Book ~ "Never Saw it Coming" (2010) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ Keisha Ceylon is a psychic. At least, that's what she passes herself off as. The truth is, Keisha's real powers have more to do with separating troubled families from their money than actually seeing into the netherworld. Keisha watches the news for stories of missing family members. She gives it a few days, then moves in, tells these families she's had a vision, that she may have some clue to where these missing people are. And by the way, she charges for this service, and likes to see the money up front.

Keisha's latest mark is a man whose wife disappeared a week ago. She's seen him on TV, pleading for his wife to come home, or, if she's been abducted, pleading with whoever took her to let her go. Keisha knows a payoff when she sees one. So she pays a visit to our troubled husband and tells him her vision.

The trouble is, her vision just happens to be close enough to the truth that it leaves this man rattled. And it may very well leave Keisha dead.

Eleanor wakes up in her car. She realizes she is strapped into the passenger seat, has stab wounds to her stomach and her car is sitting precariously on a semi-frozen lake ... and then the car goes under.

In the meantime, Wendell and Melissa, Eleanor's husband and daughter, are pleading for her safe return and working with the police to ensure that happens. When Keisha comes across situations of missing family members, she approaches them and offers her help as a psychic. It's just a scam for her to take advantage of families ... she gives them just enough high level information (that could apply to anyone) in return for payment. Keisha seems an opportunity and introduces herself to Wendell. Ironically the information she gives him is too close to being true and she has to deal with his reaction.

I've read many books by this author and I thought this one was okay. It is written in third person perspective depending on where the action is. There were some quirky twists that were interesting. I thought the person who admitted to stabbing Eleanor was a bit much and overreacted given the situation. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "I Will Ruin You" (2024) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ How would you react in a life-or-death situation?

It’s a question everyone asks themselves but few have to face in real life. English teacher Richard Boyle certainly never thought he would find himself talking down a former student intent on harming others but when Mark LeDrew shows up at Richard’s school with a bomb strapped to his chest, Richard immediately jumps into action. Thanks to some quick thinking, he averts a major tragedy and is hailed as a hero but not all the attention focused on him is positive.

Richard’s brief moment in the spotlight puts him in the sights of a deranged blackmailer with a score to settle. The situation rapidly spirals out of control, drawing Richard into a fraught web of salacious accusations and deadly secrets. As he tries to uncover the truth he discovers that there’s something deeply wrong in the town - something that ties together Mark, the blackmailer and a gang of ruthless drug dealers and Richard has landed smack in the middle of it. He’s desperate to find a way out but everyone in his life seems to be hiding something, and trusting the wrong person could cost him everything he loves.

What price will he pay for one good deed?

Richard is teaching his class one day when he looks out the window and sees a man entering the school with what he thinks is dynamite strapped to his chest. Not thinking, he dashes out and talks the man, who turns out to be a former student holding some grudges again some teachers, into leaving the school before any students or teachers could be hurt. This draws attention to Richard and the next thing he knows, another former student comes forward to blackmail him for something he said Richard did to him when he was at the school. Richard tries to keep it quiet and handle it even though he is innocent. As he does, he discover his blackmailer may be involved with drug dealers who don't appreciate being ripped off.

I've read many books by this author and I thought this one was just okay. I found some of the decisions some of the characters made were dumb. It is written in first person perspective when it's Richard's voice and third person perspective from other points of view, depending on where the action was. There was a lot going on with many side stories. There was an interesting twist about 3/4 of the way in and the ending came up really quickly. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "The Lie Maker" (2023) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ Your dad's not a good person. Your dad killed people, son.

These are some of the last words Jack Givins' father spoke to him before he was whisked away by witness protection, leaving Jack and his mother to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives as best they could.

Years later, Jack is a grown man with problems of his own. He's a talented but struggling author, barely scraping by on the royalties from his moderately successful first book. So when the U.S. Marshals approach him with a lucrative opportunity, he's in no position to turn them down. They're recruiting writers like Jack to create false histories for people in witness protection - people like Jack's father.

The coincidence is astonishing to Jack at first but he soon realizes this may be a chance to find his dad. Only there's one problem - Jack's father hasn't made contact with his handlers recently and they have no idea where he is. He could be in serious danger and Jack may be the only one who can find him.

But how will he find a man he's never truly known? A man who has done terrible things in his lifetime and made some deadly enemies in the process - enemies who wouldn't think twice about using his own son against him.

Jack is an author. His first two books were minor successes and he's trying to get his third book published but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. He's approached by U.S. Marshals with an interesting proposition to create the back stories of people who are heading into the witness protection program. He will be paid well so he accepts as he has no other prospects and no money.

Jack's father had been put in the witness protection program many years ago and Jack realizes this new job may be a way to track him down and make sure he's okay. So he asks Gwen, his U.S. Marshals contact, to do some digging and she discovers his father has been missing for a while. Jack decides to try and find him, with the help of Gwen and Lana, his reporter girlfriend.

