WRITERS AND LIARS (2025) - Review

WRITERS AND LIARS
by Carol Goodman
My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
On Sale: July 15, 2025

It's a great title. But I actually chose to read "Writers and Liars" because if I could write, I would wish it was like Carol Goodman. Her stories are literate mysteries, well-written, with interesting characters. The other thing about this book that drew me in was the way Greek mythology was woven throughout the plot. Oh, and I love islands.

FIRST SENTENCE: "The envelope lands with a thud on my desk with the rest of the day's mail."

THE STORY: "Writers and Liars" is a 'closed door' mystery with hints of Agatha Christie on an isolated idyllic Greek island owned by a wealthy man. Maia, our heroine, actually wrote one book in anger, after a retreat there years ago, sure she had been betrayed by friends. Now she has been invited back with the same group of writers. Will her curiosity be worth the pain? What could possibly go wrong?

WHAT I THOUGHT: Goodman is an excellent writer, but the plot this time is a bit complicated and there were things that seemed a bit contrived.

VERDICT: Highly recommended for those who love literate mysteries.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of "Writers and Liars" was provided to me by William Morrow/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

 

THE DISINVITED GUEST (2022) - Review

The Disinvited Guest by Carol Goodman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
On sale: July 12, 2022

A number of years back, I read "The Lake of Dead Languages" (2002), "The Seduction of Water" (2003), and "The Drowning Tree" (2004) all by the same author. When I got the chance to read "The Disinvited Guest", I was delighted. Remember the advice about writing the book you want to read? For me that would be a Carol Goodman story. Great escapist gothic, ghostly storytelling.

FIRST SENTENCE: "We're here."*

QUOTE: "But what if those of us who survived really were haunted by those who didn't?"

THE STORY: Ten years after the first pandemic, with a second one expected, six friends plan to retreat to an island three miles off the coast of Maine. Fever Island was used as a way station for the sick arriving from Ireland in the 1800s before they could enter the mainland. Later the island became the property of the wealthy Harper family. The story is told by Lucy who plans to spend her time writing about its Celtic rituals, ghosts, and lives lost. Even though everything has been carefully accounted for, things quickly go astray or missing.

WHAT I THOUGHT: There is so much tension and unpleasantness among the group that the reader knows there will be problems. Lucy is highly susceptible to suggestion. As she reads a journal left behind by a young doctor recounting his experiences on the island years ago, she becomes obsessed and begins imagining things.

While one might not want to read about a pandemic while living through one, here it is merely used as a conceit to isolate the deftly drawn characters. Although some suspension of disbelief may be necessary, the roller coaster ride is worth it.

Goodman's descriptions of the island and it's mysteries are alluring. It's a nice touch having a map of the island included.

BOTTOM LINE: RECOMMENDED Past college friendships, youthful indiscretions, secret histories and suggestions of ghosts combine to cause suspense and a sense of dread.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of "The Disinvited Guest" by Carol Goodman from NetGalley/William Morrow Paperbacks for my honest review.

*This is the shortest first sentence I can remember. Two books ago, "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus, was the longest, a whole paragraph!

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