Unfortunately I took an immediate dislike to the main character (the narrator, Will). He had a deeply flawed personality - by turns bold and weak, and always seeming dishonest. My dislike of him deepened the more I read about him. Meghan on the other hand seemed like a decent, likeable person.

The descriptions of the books and manuscripts, the world of rare book collectors, the settings and scenery - were all excellent.

Several sections of the book are very slow moving. I thought about putting it aside a few times, but decided to carry on to see if my hunch - formed very early in the book - was correct. It was...

So, all in all this book was a "curate's egg" for me - a mix of good and bad.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I read a lot of thriller books and so I often find myself able to guess twists and reveals quite easily. There are still books that surprise me though and I often give them high scoring reviews as a reward! The Forgers, however, has a twist I don’t think anyone could avoid correctly guessing from the outset - it’s so obviously signposted!

We begin with a violent murder – a man is found with his hands not only chopped off but also missing. It’s an action-packed beginning which sets high hopes for the rest. However, about 10 pages after this murder I had correctly guessed the perpetrator and the book then proceeded to dawdle on with not very much happening until it’s conclusion where it finally reveals exactly what it had so obviously spelt out at the beginning of the book. I wouldn’t have minded so much if there was an interesting sub-plot or if the book had even convincingly tried to pin it on someone else but apart from the slightly interesting introduction to the world of forging historical documents absolutely nothing else happens. This is even more disappointing as I can see from other reader’s reviews that this is a prequel and if you have read the other book you know exactly what happens anyway! If this is the case then the author really should have taken the time to focus on either confusing the murder so that the reader is taken on a rollercoaster ride where they don’t know who to trust or what to believe or focused on something else entirely and made the murder a sub-plot.

Our main character for the story is Will who is a very unreliable narrator. Things are murky and confusing in places which add to suspicion and I felt no empathy for him. He also doesn’t really care for any of the characters he meets either which means the reader has no-one to root for through the plot at all. Disappointingly it was all just a bit boring - I found myself skimming the book to get to the end!

Overall, The Forgers was a massive disappointment and one of the most predictable books I’ve read this year. Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books – Grove Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for a (very!) honest review.

A quick read but a good one. Do you know anything about the world of rare books? The forgery of books? For that reason, it's a great read and I was fascinated with the premise.

The ending was a little disappointing as the novel was building up to something else I thought but still, the world of books and the work that goes on behind the scenes of the most rare species was fascinating.

It's a quick read and I think it could have been longer so the world of books could have been even better established.

A good read none the less.

What a brilliant story! A very well told and highly interesting tale set in the world of books, letters and forgery. The narrative is very sophisticated and keeps the reader on their toes with subtle hints and nuances. This is a tremendous book and I would recommend it to all readers who live a good yarn.

The Forgers, Bradford Morrow

🖋This book is told from the perspective of Will, a somewhat reformed forger of books. When his girlfriends brother, Adam Diehl, a collector of rare books is found dead in his home, he and Megan are shocked. Just when Will and Megan are starting to move on from Adam's death Will starts to receive threatening letters in the post. These letters, seemingly from long-dead authors, threaten both his and Megan's happiness and his life.

🖋This book held such potential at the beginning, a murder set in the world of rare book. Unfortunately for me it progressed too slowly. The murder didn't seem like the focus of the book and I was left with some questions unanswered. The narrator, Will, is not a likeable character and while I enjoyed learning about calligraphy and collecting this book just wasn't for me.

🖋Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for the free ARC.

Even without reading the acknowledgements it would be clear that the author is deeply immersed in the book world. The mise en scene as one might describe it, is impeccable. The style is also quite literary, redolent of late 19th/early 20th century first person narratives, while still being totally modern. This gives it the feel more of a romance rather than a murder-mystery.
The story opens with an assault on a well-known book collector, struck on the head from behind at his desk and with his hands then chopped off and taken away by the assailant. He is taken to hospital but dies without regaining consciousness. The implication is that he was a forger, a view certainly held by his sister’s boyfriend, the narrator of the story, a fellow collector but also an expert forger himself. Although investigated as a suspect, he, and all other possible perpetrators are eliminated and the case remains unresolved. The narrator, who marries his girlfriend soon after, begins trying to identify a mysterious ‘stranger’, who appears to be a scout, i.e. someone who searches out rare books and sells them on into the trade. Entanglements ensue as we delve deeper into this secretive and obsessive world and the reader is kept guessing about the truth or otherwise of everything than everyone says and does.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I expected to love this book but I have to confess I struggled with it. It seemed to take an age to get through. I found it a bit wordy and the main character, Adam, to be supremely unlikeable, taken to strange courses of action and motivated by all the wrong things. When a plot point came which seemed like it should have been a big reveal, I felt it had been far too heavily signposted to be anything of the sort. I doubt I would have continued had it not been a NetGalley read.