I've read many books by this author and I thought this one was okay. It is written in first person perspective when it's Jack's voice and third person perspective from other points of view, depending on where the action was. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "Look Both Ways" (2022) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ The media have descended on Garrett Island, a small isolated community that is the setting of a visionary experiment. All the residents’ cars were sent to the mainland and for the past month the islanders have been “driving” the Arrival, a revolutionary autonomous vehicle. With a simple voice command, an Arrival will take you wherever you want to go and because the fleet is networked and aware of one another, car travel is now 100% safe. The future, it seems, has arrived.

As the excitement reaches a fever pitch, Sandra Montrose -  islander, single mom and public relations executive - prepares for Arrival Inc.'s flashy press event. Sandra is more than ready for this new world. Her husband died after falling asleep at the wheel and she’s relieved that her two teens, Archie and Katie, will never need driver’s licenses.

But as the celebratory day gets underway, disaster strikes. A visiting journalist has vanished, possibly murdered. Before long, the Arrivals run amok, no longer taking orders from their passengers. They’re starting to organize. They’re beginning to hunt. And they seem hell-bent on killing any human they encounter.

Is this all just a tragic accident, a technological malfunction with deadly consequences? Or were the vehicles programmed to act this way in a cruel act of corporate sabotage? Or could it be that the Arrivals have a mind of their own?

Arrival Inc. has designed a revolutionary car that drives itself ... there's no steering wheel because you don't need one. You name the car and it will do whatever you tell it to do ... they are electric so all you have to remember is to plug it in.

For the last month, the residents of Garrett Island were given one to use and their own cars were moved to the mainland. Arrival Inc. is having a huge media event and Sandra, a widow, a mother of two teens and a local PR rep, is organizing it.  Lisa, the CEO, and her assistant, are there to present about how amazing their cars are. Unbeknownst to anyone, Kyle, the owner of a rival self-driving car maker is also there. He hates Lisa because he thinks she was the one who destroyed his company and wants revenge.

After the presentation, Lisa leads the reporters outside to show off the cars ... and that's when everything goes to hell. The cars suddenly have a mind of their own and they are intent on hunting and killing all the humans on Garrett Island and beyond. Panic sets in as everyone tries to get off the island and/or out of the path of the out of control cars.

While Sandra is managing the wrath of Lisa and her assistant, she has the comfort of knowing that her two children are safe and sound at home ... but are they?

I've read many books by this author and I liked this one ... it's different from his usual style. It is written in third person perspective from many points of view, depending on where the action was.  There was a twist toward the end and I'm still wondering whether I am okay with it. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "Take Your Breath Away" (2022) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace. Most everyone assumed Andy had got away with murder - it's always the husband, isn't it? - but the police could never build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom - he drank too much to numb the pain, was abandoned by all his friends save one, nearly lost his business and became a pariah in the place he once called home.

Now, six years later, Andy has finally put his life back together. He sold the house he once shared with Brie and moved away. Truth to tell, he wasn't sad to hear that the old place was razed and a new house built on the site. He's settled down with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good.

But Andy's peaceful world is about to shatter. One day, a woman shows up at his old address, screaming, "Where's my house? What's happened to my house?" And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, the woman - who bears a striking resemblance to Brie - is gone. The police are notified and old questions - and dark suspicions - resurface.

Could Brie really be alive after all these years? If so, where has she been? It soon becomes clear that Andy's future, and the lives of those closest to him, depends on discovering what the hell is going on. The trick will be whether he can stay alive long enough to unearth the answers.

Six years ago, Andy was spending the weekend with his best friend, Greg ... and that weekend Brie, his wife, disappeared without a trace.  Everyone assumed Andy had something to do with it and Brie was never found.  Andy's life fell apart ... he drank too much, Brie's family continuously tried to prove he killed her, he lost his business, sold their house (which was ripped down and rebuilt) and more.  But six years later, he has gotten things on track again ... he's picking up jobs and he's living with Jayne.

Then Andy gets a call from his former neighbour that someone who looks like Brie just showed up, wondering what had happened to her house.  Brie's family has a sighting outside the hospital where their mother is dying.  Has Brie returned and if so, where has she been?  As Andy tries to figure out what's going on, he has to deal with how it will impact his new life with Jayne.

I've read many books by this author and I liked this one.  It is written in first person perspective in Andy's voice and third person perspective from many points of view, depending on where the action was.  There were a couple twists with the ending(s) and I was okay with them.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "Find You First" (2021) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ Tech millionaire Miles Cookson has more money than he can ever spend, and everything he could dream of - except time. He has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness and there is a fifty percent chance that it can be passed on to the next generation. For Miles, this means taking a long hard look at his past.

Two decades ago, a young, struggling Miles was a sperm donor. Somewhere out there, he has kids - nine of them. And they might be about to inherit both the good and the bad from him - maybe his fortune or maybe something much worse.

As Miles begins to search for the children he’s never known, aspiring film documentarian Chloe Swanson embarks on a quest to find her biological father, armed with the knowledge that twenty-two years ago, her mother used a New York sperm bank to become pregnant.

When Miles and Chloe eventually connect, their excitement at finding each other is overshadowed by a series of mysterious and terrifying events. One by one, Miles’s other potential heirs are vanishing - every trace of them wiped, like they never existed at all.

Who is the vicious killer - another heir methodically erasing rivals? Or is something even more sinister going on?

It’s a deadly race against time.

