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What: Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

Who: Allen and Unwin

When: September 6th 2017

How: A copy of this novel was provided by Allen and Unwin for review.

RRP: $19.99 (AUD)

How far would you go to become someone else? A masterful young adult thriller from the author of blockbuster bestseller We Were Liars.

Imogen is an heiress, a runaway, and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a chameleon, and a liar.

Imogen is done pretending to be perfect, and Jule refuses to go back to the person she once was. Somewhere between the mansions of Martha’s Vineyard and the shores of Cabo San Lucas, their intense friendship takes a dark turn.

A masterful thriller from the author of the unforgettable We Were Liars.

It’s no secret that I loved We Were Liars, so when I found out that Lockhart’s next book was going to be another mystery/thriller I jumped at the chance to read and review it. And I have to say that it did not disappoint.

Genuine Fraud is told in a non-linear fashion – backwards to be exact. The first chapter opens with our main character, Jule, on the run from who knows what to who knows where. All we know is that she doesn’t feel safe, and that she can’t be caught. And from that first chapter I was hooked, line and sinker. I had to know why Jule was running, what or who she was running from. I had to know everything.

And Lockhart definitely kept that up throughout the whole novel. Reading Genuine Fraud was definitely a study in how to keep your readers interested. Because for every answer I was given, I had a hundred more questions. For every event that occurred there was an untold story behind it. The backwards storytelling was incredibly compelling and I just wanted to read until the wee hours of the morning so I could figure out this sordid tale of Jule and Imogen.

I want to keep this review as vague as possible in terms of storyline and character arcs because I think the best way to read this book is to know about as much as the blurb gives you – which is not a lot. So I’ll leave those things for you to discover, and I’ll briefly talk about four of my favourite aspects of Genuine Fraud.

1) The writing style was incredibly engaging. There were no words that had no use – every single one of them was used to tell the story. Considering that this book is quite short there was a need for this to be the case, and it most certainly was. The simplicity to the storytelling was one of the things that made some aspects so chilling.

2) There were a lot of twists and turns. And you have to wait for so many of them – but they are worth it, I promise.

3) Jule is a character unlike any other. I’ve read a lot of books but I don’t think I’ve come across anyone quite like Jule. There are so many facets to her and her personality, and she was incredibly intriguing to read about. I wanted to get inside her head more than the third person POV allowed, but I suppose then some of her mystery would have been lost. Which would have been a shame. Not knowing the inside of Jules’s head all the time is one of the things that made Genuine Fraud.

4) Genuine Fraud is a book about girls. Ruthless girls, cunning girls, beautiful girls, lonely girls, smart girls, loving girls, strong girls. This book is unafraid to show the sides to girls that are so often ignored or brushed under the rug as if they do not exist. Genuine Fraud is a book about girls who aren’t afraid to be who they really are.

© 2017, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

trigger warning: reference to suicide, reference to gunshot wound, physical assault, reference to death of parents (gun shots/murder), depictions of gore, reference to death of husband (heart failure), reference to extended use of dialysis, multiple murders (graphic), reference to rape of a minor, identity theft, thievery, suicide of father, death of mother via illness (unspecified), romantic cheating, reference to child abuse, reference to death of mother via drug overdose, and orphaned child in this novel

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Posted on: October 6, 2017 • By: Chiara

8 Responses to Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart: Another Masterful Lockhart Mystery

  1. I’m SO EXCITED for this one omg. I loved We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, and if this is at least half as good, I’ll probably love this too. I’ve seen some reviews around, and I find it so intriguing that, like you, everyone is saying it is best to go into this knowing very little. I LOVE BOOKS LIKE THAT.

    Wonderful review!

    Veronika @ The Regal Critiques

    • Chiara says:

      It is definitely more than half as good as We Were Liars! It didn’t have the same emotional connection but it did share some elements in terms of how people see things differently, and of course the twisted ending. I hope you end up enjoying it, Veronika!

      Thank you so much :D

  2. I really liked this one too! I thought that that backwards story telling was a really cool way of telling the story. It made me keep reading and wanting to know just what was happening!

    -Lauren

    • Chiara says:

      Yay! I’m glad you liked this one, Lauren :D The backwards storytelling definitely had me riveted from page one. I just had to get to the end so I could know everything, haha.

  3. “Genuine Fraud is a book about girls. Ruthless girls, cunning girls, beautiful girls, lonely girls, smart girls, loving girls, strong girls. This book is unafraid to show the sides to girls that are so often ignored or brushed under the rug as if they do not exist.”

    Hear that? It’s the sound of my heart actually bursting with so much happiness it doesn’t know what to do with itself. Ever since I wrote Heaven or This it feels like I’ve been hunting for books that portray girls in all their gorgeous, flawed, glory. Just, YES to this. So much yes. <3

    • Chiara says:

      I am so very glad you like that little passage, Topaz <3 I am quite fond of it myself if I am allowed to admit!

      I really hope that you like this book if you ever get around to it. It is unapologetic in so many different ways.

  4. Jackie B. says:

    I will admit, I tend to shy away from Thrillers. Why? Because I have read a few which gave me nightmares. And I didn’t like that. Not one bit. I get nightmares easily, sadly. But everyone has been raving about this book so much… I almost want to pick it up!

    I am all about girl power– and your review has convinced me that I need to know this book on some level! Do you think I could get through this book without things haunting my dreams?

    • Chiara says:

      Oh no! I’m sorry thrillers give you nightmares, Jackie, that’s so horrible.

      To be honest, I’m not sure if you could get through this book. I am an avid horror movie fan and thriller reader, and there were parts in this book that shocked me with their brutality. So I think those parts could be the ones to give you nightmares :(

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