In this exciting, fast paced Talented Mr Ripley style story we go back in time with each chapter as we find out about Jules and how she has ended up living a life that was never hers to steal. Jules is a con artist who has  found the way to living a charmed life after forming an intense, close friendship with Imogen, a trust fund heiress who is trying to figure out who she is after being adopted.

In a calculated friendship Jule works out how to make the most of any situation and quickly shows that she will stop an nothing to live her American dream. Painting herself as a superhero, she forgets what is true and who she ever was to begin with. As her lies begin to unravel, Jule fights to remember and forget simultaneously who she is.

In an addictive page turner the story of why Jule is on the run from the police is revealed by going backwards in time.

Wow, a very unique thriller, we start the story meeting Jules at the end of hers. Who is she? What has happened to her? With every chapter we uncover a bit more of the truth. Suprising, thrilling and at some points alarming!

Perfect YA book for those wanting a girl powered, troubled mystery!

When we met Jule, the central character in E. Lockhart's Genuine Fraud, she is in a Mexican resort hotel, pretending to be someone she is not, on the run from the police.

From there the tale works backwards, taking the reader to San Francisco, Puerto Rico, London, and the Hamptons, showing us piece by piece how Jule steals other’s identities – and one in particular.

What we never find out is why she does this, and that's where Genuine Fraud, for me, fell short. As the reader we are no clearer as to what Jule's motivations were in her trail of violence and deceit (or which of her many lies might be the truth). While the plot is smart - you have to be on your toes to keep up with Jule's schemes - the characters didn't go deep enough for me to really engage with the novel.

Despite the lack of certainty, Genuine Fraud is still an entertaining read, and one where a second reading could possibly unearth more clues to Jule’s motivations.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley UK in exchange for a review.
After spotting that E. Lockhart had a new book coming out I knew I had to read it.
I was slightly disappointed by this book, the plot is originally what drew me to it, murder, identity fraud and the mention of superheroes always gets me.
The story follows Jule, an American girl in Mexico with plenty of secrets and money. The story runs in reverse chronological order, starting with Jule in Mexico and explaining what happened for her to reach this point.
I wasn’t a fan of the flow of the book, usually, “suspense” and “mystery” books will build to the big climax, building the story up, but this one obviously didn’t. There was no build up, as this book started at the end.
The character of Jule just confused me, there was maybe two stories that told you about her past, but even still, they didn’t tell you much, just that she didn’t have the best home life and her reasons for leaving.
Imogen’s character interested me, we didn’t get very much information about her, but especially compared to Jule she seemed genuine and something about her just drew me to her character, leaving me wanting more.
Overall, the story interested me, but I think I would have preferred it to be in chronological order, but props to E. Lockhart for trying something unconventional.
3/5 Stars.

I really struggled with the first half of this book, it didn’t really keep my attention and I struggled to get to grips with the timeline. However I really got into the second half of the story, it was fast paced and really quite exciting. I don’t think it was as good or as original as we were liars, but it’s still an enjoyable read!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This book tells the story of Jules and Imogen and it starts at the end.. It was a twisting and thrilling read.

Told in reverse, Genuine Fraud begins with a young woman on the run and takes the reader backwards through not entirely reliable memories and increasingly complicated lies, through a close friendship brought to an unfortunate end, through the whole complex affair, from end to beginning and back again.

There are so many twists and turns in this story that I hesitate to say anything about it at all for fear of spoiling anything. The narrative taking the reader back through time can be a little confusing but it means that the story gets to unfold in a way that leaves you never quite sure what's real and what isn't. As soon as one piece of the story falls into place, we're swept back two days or six weeks to reveal that something else entirely is actually the truth, but then again, maybe that isn't either. Piece by piece things click together until finally the last secret is revealed and we end up, once again, back where we started, at the end of the story.

One downside to the backwards narrative is that it makes it tough to really feel for the characters, as the reader isn't so much on the journey with them, but experiencing events in gradual backwards steps, as told by an extremely unreliable narrator. Genuine Fraud is a difficult novel to explain and, at least at first, a difficult novel to get to grips with, but it's so well written that it doesn't take long for the mysteries of the story to overtake any concerns about the characters. If you're anything like me, you'll be desperate to get to the middle of this complicated maze of lies and half-truths and find out what really happened to Jule and Imogen.

I am not sure what I think. I have read it quickly and it is a page-turner, but very early on you realize that it is effectively a copy of one of the most famous novels of the 20th century. I felt cheated for that reason, especially because the author mentions 'a particular debt' at the end if the book. I would say that is a severe understatement - the only relatively original thing is that it is told backwards. If you enjoyed that famous book, Dickens, Marvel and Memento, then you will enjoy this, provided you look at at it as a sort of pastiche/homage, but no more.

I feel this book didn't really deliver. Going backwards to me just made the book less exciting with each chapter. The main character is not totally believable. The concept of continually changing identities is a good idea. I was just hoping for a better story.

I found this book a bit of a struggle to begin with, but once I'd realised it was written in reverse order it made more sense. An enjoyable read.

I found this book to be unreadable. I loved We Were Liars and was looking forward to this as a result. The main character isn't likeable, in my opinion, which typically isn't an issue. In this case, it was. I couldn't carry one after 40% because I simply didn't care what happened to her.

I received an ARC however my review is honest and unbiased

What a book!
Different
Full of suspense
Unique

I recently watched Rellik on TV and never anticipated that I would ever read a book written in similar style.

This is a wild journey.

Starts in present day, then backtracks, at short intervals then ends back in present with murder, maybe, suicide, maybe, fraud, maybe - you need to read to find out!

