What would you do if telling the truth could destroy your life — but staying silent lets a killer walk free? In The Good Liar, Denise Mina delivers a morally complex thriller that asks exactly that. Blood spatter expert Dr. Claudia O’Sheil helped convict a murderer in one of the UK’s most high-profile cases. But a year later, she’s discovered something horrifying: the evidence was tampered with, and she was manipulated into sending the wrong person to prison. Now, standing in front of London’s elite at a prestigious forensic conference, Claudia has a choice. Expose the truth and lose her career, reputation, and maybe even custody of her children. Or stay silent, protect the life she’s built… and knowingly leave a killer unpunished.

This book thrives in the morally gray. Claudia is a brilliant scientist, a grieving widow, a flawed mother — and a woman paralyzed by the weight of consequences. Mina doesn’t offer easy answers; she presents a tightrope walk between duty and self-preservation, justice and survival. The structure — flipping between the day of the murder and the day of the speech — ratchets up the tension every chapter. The real "thrill" in this book isn’t blood and gore, but what we’re willing to justify when we think we have no other choice.

Very interesting concept and I think my students will get a lot out of reading this and would make for some good discussions on morality issues and courage. The style might not be a favorite as it was more of a detached style

I enjoyed this suspenseful story of murder and forensic science. Claudia O'Sheil is a scientist who is quickly rising through the ranks, mixing with the rich and titled citizens of Great Britain. On top of her workload, Claudia is mourning the loss of her husband, trying to raise two boys, and keeping her sister safe from her addictions. So many key players involve Claudia in their schemes and it becomes difficult to distinguish between good and evil. The suspense kept me reading late into the night This book is sure to hit the high notes for crime story lovers.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

What a well done tale by Denise Mina. I was an early fan of her work, did. It enjoy some of her middle work, and now this title clearly is a highlight of the year for mystery fans. Using one day in the protagonist’s voice we see her make decisions based on misinformation. Whether it’s the death of her husband, the misinformation attributed to a murder scene, or day to day events the climax comes roaring to the end and makes you ask is it. Better to be safe or tell the truth. Complex narrative, taut writing, a book that you’re almost afraid to read the ending.

From the moment Jonty and his fiancée are found brutally murdered, this story had its hooks in me. But what kept me flipping pages deep into the night wasn’t just the crime — it was the slow, crackling revelation of everything behind it.

In the Good Liar, follow Doctor Claudia O'Sheil, a renowned blood spatter expert, as she finds herself at the center of a forensic investigation that quickly unravels into something far more sinister. She's accompanied at the crime scene by her mentor, Phillip, but something immediately feels... off. Basic protocols are skipped. Evidence is poorly preserved. And Jonty's son — a troubled young man who seems clearly innocent— is arrested almost immediately.

What makes this novel so compelling is its dual timeline: one strand unfolds the events of the murder in real time, while the other fast-forwards to a year later, with Claudia preparing a speech for the opening of the new forensics institute.

What’s revealed over the course of the narrative is a deepening web of conspiracy, buried truths, and questions. Claudia’s personal losses — especially the mysterious death or suicide of her husband not even a year before — begin to tangle into the same thread as the murder investigation. Nothing is coincidence. And no one is safe.

Mina doesn’t just deliver tension — she gives us complex, human characters. Claudia’s relationship with her children is real and raw, and her half-sister, battling addiction, is drawn with empathy and dimension. The emotional stakes run just as high as the investigative ones.

Would you do the right thing, even if it meant losing everything?

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