First look: Liar Liar by MJ Arlidge

Penguin wanted to have some fun with its mail-out for the fourth MJ Arlidge novel, Liar Liar. The book arrived in a mysterious box, and was further concealed in a red fire blanket cover. Accompanying it were some sparklers, and two packets of Mystical Fire. If you sprinkle this product on your wood fire, it’ll produce a brilliant display of colourful flames. We’ll try that later. In addition, the press release has been burned – truly – so it’s missing a corner.

Ah, so the pun is Liar Liar, pants on fire. The book itself is about a serial killer who has apparently set three fires on the same night in the port city of Southampton. DI Helen Grace and her team realise this is no thrill-seeker, but who is he targeting, and why is he targeting them?

The press release likens MJ Arlidge’s writing to that of Jo Nesbo and Mo Hayder, and the author certainly has pedigree beyond his three currently released Helen Grace novels. He’s busy writing on the TV programme Silent Witness and his audio-only Six Degrees of Assassination has been an Audible bestseller.

We reviewed MJ Arlidge’s debut Eeny Meeny back in 2014. In a short space of time Penguin has pumped out two further ones – Pop Goes the Weasel and The Doll’s House. Liar Liar arrives on 10 September and is 442 pages in extent. It’s priced at £3.99 for Kindle and you can pre-order it here.