Rating: 2.2/5
I was looking forward to reading this - a new, standalone thriller from Karin Slaughter, a writer with an extensive back catalogue of successful novels. The premise was enticing and served up the prospect of a tense and exciting affair. Unfortunately, I have to say that I found "False Witness" underwhelming.
The story is bookended by an impressive opening and a solid ending, but there is too much of the 400 pages sandwiched in between that I found uninspiring and heavy going. There are certainly some chapters that work better than others, but overall I don't think the pace of the novel finds the right level often enough.
As more and more books hit the shelves that were written or conceived during the global coronavirus pandemic, it is interesting to see how various authors have chosen to handle the subject. Some have ignored it completely, or deliberately set the narrative in a time frame where Covid-19 was simply not relevant. Others have decided to reference the virus to varying degrees. In "False Witness" Karin Slaughter has opted to feature the pandemic quite significantly. Everyone will have their own view as to how well this works. Personally, I think that, as a general point, it has the potential to make a novel quite dated, rather than maintaining a more timeless appeal. More specifically, in relation to this novel, I don't feel that it adds much value and, if anything is something of a distraction that further contributes to the pacing issues.
There will be readers out there who will lap this up and sing its praises, but I am afraid it didn't really do a great deal for me.
I was looking forward to reading this - a new, standalone thriller from Karin Slaughter, a writer with an extensive back catalogue of successful novels. The premise was enticing and served up the prospect of a tense and exciting affair. Unfortunately, I have to say that I found "False Witness" underwhelming.
The story is bookended by an impressive opening and a solid ending, but there is too much of the 400 pages sandwiched in between that I found uninspiring and heavy going. There are certainly some chapters that work better than others, but overall I don't think the pace of the novel finds the right level often enough.
As more and more books hit the shelves that were written or conceived during the global coronavirus pandemic, it is interesting to see how various authors have chosen to handle the subject. Some have ignored it completely, or deliberately set the narrative in a time frame where Covid-19 was simply not relevant. Others have decided to reference the virus to varying degrees. In "False Witness" Karin Slaughter has opted to feature the pandemic quite significantly. Everyone will have their own view as to how well this works. Personally, I think that, as a general point, it has the potential to make a novel quite dated, rather than maintaining a more timeless appeal. More specifically, in relation to this novel, I don't feel that it adds much value and, if anything is something of a distraction that further contributes to the pacing issues.
There will be readers out there who will lap this up and sing its praises, but I am afraid it didn't really do a great deal for me.