Miles is a tech millionaire who just found out he has Huntington's disease.  There's no cure and he's going to get progressively worse and there's no way to know how fast he will decline.  He's not married nor has he children but it is a hereditary disease.  More than 20 years ago, in need of money, he went to a sperm bank so there is a chance that he may indeed have children.  He discovers his sperm was used to produce nine children.  He feels it's his duty to let them know they may be carrying the gene for the disease and he wants to ensure they are taken care of monetarily whether they do or not.  So he begins his search to contact these nine people.

Chloe's mother had used a sperm donor many years ago which has prompted Chloe's interest to find out more about her family and also see if she can discover who her father is.  She does a DNA test and discovers she has a half brother, Todd.  She and Todd connect and are happy to have found each other.  Around this time, Miles contacts Chloe because she is on his list and is the closest geographically.  As they are getting to know each other, the others on the list start disappearing which is puzzling.  Is it a coincidence or does it have anything to do with being one on Miles' list?

I've read many books by this author and I liked this one.  The story had lots of twists and turns.  I found it especially interesting because I've done a couple DNA tests and have discovered cousins I didn't know about.  It is written in third person perspective from many points of view, depending on where the action was.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Elevator Pitch" (2019) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets.

Right to the bottom of the shaft.

It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world - and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment - is plunged into chaos.

Clearly, this is anything but random. This is a cold, calculated bid to terrorize the city. And it’s working. Fearing for their lives, thousands of men in women working in offices across the city refuse leave their homes. Commerce has slowed to a trickle. Emergency calls to the top floors of apartment buildings go unanswered.

Who is behind this? Why are they doing it? What do these deadly acts of sabotage have to do with the fingerless body found on the High Line? Two seasoned New York detectives and a straight-shooting journalist must race against time to find the answers before the city’s newest, and tallest, residential tower has its Friday night ribbon-cutting. 

Four random people get on an elevator in an office building in New York on Monday.  The elevator doesn't stop when it's supposed to ... and then plunges to the ground, killing the people inside.  The next day a Russian scientist is killed in an elevator malfunction in another building.  The next day there's another incident with an elevator in another building.  Coincidence?  A man is found murdered ... his head is beat to a bloody pulp and his finger tips have been cut off so he can't be identified.  The head of the Flyovers, a domestic terrorist group, and his wife are in town.  There's a lot going on in the city that week!

Barbara is a journalist who doggedly reports about the mayor, which adds extra pressure for him on top of what's happening with the elevators.  He hasn't always been a nice man and doesn't treat his son, who works for him, very well.  Barbara has a strained relationship with her daughter and things get more tense when she starts working for the mayor.

I've read many books by this author over the years ... some I've liked a lot and some not so much. I thought this one was just okay.  Coming in at about 450 pages, it's long ... and it seemed long.  There were lots of characters (it was hard to keep track of them sometimes).  There were side stories that would have been cut out because they didn't really impact the story (for example, many many pages were devoted to one of the cops who needed a puffer to manage his panic attacks from a previous incident ... huh?!).  It's written in third person perspective from many viewpoints.  I thought the "whodunnit" was a bit convoluted and I didn't really buy it.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Book ~ "Parting Shot" (2017) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ If you made a mistake that took someone's life, you'd remember it ... wouldn't you?

After a tragedy rocks the community of Promise Falls, Cal Weaver is asked to investigate the threats being made to the accused's family. He's heard all about it on the news: the young man who drank too much, stole a Porsche and killed a girl and who claimed afterwards not to remember a single thing. The whole town is outraged that he got off lightly but for reasons Cal can't explain, he accepts the job. Then Cal finds himself caught up in a vicious revenge plot, chasing someone set on delivering retribution. In Cal's experience, it's only ever a matter of time before threats turn into action. 

Brian Gaffney wanders into the police station in Promise Falls claiming he had been abducted, possibly by aliens.  Detective Duckworth initially doesn't believe him but when the man shows him his back, Duckworth discovers a crude tattoo with a message.  As Duckworth hears Gaffney's story, it reminds him of another similar experience someone else recently had so he goes off to investigate to see if the two victims are linked somehow.

Cal Weaver is a private detective who has been hired to protect Jeremy Pilford.  Jeremy was recently acquitted on charges of killing his friend.  They had been partying, got drunk and Jeremy ran her over with the party host's car, killing her instantly.  Jeremy's lawyer got him off with the defense that he had been coddled by his mother all his life and didn't understand the consequences of his actions.  He became known as the "Big Baby" and the target of threats.

Duckworth and Weaver were characters in Barclay's Promise Falls trilogy, which I'd read but wasn't crazy about. I  enjoyed this book a lot more.  There are references to things that happened in the trilogy but this book is independent of that and works as a stand alone.

I've read many books by this author over the years ... some I've liked a lot and some not so much. I like the writing style in this one and was okay with the switching of perspectives ... sometimes it was third person perspective with the focus on wherever the action was and sometimes it was first person perspective (in Detective Duckworth's voice). As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I liked the main characters, Duckworth and Weaver, and would be interested if the author started a new series with these two (I can see that happening).  I think they could work well together.  I wasn't crazy about Duckworth's son, Trevor.  Though he is an adult, he acted like a child at times.

