Before I begin, please bear in mind that I don’t claim to be some sort of expert when it comes to reviewing the books I have read. Over the years I have become an avid reader of novels particularly novels within the thriller genre and only yesterday I picked up this novel by Linwood Barclay and began reading. I read the book in one day; I just couldn’t put it down. It is very rare that I find a book so intensely gripping that I just have to read it all the way through so I wanted to share a little of my excitement with you, without spoiling the book too much for anyone who would like to read it.
***WHAT’S IT ABOUT*** Cynthia Bigge is a normal 14 year old teenage girl who wakes up one morning after having had a serious argument with her parents about her behaviour where the last thing she says to them is “I wish you were dead” to find that her entire family; mum Patricia, Dad Clayton and older brother Todd, have disappeared without a trace leaving no note or any indication as to where they may have gone or what has happened to them; posing the question – are they dead or are they alive, were they the victims of a serial killer, or did they just want to punish their daughter for her behaviour.
25 years later and there are still no answers, Cynthia now Cynthia Archer is a grown woman with her own family, a loving husband Terry and a daughter Grace who she seems to smother with her over-protectiveness, but her past still haunts her after all these years. After agreeing to take part in a reality TV show to try and generate some public interest and perhaps
some clue as to what happened all those years ago, a series of events start to unfold the mystery surrounding this tragedy, and raise the question, is it better that some questions are left unanswered? because sometimes the truth isn’t what you want to hear.
***THE CHARACTERS*** This novel hosts a wide range of characters all with a key role to play in Cynthia’s life both past and present.
Cynthia
You can’t help but hold a degree of sympathy for Cynthia’s character, after all she has been the victim of a tragedy…abandoned by her family with no explanation, however you sometimes have to question her irrational behaviour, did she have something to do with her family’s disappearance, has she blocked out what really happened that fateful night in 1983, the emotional trauma leaving her somewhat guarded, paranoid and a little neurotic which is notable in her over-protectiveness where her 8 year old daughter Grace is concerned.
Terry
The story is told from the perspective of Terry, Cynthia’s husband, which I feel, detaches us a little bit emotionally from the main character herself, but this is slowly forgotten about the deeper into the novel you read. Terry is devoted to his wife and daughter and this shines through in his character, he works hard as a teacher and seems to care about the kids he teaches. He has stuck by his wife through the good and the bad and would ultimately do anything for her but there are times when her infatuation with finding out what truly happened to her family wears him down. Without giving too much away, I want to say that it is Terry that ultimately leads us to discovering the truth about Cynthia’s past as he takes us with him on his journey, which has themes of deceit, betrayal, manipulation, and tragedy spread throughout.
Grace
Grace is Cynthia and Terry’s 8-year-old daughter who is utterly adorable and has a keen fascination with outer space and asteroids. Her mother’s paranoia has rubbed off on Grace and every night she feels the need to look for Asteroids heading towards earth so she can go to sleep knowing nothing bad will happen to her family. She also longs for a bit of independence but because of Cynthia’s smothering nature is not even allowed to walk to school on her own. Grace is a very strong character who is very intelligent and intuitive, she knows more about the things her parents are trying to protect her from than they think she does.
Tess
Tess is Cynthia’s aunt, her mother’s sister. After her parents disappeared Tess took Cynthia in and raised her as if she were her own. She struggled financially but managed to make sure Cynthia got through her education, sending her to University where she meets her future husband Terry. Tess is very close to all of her family but of course she lost her sister, nephew and brother in law and so I suppose to a certain extent she has many of the same unanswered questions as Cynthia does and she shares a lot of the sympathy we feel for Cynthia’s character after having endured such a traumatic experience.
Rolly
Rolly is Terry’s boss and a close family friend. Cynthia has known Rolly most of her life and he is somewhat a father figure to her. He was friends with her own father Clayton and I suppose feels inextricably linked to Cynthia and her family. Rolly acts as something of an advisor to Terry throughout the novel, providing a shoulder to lean on and an ear to bend when required, the reliable family friend I suppose you could say.
