Book Review- Linwood Barclay- The Accident

Linwood Barclay- The Accident 3 Stars

                                      

Glen Garber’s wife Sheila just died in a car accident. The circumstances seem odd as he doesn’t ever remember her driving drunk before, and now his daughter must continue going to a school where they all know her mother killed two of their fellow students. As Garber digs into the mess he discovers that all may not be as it seems in his peaceful neighbourhood. Friends may not be who they claim to be and this information may just put his family into further danger.

The Accident starts off a little slow for my liking, and takes way too long to get intriguing. I felt that it was just interesting enough for me to keep reading, but when it did pick up it got pretty intense. The plot was decent, with many great twists and turns and an ending you will never see coming. That being said, I felt that there was one too many twists and the plausibility was not always there. Garber seems to be going around in circles and stumbling upon answers/dead people. Too many characters were backstabbing fiends, which kind of hurt what otherwise would have been great characterization. Overall it was an okay one time read; I would not pick it up and read it again.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com.

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Linwood Barclay- Never Look Away

Linwood Barclay- Never Look Away (Anchor Canada 2010) 3.25 Stars

David Harwood is a reporter on the hunt. He is digging up dirt on a privately owned prison wanting to move into Promise Falls, but his newspaper does not seem to be backing him. Deciding to take a break for a day, his family goes to a new amusement park. First his son briefly goes missing and then his wife disappears. Now he must try to locate his wife and wade through all the lies he uncovers, but finding the truth may just destroy everything he thought he had going for him.

I found this novel really hard to get into. The first third was kind of slow moving, but the last two thirds were fast-paced. I enjoyed how much you had to think to figure out just what was going to happen next, although it wasn’t completely unpredictable. I did enjoy seeing the return of Detective Duckworth; although at times he seems a little slow on the uptake. Most of the characters in this book were not really strong in my opinion, just okay. The situations in this novel were not all that realistic, and I must say especially the ending. I was not impressed at all with the ending, it was a disappointment. Overall it was an okay book, but I have seen better by this author.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Linwood Barclay- Too Close to Home

Linwood Barclay- Too Close to Home (Bantam Books 2009) 3.5 Stars

The family next door to the Cutter family is brutally murdered one night in the quiet town of Promise Falls, where the most action comes from the misfit mayor. Now the Cutter family is wondering if they are going to be next. Coming to surface are deep secrets everyone had hoped would stay hidden in the past and things are just a little too close to home.

This novel is not as good as the first novel I read by Barclay, but was decent. I did find that it did not really grab your attention until the last half of the book, but then the last half draws you in and won’t let you go. It had some great twists to it some I saw coming, but the big one I certainly had no idea it was going to happen. I also did not see it ending the way it did. I did enjoy the characters; they fit into their roles wonderfully and were all deep enough for whatever position they were in. I especially liked the humorous mayor. I do wish that it had had a more interesting start, but that being said it was not a boring start. Barclay seems to have knack for twists and for ending well. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a good thriller.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Linwood Barclay- No Time for Goodbye

Linwood Barclay- No Time for Goodbye (Bantam Books 2008) 4 Stars

After a fight with her parents late one night, Cynthia Bigge wakes up to find that her whole family has just disappeared. She was fourteen at the time and after twenty-five years there are still no clues as to what could have happened. Now she has a family of her own, but she is still haunted by the memories of what happened and the many unanswered questions surrounding the circumstances of the vanishing act. Suddenly it looks like it might be happening again, an unknown brown car driving slowly down their street, strange phone calls, and unexplained gifts. Will she find the answers before it is too late?

Linwood Barclay is a new Canadian author to me and was recommended to me. After reading this one I can see why. I enjoyed the book. The whole time I was reading I was like, “Just what exactly is going on here?” I had my suspicions half-way through, but it was no more than that (they turned out to be right, but I had many other suspicions as well). Barclay knows how to keep the reader in suspense and although it did have a slowing down point, I knew that it was building up to something good. The characters were well-created and seemed to jump off of every page. I did find that at a couple of points I was wondering if it could really happen like that, and the other twist at the end I was not too sure about. That being said I really did enjoy this book and would definitely recommend reading his novels.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html