The author is Canadian and the references to Canada are fun ... like Cal having a Toronto Blue Jays ball cap in his car.

Book ~ "The Twenty-Three" (2016) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ Everything has been leading to this.

It’s the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd, and the small town of Promise Falls, New York, has found itself in the midst of a full-blown catastrophe. Hundreds of people are going to the hospital with similar flu-like symptoms - and dozens have died. Investigators quickly zero in on the water supply. But the question for many, including private investigator Cal Weaver, remains: Who would benefit from a mass poisoning of this town?

Meanwhile, Detective Barry Duckworth is faced with another problem. A college student has been murdered and he’s seen the killer’s handiwork before - in the unsolved homicides of two other women in town. Suddenly, all the strange things that have happened in the last month start to add up.

Bloody mannequins found in car “23” of an abandoned Ferris wheel, fiery, out-of-control bus with “23” on the back, that same number on the hoodie of a man accused of assault.

The motive for harming the people of Promise Falls points to the number 23 - and working out why will bring Duckworth closer to death than he’s ever been before.

On Saturday of a long weekend, many in the small town of Promise Falls wake up, enjoy a cup of coffee ... and then become violently ill and die. It's eventually narrowed down that something poisonous was added to the town's water supply.

In the meantime, a university student is found murdered in her dorm room ... the same way two other women in the town were murdered over the last three years.

Randy is the sleazy ex-mayor who is running for mayor again. He owns a bottled water company and generously donates water to the residents of Promise Falls ... but is he doing it because he cares or does he want the free publicity?

David is a former journalist and is now working for Randy. David's girlfriend, Sam, has disappeared with her son and his voice messages and texts to her have gone unanswered. He discovers that her ex-husband has escaped from prison and he is determined to find Sam and her son to make sure they are okay.

This is the third and final book in the Promise Falls series and I've read all three. It could work as a stand alone but I think you'd be better off reading the first two before you read this one. There was a lot going on in the first two (too much actually) and things continue in this one. There are references to the stuff that happened in the other books and if I picked this one up without reading the first ones, I would find it a bit confusing and overwhelming. Even having read the first two, sometimes it took me a bit to remember who was who (there are a lot of characters!) and what had happened to them. Stuff that had happened in the first book had no real relevance in this one (like the history of Marla and her baby) but it was something that was brought up and it just added to the confusion since there was so much going on as it was.

I've read many books by this author over the years ... some I've liked a lot and some not so much. I like the writing style in this one and was okay with the switching of perspectives ... sometimes it was third person perspective with the focus on wherever the action was and sometimes it was first person perspective (in Detective Duckworth's voice). As a head's up, there is swearing (lots of F-bombs).

By the end of this book, the major plot lines of the murders and the significance of the number 23 were finally solved. I found it annoying that when the first two books ended, everything was still outstanding. I like reading books in a series but I like each book in the series to have closure and an ending (so they can work as stand alones) ... the three books in this series didn't (even this book left one of the storylines hanging). You have to read this one (the third in this series) to finally find out whodunnit in the first and second book.

I bought the "whodunnit" of the number 23 incidents but found the the murderer of the women unbelievable.

Book ~ "Far From True" (2016) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ After the screen of a run-down drive-in movie theater collapses and kills four people, the daughter of one of the victims asks private investigator Cal Weaver to look into a recent break-in at her father’s house. Cal discovers a hidden basement room where it’s clear that salacious activities have taken place - as well as evidence of missing DVDs. But his investigation soon becomes more complicated when he realizes it may not be discs the thief was actually interested in.

Meanwhile, Detective Barry Duckworth is still trying to solve two murders - one of which is three years old - he believes are connected, since each featured a similar distinctive wound.

As the lies begin to unravel, Cal is headed straight into the heart of a dark secret as his search uncovers more startling truths about Promise Falls. And when yet another murder happens, Cal and Barry are both driven to pursue their investigations, no matter where they lead. Evil deeds long thought buried are about to haunt the residents of this town - as the sins of the past and present collide with terrifying results.

It's the drive-in's last night in operation and the drive-in is packed.  There is an explosion and the screen tumbles down, landing on two cars killing four people.  Of one those killed is Adam, an author.  Adam's daughter, Lucy, hires Cal, a private detective, to investigate a break-in in her father's house right after his death.  They discover that Adam and his wife, Miriam, had a "playhouse" in their basement where they would film their fun with other couples ... but the DVDs have disappeared so they assume that's what the thief was looking for and had taken.

Sam, who runs the town's laundramat, is in a custody battle for her son with her ex-in-laws (her ex-husband is in prison) and her ex-in-laws will do anything to get Carl.

David, a former journalist, is working for the sleazy ex-mayor, Randy, in his bid to run for mayor again.  It's going against David's better judgement to work for Randy but he needs the job.

This is the second in the Promise Falls series .  I'd read the first one, Broken Promise, in November.  Far From True could work as a stand alone but I think you'd be better off reading the first one before you read this one.  There was a lot going on in the first one and a lot of the things are still continuing in this one.  There are references to the stuff that happened in the first one but if I picked this one up without reading the first one, I would find it a bit confusing and overwhelming.

