Winner of the Black Spring Crime Prize 2024
 
‘This is a psychological thriller unlike anything you’ve ever read before.’ Luca Veste, author of The Bone Keeper
 
Ginnie says she is a serial killer who kills people who have wronged her.  No one believes her. Author Fiona Taylor is writing Ginnie’s memoir, The Killer Inside, trying to understand why Ginnie should still insist that she’s a killer. She recruits ex-DI, Tom O’Brien, to examine the evidence. As Ginnie’s oldest friend, Tom has his own insights into her story.

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As her memoir unfolds will the decisions taken by Fiona and Tom put them and their families at risk? Is it safe to release a self-confessed serial killer back out into society, even if there is no evidence against her?

My Review

There is so much I could say about this brilliant novel, but spoilers prevent me. I would have enjoyed it as a ‘buddy’ read so I could discuss it with others. It was so different, so unique, and I loved it although there were times I was almost too afraid to turn the page. Some of Ginnie’s actions are unimaginable. As the book progresses, they just get worse. But are they real?

My first thought was why ex-DI Tom O’Brien remained friends with Ginnie, especially after he married his childhood sweetheart and they had a child, Joe. Ginnie is supposedly a narcissist and a sociopath, and she is dangerous. She claims that anyone who dies that she was close to, died because of her. She alleges that she played a part in all their deaths, even though in some cases it wasn’t physically possible. And no-one believes her. Would you?

I’m not convinced that she is a narcissist and a sociopath. Sociopath maybe, but I don’t believe that her selfish behaviour stems from narcissism. I think she is more likely neurodivergent, in other words her brain is wired differently, and she has never had the support she needed as a child. It wasn’t recognised back then. Or perhaps she’s just a manipulative cow and I’m being too kind, but then so is Tom. She owes him.

In 2015, after Ginnie has been in prison for 30 years, True Crime author Fiona Taylor is writing a book about her called The Killer Inside. Ginnie claims that Fiona bullied her at school – they were in the same class – but once again do we believe her.

Fiona interviews Ginnie and also Tom, who had to retire to a desk job after Ginnie shot him and shattered his leg. That is what she is in prison for, amongst other things, but not for the murders of the nine people she claims to have killed, as there is no evidence.

I’ve never read anything quite like Liar Thief, so titled because those are the two things Ginnie finds unforgivable. Anyone who lies to her or steals from her is a justifiable target for her revenge.

So far Liar Thief could be one of my favourite books of the whole year.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

May Rinaldi is a crime writer from the South-West of Scotland where she lives with her Norwegian husband, and two decrepit cats. She recently retired from her consultancy job in Health and Safety and, in the past, has worked as a taxidermist, mycologist and lab technician, all useful in crime writing – not only can her protagonist poison her victims, she can turn them into an interesting, mounted specimen afterwards.

She is the co-founder of Moffat Crime Fest, bringing top crime authors to the Dumfries and Galloway town of Moffat. She also runs writing retreats in her secluded home where visiting authors are only disturbed by sheep, cows and the dinner gong. She spends her spare time travelling between Scotland, Norway and Gozo, and uses her travels as settings for her books. She is currently working on a Gozo trilogy; the Mediterranean island is as much one of the characters as the people who inhabit it.