So what happens? Who is she? Is she who we think she is? I still don't know but I very much enjoyed this book and would recommend

I tried to really love this book but I just couldn't. The story was confusing and jumped around. I loved We Were Liars so this was very disappointed in this second book. I really hope that she continues to write beautiful stories.

This book, which I received from Netgalley was well written but as with the recent BBC drama Rellick it was presented in reverse order. It was a very 'American' book and at times very sinister but mostly, i'm sorry to say, an effort to read. I kept hoping it would all come together as I approached the end but that too was disappointing.

This book took me some time to get into. I found it hard to see the story in flashbacks although it was interesting seeing it all build together. I did not empathise with either of the two main characters - both were deeply flawed and difficult to like. It was interesting to see how they manipulated each other and used each other.

I did struggle with the ease with which Jule resorted to violence and how she justified her actions and choices.

I could not put it down however and wanted to know how we got to where we started. Hard to read but interesting.

All we can be sure of, as we read this story, as it weaves through the times and places, is tat the central character acquires and uses different identities in the way that you and I change our underwear. She says she is young, but when did her wanderings really start? At what age? The stories that she tells appear incompatible and they change - she admits - according to her audience. So who is the true person? And what is her true story you are left guessing until the final chapter. An interesting way of telling this story that initially seems confusing but once you get into your stride is quite revealing.

Having read mixed reviews for "Genuine Fraud" I was intrigued ton read this book.
The story is written back to front which is a great concept. In other words, the book starts at chapter 18 and moves back, finally ending with chapter 1 and finishing with 19 as an epilogue almost. Confusing? Not at all as long as you keep reading! However, once I'd left it overnight, I found myself having to go back and recap on details to remember what was going on, particularly seeing as though both characters are pretending to be the other. It's a unique concept though, but one I'm not sure I would want to revisit. This is mainly due to the fact that when I read a book, I like it to be a pleasurable, easy experience -a bit like pulling on a comfy pair of slippers that take you on a bumpy rollercoaster ride. This one I found a little hard work at times. Saying all that though, the plot and characters and prose were all cleverly done. I was intrigued to discover the ingenious ending and was impressed with the way it did grip me three quarters of the way through,(maybe a tad late?). Despite its obvious structural challenges, it was a memorable experience and got me talking to my friends and book club about it!
This isn't your traditional psychological/crime novel with lots of twists (and sometimes far too predictable) turns. However it is a great read and I would recommend it AS LONG AS YOU AREN'T looking for something that won't tax your brain!
Go for it!

I am a huge fan of E. Lockhart's work, but this latest offering was not her strongest. I certainly was interested in seeing what happened and thought that the reverse chronology was clever, but I never connected with or understood Jule the way that I hoped to. As always, Lockhart is a sharp and beautiful writer, but I was ultimately left with questions that went unanswered and a strong feeling of wanting more depth. Readers who like thrillers and suspense will probably like this just fine, but I will stick with the richer world painted in other works like We Were Liars.

Super! The way the book is set out is super interesting, basically going back in time, linking all the chapters together until we're back at the ending, which is actually quite surprising. An interesting read.

YES THIS BOOK.

I am, as it happens, a massive fan of Lockhart’s We Were Liars; I think it’s an excellent book and so obviously I was super excited to get my hands on a copy of her new book, Genuine Fraud and let me tell you a thing: it didn’t disappoint.

It’s a story that reminded me of (and wow if you know what film I am talking about here then please give me a headstart before you set about destroying me because I haven’t read the book and know about it only because of that face. Happen one day I’ll rectify that and read it) but! It is a thing that I enjoyed so you know, plus points right there. & probably that’s the end of my review.

I liked it and it reminded me of a film that’s based on a book I haven’t read and the title of which I have redacted like I am a lawyer and ‘oh wow Josephine,’ I hear you cry, it’s a good job you have a book blog.’

I know, right. I know, but here’s the thing: I could talk at you about this book and what I loved about it and why I loved it but somehow, I kind of don’t know how to do that without massive spoilers.
(Although have I done that already with that whole reference. Should I rewrite this review and redact the name of the film. Ooooh. I might. That might be fun. I’m going to. I’m also going to leave this little segment in because it’s fun for you to see how my mind works...)




To get back to the point though, in the same way as it was with We Were Liars, I think that the best of this book comes from not actually having a clue what is going on, or what is true and what is false or who you trust. It’s an absolute mindfuck and it’s glorious.




I enjoy, every so often, a story with an unreliable narrator and this is third person so it’s not that exactly, apart from all of the ways it kind of is, but it is a story that leaves you wondering with the turn of every page which parts of what you just read you can rely on. There are POV shifts and timeline jumps and so much is going on you don’t even know, but even though your brain hurts a little bit, it works, completely, because of some kind of sorcery and witchcraft/Lockhart’s skill with words. It’s utterly absorbing and, I love a good psychological thriller: I say that a lot I know but that’s because I do, and that is what this is, and a really intriguing one at that. It’s so tense and it unravels so cleverly and it’s so so twisty.

I’m also a really MASSIVE fan of Lockhart’s writing style, she writes so prettily even when she’s writing about people you don’t think you like, much, and her descriptions make me want to do a small dance of delight and her character development is just smashing so you know, there’s that also.



If you like books where the bad guys don’t always get their comeuppance and where everything isn’t tied up in a pretty bow by the end and where there is a clear and perfectly painted beginning, middle and end then probably this book isn’t for you. If none of that bothers you though, or better still you crave the opposite then THIS IS A BOOK YOU NEED TO READ. PRONTO. It’s so messed up and I loved it.