I've read many books by this author over the years ... some I've liked a lot and some not so much.  I like his writing style in this one and was okay with the switching of perspectives ... sometimes it's third person perspective and sometimes it's first person perspective (when it's Cal's voice).   As a head's up, there is swearing (lots of F-bombs).

By the end of the book, two of the major plot lines are still not solved (the author pulled this stunt in the first book too).  As a writer, he probably did this to build the suspense to entice readers to buy the final book in the series.  As a reader, I found this extremely annoying and after devoting so much time to reading this book (at 480 pages, it's not a short read), he's making me buy the next one if I want to find out the "whodunnits" bad enough.

Book ~ "Broken Promise" (2015) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ After his wife’s death and the collapse of his newspaper, David Harwood has no choice but to uproot his nine-year-old son and move back into his childhood home in Promise Falls, New York. David believes his life is in free fall and he can’t find a way to stop his descent.

Then he comes across a family secret of epic proportions. A year after a devastating miscarriage, David’s cousin, Marla, has continued to struggle. But when David’s mother asks him to check on her, he’s horrified to discover that she’s been secretly raising a child who is not her own - a baby she claims was a gift from an “angel” left on her porch.

When the baby’s real mother is found murdered, David can’t help wanting to piece together what happened - even if it means proving his own cousin’s guilt. But as he uncovers each piece of evidence, David realizes that Marla’s mysterious child is just the tip of the iceberg.

Other strange things are happening. Animals are found ritually slaughtered. An ominous abandoned ferris wheel seems to stand as a warning that something dark has infected Promise Falls. And someone has decided that the entire town must pay for the sins of its past … in blood.

David Harwood, who we met in Never Look Away, is a journalist who was working in Boston.  He moved him and his son, Ethan, back home to Promise Falls so he can spend more time with Ethan.  He had landed a job with the local newspaper, which shut down on his first day.  Until he finds another job and gets on his feet, he and Ethan are living with his parents in his childhood home.

David's mom asks him to take some food over to his cousin, Marla.  Marla is still recovering from the stillborn death of her daughter last year.  When David arrives, he discovers that Marla is taking care of a baby ... an "angel" had apparently dropped him off at her door yesterday.  David finds an address in the stroller and he figures that's where the baby's parents live.  When he goes to the address, he discovers the baby's father had just arrived home from a business trip and his mother has been murdered in the kitchen.  Needless to say, all hell breaks out.

Because Marla has the baby, it is assumed that she also killed the mother and the police focus their attention on her.  In the meantime, the baby's nanny has disappeared and everyone is looking for her for answers.

There is a lot going on besides the main story of Marla and the baby.  Dead squirrels are found tied to a fence.  Something bizarre is found on the ferris wheel at the abandoned amusement park.  There is someone running loose at the university attempting to rape women.  The former mayor, who is a sleaze, wants to run for mayor again is looking to the local police detective for favours and has offered David a job.  David is attracted to a woman who has more baggage than he does.  David's elderly mom is getting forgetful and his dad is fretting over something.

This is the first in the Promise Falls series and it should be interesting to see how the series develops.   I've read many books by this author over the years ... some I've liked a lot and some not so much.  As I was reading this one, I was enjoying it.  In anticipation of future books in the series, I guess, I found there were too many things left unanswered which I found annoying.  I thought the main story was interesting as were the subplots.  I enjoyed the writing style and thought it moved at a good pace.  As a head's up, there is swearing (lots of F-bombs).

Book ~ "No Safe House" (2014) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ Seven years ago, Terry Archer and his family experienced a horrific ordeal that nearly cost them their lives. Today, the echoes of that fateful night are still audible. Terry’s wife, Cynthia, is living separate from her husband and daughter after her own personal demons threatened to ruin her relationship with them permanently. Their daughter, Grace, is rebelling against her parents’ seemingly needless overprotection. Terry is just trying to keep his family together. And the entire town is reeling from the senseless murder of two elderly locals.

But when Grace foolishly follows her delinquent boyfriend into a strange house, the Archers must do more than stay together. They must stay alive. Because now they have all been unwillingly drawn into the shadowy depths of their seemingly idyllic hometown.

For there, they will be reconnected with the man who saved their lives seven years ago, but who still remains a ruthless, unrepentant criminal. They will encounter killers for hire working all sides. And they will learn that there are some things people value much more than money, and will do anything to get it.

Caught in a labyrinth between family loyalty and ultimate betrayal, Terry must find a way to extricate his family from a lethal situation he still doesn’t fully comprehend. All he knows is that to live, he may have to do the unthinkable.

There is a lot of tension in the Archer family.  Cynthia's past causes her to be overprotective of her fourteen-year-old daughter, Grace.  Grace, in turn, pushes back.  Terry tries to be the peacekeeper between his wife and daughter.  It comes to the point where Cynthia feels she has to step away from the situation and moves out for a while.

One night, Grace and her boyfriend, Stuart, break into a house with the intent to "borrow" the car keys and take the car for a ride.  But all doesn't go as planned.  Terry tries to protect Grace, which draws in Vince, a criminal from their past who is somehow involved in it.

