Liar Liar by Luca Veste review – A Liverpudlian crime thriller worth reading

Liar Liar by Luca Veste: The review

If you know Liverpool, Liar Liar should be a must-read. I love a book that has a strong sense of place, and here, Liverpool feels as much as a character as anyone else. Even as someone who’s only ever been once, I could picture the city so vividly thanks to Veste’s detailed, emotive descriptions.

But that’s not what makes Liar Liar so compelling. This is the story of Mark Fletcher, suspended police detective. He wakes up in a hotel room with no idea how he got there, and with a dead body besides him. He has no idea who the man is, but he’s sure he didn’t kill him. Or did he? 

Liar Liar unfolds as, along with Mark, we try to piece together what’s happened to him. We are also drip-fed information about his past and the events leading up to his suspension – all of which come together in a deeply thrilling manner.

Along with chapters from Mark’s perspective, we’ll also get chapters focused on the police, Mark’s old colleagues, as they investigate a body that’s turned up buried in someone’s garden. Cue lots of Brookside references. There’s also the sketchy perspective of members of Liverpool’s most notorious crime family – and, well, you’ll just have to read to see how the three strands come together.

Veste knows just how much information to give us to keep us hooked, with the pacing here being spot-on to constantly keep the tension high. It’s a dark novel that wants to shock and unnerve you, and it greatly succeeds. The first in a new Liverpool Crime Series, I’m very intrigued as to where the story will go next. 

Is Liar Liar for you?

• FOR FANS OF: Liverpudlian-based thrillers
• EXPECT: Brookside references, Scouse slang, police procedural focus, grizzly crime
• READ IF YOU LIKE: Gangster crime stories, Line of Duty, Michael Wood, Sam Holland

This is a @squadpod2021 featured read for June. Thank you to Avon Books for providing a copy of the book.