed I was when I received this copy of Genuine Fraud from Bloomsbury. Lockhart has an excellent hold on thrillers, especially dysfunctional teenagers and Genuine Fraud yet again proves how excellent her stories can be.
With each book, Lockhart brings a twist in the way she tells a story. In Genuine Fraud, the story is told backwards and for a mystery to be told backwards is like treading on running water. When you already know who has been murdered, who is being chased by the police and what might have resulted in the murder there is hardly anything left to be told. However, this is where Lockhart’s abilities come into play. Running opposite the natural timeline each page reveals something new and helps the readers add another piece into the jigsaw puzzle.
The characterisation is brilliant without the need to constantly describe their actions. I can hardly talk about the plot without giving away the spoilers. It was definitely a page turner and I finished it in a day (and it was a week day so I only got to read it for 4-5 hours). And can we take a moment to appreciate the beauty that the cover is. Gorgeous!!
The only downside to this book was I kind of ended up comparing it to We Were Liars and in that comparison it fell short. Although this is completely subjective and you might find this book to be your favourite. Nevertheless, if you are a newbie to Lockhart’s works, go ahead and get yourself this book and it will not stop surprising you till the last page.
Publisher : Bloomsbury
Pages : 262
Rating : 4.5 / 5
You can buy the book here.
The Liquid Sunset 