This is the 12th book I've read by this author.  I've enjoyed many of his books while I found others just okay.  I hate to say it but I didn't enjoy this one. 

It is the sequel to No Time for Goodbye, which I read (and enjoyed) in 2008.  I don't think the author did a good job tying it in with the earlier book. He'd drop tidbits of info from the first book to catch you up but I didn't find it was enough ... it has been eight years since I've read the first one so I couldn't remember what had happened.  He would have been better off not making it a sequel and using the same story but with new fresh characters. 

It is written in first (in Terry's voice) and third person perspective.  As a head's up, there is swearing.  It's a big book (almost 500 pages).  The writing could have been tighter so it wouldn't have seemed so draggy.  Also, it seemed like the author was trying too hard to establish the suspense ... nameless people have conversations, etc.

I found I couldn't get into the characters.  I didn't find them likeable and couldn't muster up any sympathy or compassion for them.

Book ~ "A Tap on the Window" (2013) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ It’s been two months since private investigator Cal Weaver’s teenage son, Scott, died in a tragic accident. Ever since, he and his wife have drifted apart, fracturing a once normal life. Cal is mired in grief, a grief he can’t move past. And maybe his grief has clouded his judgment. Because driving home one night, he makes his first big mistake.

A girl drenched in rain taps on his car window and asks for a ride as he sits at a stoplight. Even though he knows a fortysomething man picking up a teenage hitchhiker is a fool, he lets her in. She’s the same age as Scott and maybe she can help Cal find the dealer who sold his son the drugs that killed him. After a brief stop at a roadside diner, Cal senses that something’s not right with the girl or the situation. But it’s too late. He’s already involved.

Now Cal is drawn into a nightmare of pain and suspicion. Something is horribly wrong in the small town of Griffon in upstate New York. There are too many secrets there, too many lies and cover-ups. And Cal has decided to expose those secrets one by one.

That’s his second big mistake.

Cal and Donna's son, Scott, had recently died ... he was high on Ecstasy and jumped off a roof.  Cal and Donna are grieving and it's affecting their marriage ... they feel guilty that they hadn't done enough as parents.  Cal's mission is to find out who gave Scott the drugs and make them pay.

Cal is driving home one night and when he stops at a light, Claire taps on his window, asking for a drive home.  He initially says "no" because he's in his forties and she's a teenager.  But when she says that she knew Scott he figures it's okay.  She wants to make a stop on the way and that's when things go wrong.  Cal, a private detective, won't let it go until he figures out what's going on.

I've read many of this author's books and I liked this one.  It had an interesting storyline.  It's a long book, though ... the writing could have been tighter but it got more exciting and the pace picked up toward the end when things were coming together.

It's written in first person, in Cal's voice, so we know what it going on in his head.  There are some chapters that are written in third person in italics but you don't know who the focus is.  I figured it out about halfway through and it was fun to see the author do the reveal.

I liked the characters.  Cal and Donna are surviving the best they can.  The majority of the characters were interesting and not so innocent in their daily lives ... police corruption, infidelity, etc.

Though I've enjoyed some of his other books more, I'd recommend this book.

Book ~ "The Accident" (2011) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ It’s the new normal at the Garber household in Connecticut: Glen, a contractor, has seen his business shaken by the housing crisis, and now his wife, Sheila, is taking a business course at night to increase her chances of landing a good-paying job.

But she should have been home by now.

Waiting for Sheila’s return, with their eight-year-old daughter sleeping soundly, Glen soon finds his worst fears confirmed: Sheila and two others have been killed in a car accident. Adding to the tragedy, the police claim Sheila was responsible.

Glen knows it’s impossible; he knew his wife and she would never do such a thing. When he investigates, Glen begins to uncover layers of lawlessness beneath the placid surface of their suburb, secret after dangerous secret behind the closed doors.

Propelled into a vortex of corruption and illegal activity, pursued by mysterious killers, and confronted by threats from neighbors he thought he knew, Glen must take his own desperate measures and go to terrifying new places in himself to avenge his wife and protect his child.

Bold and timely, with the shocking twists and startling insights that have become trademarks of this new master of domestic suspense, The Accident is a riveting triumph, a book that moves at a breathless pace to a climax no one will see coming.

I enjoy Barclay's writing and this is the ninth book by him that I've read in the last few years.

This book was good. I found, though, that it took me a while to get into it. The first half of the book wasn't all that exciting and kind of plodded along ... but once the second half got started, it really took off. Lots of action and twists and turns with every page I turned.

I was kind of confused about what was happening at first since Barclay was being coy. But once all was revealed, it made sense. And it didn't ruin the story once I knew what was going on.

The endings were satisfying. I didn't see them coming and I bought them. I thought all along that there was something funky going on with one of the people but I didn't have any idea it was as major as it turned out to be. Hard to say anything else without giving it away.

I'd recommend this book.

Book ~ "Never Look Away" (2010) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ A warm summer Saturday. An amusement park. David Harwood is glad to be spending some quality time with his wife, Jan, and their four-year-old son. But what begins as a pleasant family outing turns into a nightmare after an inexplicable disappearance. A frantic search only leads to an even more shocking and harrowing turn of events.