This novel starts with the brutal murder of Adam Diehl, surrounded by his collection of rare books, his hands removed and bludgeoned on the back of his head. He survives a few days in hospital but to no avail, unable to give any clues to his attacker.

Our narrator, Will, is your classic unreliable narrator. A supposedly reformed forger, he is constantly fighting the almost erotic desire to recreate the words of literary masters. In love with Adam’s sister Meghan he supports her through her loss and they form a cosy life together.

However, all is not so idyllic. Haunted by a spectre of a fellow forger, who sends mysterious notes penned in the hand of famous authors, Will and Meghan retreat to an isolated idyll in rural Ireland, the country of Megan’s birth.

It’s not that easy to run from your past though, as Will is about to find out. A novel of truth and lies, honesty and deception, love and obsession. I loved the literary references, the elevated vocabulary - the narrator is engaging and well created. However, I did felt the plot a little lacking. The big reveal at the end of the novel is not as tense or exciting as it could be and left me a little flat. But if you enjoyed You by Caroline Kepnes, you’ll probably like this too. A great, gripping read.

A good short read. I enjoyed this story but the writing style is different to the type of book I normally read and I think that spoiled my enjoyment of it a bit.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Adam Diehl miraculously survives being wacked over the head before having his hands chopped off but only for a few days. Adam was a rare book collector, dabbling in a little forgery or at least that’s what his sister’s lover has surmised. Will excels in calligraphy, enhancing the value of rare editions by adding beautifully wrought inscriptions and autographs. He’s a reformed character after being caught and convicted but when the police fail to solve Adam’s murder, Will’s investigations may lead him back into his old ways.

Morrow narrates this enjoyable literary whodunnit through Will, a pleasingly unreliable narrator as you might expect from a man who’s made his living from pulling the wool over a multitude of eyes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing is Will’s favourite, both to read and to forge, and the great detective’s spectre hovers over the novel. Morrow has a great line in chapter openers while throwing in some teasing cliff hangers and liberally scattering clues through his narrative. A satisfying, undemanding way to while away a few reading hours.,

I love to read books about books and authors. This short novel had both, as well as forgers, and booksellers. Some parts of the book felt a bit rushed, whereas others didn’t seem to move forward. I think the book should have been worked on a bit more. I felt like the relationship between the protagonist and his girlfriend turned into wife took up too much of the book, and it wasn’t that interesting.

The murder itself got very little space. It felt more like a novella than a book. The writing is flowing quite nicely, and the wording fits the story. I think this one would work better as a serial in a magazine.

A crime thriller with a literary twist - enter the world of rare books from the point of view of ex-forger Will, a reformed criminal with a still-smouldering addiction to his former art. He recounts the mystery of the death of his brother in law, Adam, who was also in the rare book trade and possibly involved in the same murky circles where Will used to ply his craft. While I enjoyed the details of calligraphy, type, and second hand book dealing, I found this a slightly unpleasant read - the narrator wasn’t exactly likeable, constantly lying to his girlfriend and trying to resist committing fresh forgeries, and the book I think is deliberately written in an uneasy fashion - the narrator is spending his time looking behind him for enemies and this makes for disquieting and dark reading. I don’t think this ended up being completely for me but I thank #NetGalley and Grove Press UK at Atlantic Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I enjoyed this book which was a dark brooding story. The narrator is a man with no name figure, who is a reformed forger. Set in bookish New England and rural Ireland, it swaps between the urbane world of first editions and countryside.

When his brother in law dies is horrible circumstances, he is dogged by a mysterious figure from the rare book world wanting to extort money out of him through threatening his reputation and the well-being of his wife.

As the story enfolds, the narrator becomes more frightened of his mystery pursuer and spends increasing amounts of time in a heightened state of anxiety, with the reader wondering whether he will ever find a way be free.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Atlantic Books for the ARC.
I so wanted to like this book - it has a really good beginning: A rare book collector, highly regarded in the world of bibliophiles, is gruesomely murdered at his beach-front home. His books and manuscripts are scattered around the room. Was Adam actually a forger - embellishing the value of rare books by forging the writing of the authors? Will, a convicted but repentant forger, believed he was. Will and Adam never got on, especially as Will was Adam's sister Meghan's lover. Following Adam's death Meghan and Will marry. The murder investigation gets nowhere but then Will starts to receive obviously forged letters from someone who seems to know more than they should about Adam's death; Will has his own secrets and can't go to the police.
Hoping to escape their past lives Meghan and Will move to Ireland, but the past catches up in the form of more letters - Will has to put a stop to this blackmail at any cost.

