REVIEW: Fingersmith (Sarah Waters)

Book: Fingersmith

Author: Sarah Waters

My rating: 2.5/5.

Premise: Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves - fingersmiths - under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her 'family'. But from the moment she draws breath, Sue's fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away.

I'm not sure what to make of this book. I can't decide if I wasn't in the right headspace for it or if it just wasn't my cup of tea. The book is in 3 parts. The first follows Sue as she joins a scheme to cheat Maud out of her money. This part was the best. The pace was fast and it ended with a bang. Sue was a likeable character and I loved her relationship with Maud. The second part fell a bit flat for me. We go over the same story from Maud's point of view before continuing onto what happened next for her. I'm not sure I liked Maud but I did feel sorry for her. Once the retelling of part one finishes, the story slows and becomes predictable. The final part goes back to Sue again. I found Sue to be a bit annoying and I wanted to shake her at times for being stupid. Overall, a bit disappointing for me - starts off exciting but then becomes slow and predictable.