Vince
Vince is the much older bad boy Cynthia was dating at the time of her family’s disappearance. Quite an unsavoury character whose father has a criminal background involving gang related crimes. From the moment we meet Vince we can’t help but wonder if he himself was involved in the disappearance of Cynthia’s family. He becomes later in the novel an integral part of us finding out what happened on that night but we also discover that he himself endured his own personal tragedy and can’t help but feel a little sympathetic towards his character even though he is himself in his older years a hardened criminal with his own henchmen helping him carry out various criminal activities.
***THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END*** Every novel as you all know has a beginning middle and an end. At the beginning of this novel we are introduced to a 14-year-old Cynthia and her family where the story is told in third person, it is very fast paced and we soon find out about the disappearance of Cynthia’s family. At this point I knew I just had to read on. The middle I felt was somewhat drawn out, but at no point did I feel that it slowed down enough for me to stop reading, and throughout the middle we come across chapters that lead us to believe something sinister is happening with whole chapters written in Italic font making us believe we know what’s going on when really we don’t kind of like hidden clues throughout that aren’t really clues at all. The ending again is fast paced, where things happen one after the other leading us up to the dramatic climax. I have to admit that about 3 quarters of the way through this read I had figured out what was going on, which I found a little disappointing, but nothing could prepare me for the final curtain, a surprise ending that caught me a little off guard, excellent material.
***MY FINAL THOUGHTS*** This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and as indicated one I could not put down, until I had finished. Very well written but perhaps a little drawn out but a real page turner all the same. I have to admit that before this book I had never heard of Linwood Barclay, but I’ll certainly be looking out for his next novel.
I hope I haven’t given too much away in this review and thanks for reading :o)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
On the morning she will never forget suburban teenager Cynthia Archer awakes with a nasty ... more
hangover and a feeling she is going to have an even nastier confrontation with her mom and dad. But when she leaves her bedroom she discovers the house is empty with no sign of her parents or younger brother Todd. In the blink of an eye without any explanation her family has simply disappeared. Twenty-five years later Cynthia is still haunted by unanswered questions. Were her family murdered? If so why was she spared? And if they're alive why did they abandon her in such a cruel way? Now married with a daughter of her own Cynthia fears that her new family will be taken from her just as her first one was. And so she agrees to take part in a TV documentary revisiting the case in the hope that somebody somewhere will remember something - or even that her father mother or brother might finally reach out to her...Then a letter arrives which makes no sense and yet chills Cynthia to the core. And soon she begins to realise that stirring up the past could be the worst mistake she has ever made...
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On the morning she will never forget suburban teenager Cynthia Archer awakes with a nasty ... more
hangover and a feeling she is going to have an even nastier confrontation with her mom and dad. She isn't. Instead the house is empty with no sign of her parents or younger brother Todd. At first she just thinks it's weird then more and more scary until finally the terrfiying reality hits her: in the blink of an eye without any explanation her family has simply disappeared.Twenty-five years later the mystery is no nearer to being solved and Cynthia is still haunted by unanswered questions. Were her family murdered? If so why was she spared? And if they're alive why did they abandon her in such a cruel way?Now married with a daughter of her own Cynthia knows that without answers - however shocking they might prove to be - she will never be emotionally or psychologically whole living in daily fear that her new family will be taken from her just as her first one was. And so she agrees to take part in a TV documentary revisiting the case in the hope that somebody somewhere will remember something - or even that her father mother or brother might finally reach out to her...First nothing. Then just a few crackpots and scam artists coming out of the woodwork. And then the letter a letter which makes no sense and yet chills Cynthia to the core. And soon she begins to realize that stirring up the past could be the worst mistake she has ever made.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
Advantages: An easy to read thriller which has it's moments. Disadvantages: Not as good as No Time for Goodbye, and you can guess the killer rather easily.
very helpful by (100%):