I'm afraid to say I found this all really rather slow; yes, it was interesting at first to be taken into the world of rare book collectors and forgers, but there were just too many lengthy passages where Will explains his childhood aptitude for calligraphy - promoted by his loving mother, and technicalities of producing the perfect forgery, that my skim-reading skills were frequently employed. It felt at times I was being lectured to.

So, sorry to say I didn't really enjoy this book, nor indeed any of the characters, but if it's your cup of tea then go ahead and read it.

Intrigued by the premise and liking the cover (not something I normally notice) I was looking forward to reading this book. However, given the huge massive spoiler of being told it was paying homage to an Agatha Christie novel I immediately knew "whodunnit". from page 1. I do think this reference should be removed. It gives far too much away and is an enormous spoiler. Sorry to say the book is very dull; there is no pace or tension; it's all very mundane. The characters were rather shallow and uniformly unlikeable. I am not a fan of using nouns as verbs. The language borders on obfuscation. Why use a simple word when an obscure one will do? The author in trying to be too clever reduces the work to slow paced boring. The narrator lacks wit which would redeem some of the pompousness. This really failed in the "whodunnit" stakes. Dame Agatha does it so much better. This is not a rival

I was intrigued by this book as it seemed very different. However, in spite of the potentially interesting world of literary forgery, I found it very dull and plodding. There was no tension, as everything was obvious from the start, and the characters all seemed very one-dimensional. Very disappointing.

I’m curious to know why this hasn’t been published in the UK before now, given that it’s 6 years since US publication and the author is well established. While I’m an avid reader, I know next to nothing about the world of rare books and letters, even less about forgery. This has made me want to find out more. Plus, there’s something alluring about an affluent Manhattan setting. Add in a Long Island retreat and I’m hooked.
In the early part of the book, I was impressed with the narrator, Will; he’s aware of his own weaknesses and failures as well as his skills and sees other people as similarly nuanced. I found the love story between him and Meg believable, enduring despite the difficulties they encounter. I felt a real sense of foreboding as I read on, a creeping dread of what might happen. Just which of Will’s fears will be realised and which are the product of a stressed mind?
It is definitely worth reading to the end. You may even want to go straight back to the beginning to see what you missed the first time.

It was supposed to be a thrilling whodunnit surrounded by a magical world of books and ,obviously, forgers in this particular case..I can't call it a whodunnit as it was pretty obvious from the very beginning, who did it. Through the whole novel it felt like nothing was actually happening and I was waiting for that moment, when everything will twist and turn and something will actually happen. It never did, there was no twist either.. I was left with the feeling of disappointment after questions left unanswered and the whole story had that unfinished feeling. It lacked thrill, complexity and structure in my opinion.

Slow basic plot which doesn’t give any suspense and feels very unrealistic. Characters not very developed who don’t engage the reader.

Bradford Morrow's well written and short literary mystery is one to read for the fascinating insights into the little known world of rare books, and the type of obsessive and driven characters that comprise the book collectors that are engaged in a never ending quest for the rarest copy of a book. It is a trade that goes hand in hand with that which blights the arts generally, the skills, craft and art of the forger, the study of handwriting, the ink, producing the signatures, the inscriptions, the counterfeit letters and more that add value to a book. The forger is rarely troubled by the concepts of ethics and morality, or even in the creation of a false history. Morrow's grasp and knowledge of this strange and odd world is laid bare with the rich descriptions and fine details of this specific book trade, but the literary mystery aspects of the story are thinner and more in the background.

In Montauk, Long Island, rare book collector, Adam Diehl, is found amongst trashed and vandalised rare books and manuscripts, with his hands severed and missing. His sister, Megan, a bookstore owner in New York, is distraught, she is in a relationship with Will, with his past history as a gifted forger, specialising in the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle, now apparently a reformed man. The two men had known each other, thinking little of each other, Adam too was a forger, but not in Will's league. With little in the way of leads, It becomes a cold case, his hands never recovered, and Will starts receiving handwritten letters that threaten, how far will he go to protect the life he has with Megan? Will is the narrator, a suitably unreliable one, of this offbeat story of the rare book world, with its lies, secrets and deception. Many thanks to Atlantic Books for an ARC.