Translated mystery – more literature than suspense

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Iiiireader

The Truth and Other Lies: A Novel

By: Sascha Arango

Rating: 3.5 of 5

thetruthandotherlies“The Truth and Other Lies” was listed as a mystery/thriller/suspense book when I chose to read it. After finishing it, I would categorize it as fiction/literature. It is a book that was originally written in German and its reference point is Germany. Due to the translation, it is a little choppy in spots. I have read a number of recently written and translated books and find that this is an issue with all of them. Because of this, I don’t include that as a variable in numbering my review but I do note it for those who prefer not to read a book of this nature.

As I mentioned, the book is literature. There is no whodunnit as we know all along who did it and why. There is an attempt by the local police force to try to find the culprit, so perhaps that is why it is listed as such.

The book is rather dark as we are looking at the world, for the most part, through the eyes of an individual who is not at all appealing. I was unable to actually find a character that I could relate to in the story. They were either nasty and unappealing or not given much depth in the story.

While I didn’t care for the characters, I did appreciate that the plot was interesting and unusual. The end is rather abrupt but there is a hint that that will happen earlier in the story.

I would recommend this story to individuals who like literature, who can overlook the stilted nature of a translated novel, and who don’t demand a full ending to their stories. If any of these issues are ones that you prefer not to deal with, this is not the story for you.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher.

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