Rating: 1.2/5
It is a rare thing for me to award one star in a book review and it gives me no pleasure doing it.
The opening pages of this book make it seem like it is the sort of book that you could be easily lured into. Given the setting and the theme of the novel, how could any self-respecting bibliophile - particularly one who tends towards thrillers and murder mysteries - not want to read further?
That was what attracted me, but unfortunately this book really didn't do it for me. At only 240 pages I would have expected to fly through it. Instead I found myself in the position of fighting the temptation to simply give up on it. This is not a murder mystery - it may begin with a murder, but it soon becomes apparent who committed it. This is not a thriller - there is no suspense. It is tedious and never gets out of first gear.
Overall it left me with the impression of being overwritten, pretentious and trying too hard to be a clever, worthy piece of literature. At times it felt like I was reading a 240 page soliloquy, as the tortured forger sought to come to terms with the trials and tribulations his chosen career path. I never felt engaged with the characters and I didn't feel entertained or filled with any sense of satisfaction when I got to the end of the story. I was just glad that I had finished it, so that I could move onto something better.
I was surprised to learn that, although "The Forgers" is only now being published in the UK, it was actually published six years ago, in 2014, in the USA. Perhaps there is something of a clue in the fact that it has taken so long for it to be brought to market by a UK publisher. I presume it was felt that it would also tie in neatly with the publication of the sequel, "The Forger's Daughter". - I won't be reading it.
It is a rare thing for me to award one star in a book review and it gives me no pleasure doing it.
The opening pages of this book make it seem like it is the sort of book that you could be easily lured into. Given the setting and the theme of the novel, how could any self-respecting bibliophile - particularly one who tends towards thrillers and murder mysteries - not want to read further?
That was what attracted me, but unfortunately this book really didn't do it for me. At only 240 pages I would have expected to fly through it. Instead I found myself in the position of fighting the temptation to simply give up on it. This is not a murder mystery - it may begin with a murder, but it soon becomes apparent who committed it. This is not a thriller - there is no suspense. It is tedious and never gets out of first gear.
Overall it left me with the impression of being overwritten, pretentious and trying too hard to be a clever, worthy piece of literature. At times it felt like I was reading a 240 page soliloquy, as the tortured forger sought to come to terms with the trials and tribulations his chosen career path. I never felt engaged with the characters and I didn't feel entertained or filled with any sense of satisfaction when I got to the end of the story. I was just glad that I had finished it, so that I could move onto something better.
I was surprised to learn that, although "The Forgers" is only now being published in the UK, it was actually published six years ago, in 2014, in the USA. Perhaps there is something of a clue in the fact that it has taken so long for it to be brought to market by a UK publisher. I presume it was felt that it would also tie in neatly with the publication of the sequel, "The Forger's Daughter". - I won't be reading it.