The Face Thief Reviews
"A lot more fluff than thrill ride. Still, undiscriminating mystery and thriller readers will enjoy its fast pace and compelling story." - Library Journal
"Not just a gifted storyteller, Gottlieb (Now You See Him) provocatively explores human relationships and the lies we tell ourselves and each other." - Publishers Weekly
"Though these moves are fumbled, Gottlieb is very good with the incidentals, especially John's relationship with his canny old mother. Gottlieb is never dull, which is a bigger compliment than it sounds, so we keep turning the pages, albeit with a raised eyebrow." - Kirkus Reviews
"A dark libido animates this novel that can't be resisted. The reward is an intimate literary encounter with a force that is beyond good and evil, and turns the mystical screws behind our unfathomable human destinies." - Walter Kirn, author of Up in the Air and Lost in the Meritocracy
"Psychological depth and mystery cast in great sentences: the result is a suspenseful, beautifully achieved example of what happens when a serious novelist wants us to keep turning the pages." - Francine Prose, New York Times bestselling author of My New American Life
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The Face Thief Reader Reviews
Write your own review
Rated 
of 5
by
Shirley F. (Franksville, WI)
Thief of my time
I thought this book would be a fast and exciting study of a sociopathic female. Although the premise of face reading is a little out dated, just like the yoga retreat for sex, the "psychological thriller" aspect kept me going back to the book. For me, however, the aura of mystery presented in the beginning never got off the ground and the characters never really came to life. The story lacked momentum - while there were some background details, the reactions of the characters felt disconnected and most were never explained. By the end of the book, I still had a lot of questions, and it felt like the author had to hurry to finish the story so he introduced a bunch of possible endings to let the reader come to his/her own conclusions.
Rated 
of 5
by
Carmen S. (Elkins, Arkansas)
Good read
Good suspense, interesting characters, the ultimate user novel.
Rated 
of 5
by
Susan S. (Lakeville, MA)
Difficult to get into
I had a very difficult time with this book. I couldn't get into it -- in fact, I started it three times. I had difficulty following the plot and I had to force myself to finish it. The reason why I was initially interested in reading The Face Thief was because of the concept of face reading, but I found the whole idea silly and therefore, could not take this book seriously.
Rated 
of 5
by
Anita S. (BoyntonBeach, FL)
Men spoke a stench
A great book! I loved his descriptive writing and the allusions. At first I was underlining all the wonderful phrases, but there were so many that I stopped. The intertwining of the characters really added to the suspense of this story. The characters were so well defined that I felt that one could have been my neighbor. Loved the story and I will recommend this book to my friends.
Rated of 5
by
Lauren C. (Los Angeles, CA)
Unthrilling thriller
A good thriller moves quickly, taking its characters through lots of twists and turns and keeping the reader second guessing. The author gives enough backstory to each character to make them interesting. Unfortunately, this book has none of these elements.
Almost nothing happens in this book, which is about a woman who may or may not have been murdered and who may or may not have done it. The characters were so uninteresting that I didn't really care who did it, and so few characters were in this book that it had absolutely no suspense. Saying that the plot was thin would be an understatement.
The author also had an annoying habit of having each character think through what previously happened to them instead of actually putting the characters in present tense and making them move around and do something, or finding more subtle and varied ways to insert some backstory.
Skip this book.
Rated of 5
by
Tracy B. (New Castle, DE)
The Face Thief
This book was a mystery based on the turn of phrase. The Face Thief. This was an easy read as the chapters were short pulling me in. At the beginning I wanted the characters to have more depth to them.
The confusion, messy endings,the girl may appeal to a Book Club. Just who is the thief and what was being stolen? Was it one's ethics, human frailties, desires, or all of these? What were the lessons learned by these players, who didn't always know that they were even in a game?
Rated of 5
by
Michael F. (Providence, RI)
A premise unrequited
There is an art to writing a short novel; every word and every character must matter. Unfortunately, the FACE THIEF is filled with characters that are undeveloped and with language that is inelegant, often clumsy. The protagonists do not inspire sympathy or empathy from the reader, and they often act or speak in ways that are just not believable. Most importantly, the promise of a first-rate mystery is never fulfilled. Instead, the story line merely feels disjointed, vague, and unprovocative. The novel reads like a first draft that, with a strong editorial hand, could have been developed into something more interesting.
Rated of 5
by
Kathryn W. (Beaumont, TX)
Nobody to Like
This book reads quickly due to a smooth writing style, but the structure is confusing and complicated. There is really no one in this book to like or with whom one might make a connection. And at the end of the book, I was unsure what had really happened. Maybe it is me, but deliberate obfuscation seems pointless.
Rated of 5
by
Charla W. (biloxi, mS)
Is being a fake somebody better than being a real nobody?
The way the people's lives in this book intertwine is fascinating. At first I found myself wandering what one person had to do with the other. But I kept reading, and shortly it all made sense. I realized that all of the people are linked together by one woman. A woman that is hell bent on destroying every man that she comes in contact with. The woman's name is Margot and she is definitely an interesting character. Maybe she has crossed the wrong person this time because she has had a bad accident that might not have been an accident at all!
Rated of 5
by
Terrie J. (Eagan, MN)
Interesting Characters
I enjoyed this book. Gottlieb built the characters well. The book begins with the main female character and then brings in the other 2 main male characters one at a time. As the book continues, the story connects the characters and keeps you wondering how the plot will play out. It keeps you guessing until the end.
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