The Perfect Liar: A Novel

Thomas Christopher Greene

Jan 2019 · Macmillan + ORM

About this ebook

"A taut, well-written thriller...The pace is crisp, the surprises keep coming, and there are two big ones that readers are unlikely to see coming." - Associated Press

A seemingly perfect marriage is threatened by the deadly secrets husband and wife keep from each other.

Susannah, a young widow and single mother, has remarried well: to Max, a charismatic artist and popular speaker whose career took her and her fifteen-year-old son out of New York City and to a quiet Vermont university town. Strong-willed and attractive, Susannah expects that her life is perfectly in place again. Then one quiet morning she finds a note on her door: I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Max dismisses the note as a prank. But days after a neighborhood couple comes to dinner, the husband mysteriously dies in a tragic accident while on a run with Max. Soon thereafter, a second note appears on their door: DID YOU GET AWAY WITH IT?

Both Susannah and Max are keeping secrets from the world and from each other—secrets that could destroy their family and everything they have built. Thomas Christopher Greene's The Perfect Liar is a thrilling novel told through the alternating perspectives of Susannah and Max with a shocking climax that no one will expect, from the bestselling author of The Headmaster’s Wife.

Ratings and reviews

Susannah and Max are considered the perfect couple. This is her second marriage (her first husband died) and brings son Freddy with her. They seem to have it all .. a beautiful home, a great job, plenty of money to live comfortably. Susanna finds a hand-written note on her front door .... I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. She immediately calls her husband who dismisses it as a prank. A few days later they invite a couple to their house for dinner. Days later the man is killed in a tragic accident. The next note to show up .... DID YOU GET AWAY WITH IT. And then the third note .... I SAW WHAT YOU DID. Both Susannah and Max are keeping secrets from the world and from each other—secrets that could destroy their family and everything they have built. So what did Max do? Why? The story premise is exquisite .... highly suspenseful, full of secrets and lies, twists and turns. Step by step the reader learns what those secrets are..But it's the ending that grabbed my attention. It's riveting and so unexpected. Many thanks to the author / St Martin's Press / Netgalley for the advanced digit copy of this psychological thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Let me start by saying that I hated the ending of this book - absolutely hated it. So, why the four stars? Well, that lies in the storytelling. On the surface, The Perfect Liar isn't much different from so many others out there - Unreliable narrators, a normal on the outside family unit, lots of secrets, and some crazy twists along the way. Nevertheless, there's just something about this book. Whether it's the writing style, which is terrific, the character development, or the moments of tension as things start to spiral out of control, or a combination of all of that, there's just something thoroughly compelling about this story. Whatever the reason, I didn't want to put this one down. When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about it. The funny thing about that is I didn't like either of the main characters here. Neither of them stirred any feelings of empathy in me but at the same time, Max's charisma comes through loud and clear. Whether he's playing the crowd or having an intimate conversation, it's easy to see why people are drawn to him. Susanna doesn't have that same draw, but there's something there. Love her or hate her, I wanted to know her secrets. So, bad ending or not, I enjoyed the journey, and won't soon forget this tale of greed, ambition, and obsession. Thomas Christopher Greene certainly has a way with words, and he's made me stand up and take notice with this one.

About the author

THOMAS CHRISTOPHER GREENE is the author of five previous novels: Mirror Lake; I'll Never Be Long Gone; Envious Moon; The Headmaster's Wife; and If I Forget You. His fiction has been translated into 13 languages. In 2008, Tom founded Vermont College of Fine Arts, a top graduate fine arts college, making him the youngest college president in the country at the time. He lives and works in Vermont.