Until this terrifying moment, David Harwood is just a small-town reporter in need of a break. His paper, the Promise Falls Standard, is struggling to survive. Then he gets a lead that just might be the answer to his prayers: a potential scandal involving a controversial development project for the outskirts of this picturesque upstate New York town. It’s a hot-button issue that will surely sell papers and help reverse the Standard’s fortunes, but strangely, David’s editors keep shooting it down.

Why?

That’s a question no longer at the top of David’s list. Now the only thing he cares about is restoring his family. Desperate for any clue, David dives into his own investigation — and into a web of lies and deceit. For with every new piece of evidence he uncovers, David finds more questions — and moves ever closer to a shattering truth.

I must say that it took me a couple chapters to get into this book as I found the writing kind of ho-hum. But I'm glad I stuck with it because once it picks up, it's great.

Jan has disappeared and everything seems to point to her husband, David, to have killed her. The book is written in David's voice so you know what happened through his eyes and of, course, some it doesn't make sense. So you are carried along with him as he tries to figure out what happened and why.

My only real issue is at the end. Ethan, the son, is kidnapped (sorry for the spoiler, folks) and I thought it was lame as to who had done it, why and how that gets resolved.

I'd definitely recommend this one ... I enjoyed it a lot more than his last couple of thrillers.

Book ~ "Fear the Worst" (2009) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ Your daughter doesn’t come home one night from her summer job. You go there looking for her. No one’s seen her. But it’s worse than that. No one’s ever seen her. So where has she been going every day? And where is she now?

In Linwood Barclay’s riveting new thriller, an ordinary man’s desperate search for his daughter leads him into a dark world of corruption, exploitation, and murder. Tim Blake is about to learn that the people you think you know best are the ones harboring the biggest secrets.

Tim is an average guy. He sells cars. He has an ex-wife. She’s moved in with a man whose moody son spends more time online than he should. His girlfriend is turning out to be a bit of a flake. It’s not a life without hassles, but nothing will prepare Tim for the nightmare that’s about to begin.

Sydney vanishes into thin air. At the hotel where she supposedly worked, no one has ever heard of her. Even her closest friends seem to be at a loss. Now, as the days pass without word, Tim must face the fact that not only is Sydney missing, but that the daughter he’s loved and thought he knew is a virtual stranger.

As he retraces Sydney’s steps, Tim discovers that the suburban Connecticut town he always thought of as idyllic is anything but. What he doesn’t know is that his every move is being watched. There are others who want to find Syd as much as Tim does.

But they’re not planning a Welcome Home party.

The closer Tim comes to the truth, the closer he comes to every parent’s worst nightmare—and the kind of evil only a parent’s love has a chance in hell of stopping.

I enjoy Barclay's writing. It's fast-paced and action-packed.

This wasn't a bad story and I will admit that I peeked ahead to see if Sydney was alive at the end of the book (you'll have to read it yourself to see if she makes it).

For a car salesman, Tim attracts a lot of trouble but amazingly is able to able to conquer it.

There is a soap operaist twist towards the end. I can see why it happened (cuz it needed to tie the story together) but I thought it was dumb.

But all in all, I'd recommend it.

Book ~ "Too Close To Home" (2008) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ In a quiet suburban neighborhood, in a house only one door away, a family is brutally murdered for no apparent reason. And you think to yourself: It could have been us. And you start to wonder: What if we’re next?

Promise Falls isn’t the kind of community where a family is shot to death in their own home. But that is exactly what happened to the Langleys one sweltering summer night, and no one in this small upstate New York town is more shocked than their next-door neighbors, Jim and Ellen Cutter. They visited for the occasional barbecue and their son, Derek, was friends with the Langleys’ boy, Adam; but how well did they really know their neighbors?

That’s the question Jim Cutter is asking, and the answers he’s getting aren’t reassuring. Albert Langley was a successful, well-respected criminal lawyer, but was he so good at getting criminals off that he was the victim of revenge—a debt his innocent family also paid in blood? From the town’s criminally corrupt mayor to the tragic suicide of a talented student a decade before, Promise Falls has more than its share of secrets. And Jim Cutter, failed artist turned landscaper, need look no further than his own home and his wife Ellen’s past to know that things aren’t always what they seem. But not even Jim and Ellen are ready to know that their son was in the Langley house the night the family was murdered.

Suddenly the Cutters must face the unthinkable: that a murderer isn’t just stalking too close to home but is inside it already. For the Langleys weren’t the first to die and they won’t be the last.

I've read Barclay's other books and enjoyed them. So I was looking forward to reading this one.

I thought it was so-so, not great.

It's a big book (400 pages) and there are a lot of storylines that all come together in the end. I'd figured out a lot of them. And I didn't buy the ending ... I found it weak.

I liked the main character, Jim, but wasn't all that crazy about his wife, Ellen. Not many of the characters are likeable.

The F-word is used a lot ... I don't think it was necessary a lot of the time.

Book ~ "No Time for Goodbye" (2007) - Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke one morning to discover that her entire family, mother, father, brother had vanished. No note, no trace, no return. Ever. Now, twenty-five years later, she'll learn the devastating truth.

Sometimes better not to know ...

