Lone Wolf (Zack Walker Book 3)

Linwood Barclay's third book featuring feature writer Zack Walker is unlike the first two in some ways. In Bad Move and Bad Guys the trouble that Zack unwittingly finds himself in is closer to home: his wife and children are threatened directly, and to an extent matters are exacerbated by Zack's tendency to worry over much about safety issues. In Lone Wolf Zack hightails it up to his father's fishing lodge upon hearing that a man has been mauled by a bear on his father's property. Once arrived, Zack finds himself compelled to stay for a few days and take care of his father's business. But that's all the time Zack needs to land in the customary hot water--though this time around Zack's tendency to worry excessively doesn't really come into play: the small town is riven by a controversy involving the participation of a gay and lesbian coalition in an upcoming parade; the Barney Fife-ish local sheriff is not up to the task of investigating a murder; and a family of Timothy McVeigh-worshipping wackos is renting a house from Zack's father. There are personal issues to deal with as well: this book may not be centered on Zack's wife and kids, but it is concerned with family. Happily, private eye Lawrence Jones, whom we first met in Bad Guys, sweeps into town in his shiny blue Jaguar to help Zack sort things out.While different from Barclay's previous Zack Walker books, Lone Wolf is as compulsively readable as they are. It was interesting to see Zack's family history rounded out some: we learn here, for example, that Zack's tendency to act like a jerk when concerned about his family's welfare is an inherited trait. (Though it is hard to believe that his father's misbehavior mirrored his son's, or vice versa, quite so precisely.) Still, I'll be happy to see Zack back on his home turf again.-- Debra Hamel

I've read and reviewed Linwood Barclay's BAD GUYS and BAD MOVE, and so I was disappointed when I started reading LONE WOLF.I was expecting the same degree of humor and page-turning suspense that I'd come to expect after reading his previous books. It was definitely Linwood Barclay. Same prose, same approach to story writing, but so, so boring. I usually read books in a matter of days. A week tops. I bought LONE WOLF on September 8th, 2012. I kid you not. I gave up on it and tried again twice last year. Finally, a week ago, having finished the new Harlan Coben, Nelson Demille, and Jonathan Kellerman books, I finally decided to give LONE WOLF a final try.About halfway through the book, things started getting interesting, a lot funnier, and a lot more like his other books.But no reader should have to endure such boredom through chapter after chapter to get to the good stuff. Sorry.There are two instances of what anyone familiar with firearms would consider glaring mistakes that caught my attention. One, a gun doesn't go off when it's dropped. Two, shotguns fire shot and in some instances slugs, not bullets. But then I realized that since the story is told from the first-person perspective of Zack Walker, a guy who admits in the narrative that he knows nothing about guns, the misconceptions about firearms actually make perfect sense.Anyway, by the end of the book, Linwood Barclay manages to redeem himself. Barely.I just visited his website and noticed Stephen King has endorsed Mr. Barclay's most recent novel, TRUST YOUR EYES.I'm going to get it. I just have to know what Linwood Barclay did with his writing to deserve such high praise from the one-and-only Stephen King.If it hadn't been for that endorsement, however, I think I might have dropped out of the Linwood Barclay fan club.If you like Linwood Barclay, have nothing better to read, and are willing to suffer through a snail-paced beginning, then buy LONE WOLF. Otherwise, I'd give this one a miss.

I have found a new author to talk about at the bridge club - and it is LINWOOD BARCLAY. I started out with his TOO CLOSE TO HOME. Then went to FEAR THE WORST, then NO TIME TO SAY GOODBYE. I knew after the first one that I was hooked. I need to warn you, however, if you do not like the F word, especially coming from the mouths of teens, then you won't like these books. One of the ladies in the bridge club said she wanted to put it down a couple of times because she didn't think teens would talk that way to grownups, found that she couldn't and read to the end. She didn't want to read any others, though. In my own case, I just skip over words, sentences, paragraphs that I find boring or useless (in any book - not just his) and finish reading if it is good. AND HIS BOOKS ARE. And I realize there are households wherein kids talk like that in front of parents. Barclay has 4 books in this series and they should be read in order. They are1. Bad Move (2004)2. Bad Guys (2005)3. Lone Wolf (2006)4. Stone Rain (2007)These are books where you can see yourself swept up into these situations and that is the charm of each.If you like mysteries, you'll love these.

Linwood Barclay is fun to read. Stories are good, fast, and full of real humor. The characters seem real. This is the third book in the Zack Walker series, and yes, read them in order. I gave BAD MOVE and BAD GUYS four and five stars. This book LONE WOLF gets five stars too. Zack Walker is a every man hero that is so funny. He is a writer of sci-fi, a collector of sci-di memorabilia, and a part time writer working for his wife at the local paper. He is so cautious in life and this helps lead him into wild adventure, funny for the reader. He two kids and wife are a hoot. In this book Zack is called to his father's fishing cabins after a bear attack there. The story is a detective style tale, like the others, but from an everyman perspective. This book finds Zack the lead investigator! The book is loaded with interesting rich characters, but doesn't present a deep mystery to get bogged down in. I enjoy the books. Great beach reads. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED....the series. On to STONE RAIN..Trixie is in trouble!

This is one of a four book set, each story can stand alone although best read in order. They are far fetched, really very funny, thrilling and clever with outlandish bad guys. The lead character is flawed but loving, always trying to do the right thing which gets him more often than not into serious trouble. In my opinion these four books are excellent reads.

Brilliant! Barclay certainly knows how to bring characters to life, the best Zack Walker book so far. I’m actually sure I’ve read this before so maybe I somehow got hold of the original book published in the States although I seem to remember more hilarious scenes involving the “diaper man”, maybe the storyline has changed slightly? Whatever, a very enjoyable read and I look forward to the fourth book.

Very enjoyable read with writing that can evoke the picture and scene. Easy reading. I always enjoy Linwood Barclay. I look forward to the book in this series.

Linwood Barclay is a Canadian author and writes with real humour, but to get the best out of his books, start with Bad Guys and read on. Even then, as this was his first book you have to get past the first 40 pages to understand where it is going. Thereafter it is a great read and Lone Woolf is the third book, followed by Stone Rain. Enjoy!

Another amazing murder mystery from the talented Linwood Barclay. Lots of twists and turns. An engrossing read. I am pleased with my purchase and would buy again.