I read a lot of thriller books and so I often find myself able to guess twists and reveals quite easily. There are still books that surprise me though and I often give them high scoring reviews as a reward! The Forgers, however, has a twist I don’t think anyone could avoid correctly guessing from the outset - it’s so obviously signposted!
We begin with a violent murder – a man is found with his hands not only chopped off but also missing. It’s an action-packed beginning which sets high hopes for the rest. However, about 10 pages after this murder I had correctly guessed the perpetrator and the book then proceeded to dawdle on with not very much happening until it’s conclusion where it finally reveals exactly what it had so obviously spelt out at the beginning of the book. I wouldn’t have minded so much if there was an interesting sub-plot or if the book had even convincingly tried to pin it on someone else but apart from the slightly interesting introduction to the world of forging historical documents absolutely nothing else happens. This is even more disappointing as I can see from other reader’s reviews that this is a prequel and if you have read the other book you know exactly what happens anyway! If this is the case then the author really should have taken the time to focus on either confusing the murder so that the reader is taken on a rollercoaster ride where they don’t know who to trust or what to believe or focused on something else entirely and made the murder a sub-plot.
Our main character for the story is Will who is a very unreliable narrator. Things are murky and confusing in places which add to suspicion and I felt no empathy for him. He also doesn’t really care for any of the characters he meets either which means the reader has no-one to root for through the plot at all. Disappointingly it was all just a bit boring - I found myself skimming the book to get to the end!
Overall, The Forgers was a massive disappointment and one of the most predictable books I’ve read this year. Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books – Grove Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for a (very!) honest review.
We begin with a violent murder – a man is found with his hands not only chopped off but also missing. It’s an action-packed beginning which sets high hopes for the rest. However, about 10 pages after this murder I had correctly guessed the perpetrator and the book then proceeded to dawdle on with not very much happening until it’s conclusion where it finally reveals exactly what it had so obviously spelt out at the beginning of the book. I wouldn’t have minded so much if there was an interesting sub-plot or if the book had even convincingly tried to pin it on someone else but apart from the slightly interesting introduction to the world of forging historical documents absolutely nothing else happens. This is even more disappointing as I can see from other reader’s reviews that this is a prequel and if you have read the other book you know exactly what happens anyway! If this is the case then the author really should have taken the time to focus on either confusing the murder so that the reader is taken on a rollercoaster ride where they don’t know who to trust or what to believe or focused on something else entirely and made the murder a sub-plot.
Our main character for the story is Will who is a very unreliable narrator. Things are murky and confusing in places which add to suspicion and I felt no empathy for him. He also doesn’t really care for any of the characters he meets either which means the reader has no-one to root for through the plot at all. Disappointingly it was all just a bit boring - I found myself skimming the book to get to the end!
Overall, The Forgers was a massive disappointment and one of the most predictable books I’ve read this year. Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books – Grove Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for a (very!) honest review.