Cynthia is happily married with a young daughter, a new family. But the story of her old family isn't over. A strange car in the neighborhood, untraceable phone calls, ominous gifts, someone has returned to her hometown to finish what was started twenty-five years ago. And no one's innocence is guaranteed, not even her own. By the time Cynthia discovers her killer's shocking identity, it will again be too late ... even for goodbye.

I had really enjoyed Barclay's Zack Walker series earlier this year so was looking forward to reading his latest.

It's definitely a different tone (more serious) than the Walker series. It took me a bit to get into it but I'm glad I did as I enjoyed it.

I cared about the characters, especially Terry, who is the "voice" of the story.

I had the main plot figured out fairly quickly but it was interesting to see how Barclay got us there. But there's a surprise at the end I wasn't expecting.

So would I recommend this book? Yes!

Book ~ Last Resort: A Memoir (2001) - Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ In 1966, when his parents abandoned their suburban Toronto split-level to buy Green Acres, a cottage and trailer resort in Ontario’s Kawartha Lakes region, eleven-year-old Linwood Barclay’s life took an unexpected turn.

No more rec-room train sets. Now Linwood was hauling fish guts to the woods for burial, answering distress calls from women in the ladies’ room who found themselves without toilet paper, and standing in leaky chest-waders pounding dock posts into the lake bottom.

The chores weren’t so bad, especially when he could help his father, who had been a commercial artist before he bought his way into the tourist business. And in other ways, it was a good life for a boy. He had wheels (a John Deere riding mower), a small aluminum boat with a 9.5-horsepower outboard and only one speed (fast), and Chipper, a dog that chased boats the way other dogs chase cars, sometimes with catastrophically comic results. Linwood also had access to The Chart, a cottage reservations list that was, for him, a guide to the arrivals and departures of the guests’ teenaged daughters. Summer romances could be as intense as they were heartbreaking.

When he was sixteen, an unexpected tragedy changed Linwood’s life again. His older brother, Rett, helped out as best he could, but he was wrestling with demons of his own – often withdrawing into his own complicated inner world. Linwood found an extended family in the resort’s guests, who lent him a hand, and shaped him into the man he would become.

His mother’s eccentricities (she quit driving to shame the police for having given her a ticket) made Linwood’s new responsibilities heavier than they might otherwise have been. When he finally decided to move away from Green Acres to make a separate life, she made it as difficult as possible for him.

In the midst of all this, Linwood found his vocation, and mentors, too, in Margaret Laurence, and in Kenneth Millar, who (under the pen name Ross MacDonald) wrote a highly successful series of detective novels.

In this memoir, Linwood Barclay looks back with humour, sadness, and affection on the singular circumstances of his coming of age.

In the last couple months, I've discovered and read Barclay's Zack Walker series and really enjoyed them.

This bio (I enjoy bios) was also a good read as it was funny, honest, sad (with is brother's illness and his father's death) and frustrating (I would have had very little patience for the antics of his mother but he handled her very well).

My friend, Deb, lives not too far from where Green Acres is so I've been to some of the places he described.

I would definitely recommend this book!

Book ~ "Bad Move" - Linwood Barclay (2004)

From Goodreads ~ In the too-quiet town of Oakwood, only the lucky die of boredom... and new homeowner Zack Walker isn’t feeling lucky. Whoever said the burbs were boring will think twice after reading Linwood Barclay’s hilarious debut mystery, in which Dad learns the hard way that he doesn’t always know best.

Zack wouldn’t blame you for thinking he’s safety-obsessed. True, he masterminded a plot to trade his family’s exciting city lifestyle for one of suburban tranquillity. True, even after this strategic move, Zack still has issues with family members who forget their keys in the front door, leave their cars unlocked, or park their backpacks at the top of the stairs — where you could kill yourself tripping over them. Just ask his wife, Sarah, or his teenage kids, Paul and Angie, who endure their share of lectures.

Zack knows that he needs to chill out and assume the best for once — but we know what happens to those who assume.

When Zack realizes their two-faced developer sent a petty thief to fix their leaky shower, he starts fighting hard to ignore the fact that Oakwood isn’t the crime-free paradise he was hoping for. But his brief state of denial comes to an abrupt end when, during a walk by the creek, he stumbles across a dead body. Even more shocking, Zack actually knows who the victim is — and who might want him dead.

With a killer roaming around their neighborhood and Zack’s overactive imagination in overdrive, he’s sure things can’t get any worse. But then another local is murdered — and Zack’s paranoid tendencies get him implicated in the crime. While his wife is trying to remember why she married him in the first place, and his kids are considering whether it’s time to have him committed, Zack decides there’s only one thing he can do. To protect his family — and avoid being busted for a crime he didn’t commit — he’s going to have to override his safety-first instincts, tap into his delusions of machismo, and track down the killer himself.

With reading this book, I've finished the series of four "Zack" novels by reading the first one last. Ha! There had been small references in the next three books so now I know what they meant.

This was an enjoyable read as I've gotten to know and like Zack, Sarah and their kids. I found the first part of the first chapter a bit slow but it picked up very quickly after that. And just when you think the book is over, it's not.

I'd definitely recommend this book and the series if you are looking for a mystery that isn't too heavy. The characters are likeable and the style is funny and sarcastic, which I enjoy.