Never Look Away: A Thriller

I read a lot on my kindle, I probably have over 500 books! Picked this one out of my collection and couldn’t put it down! Such an excellent read, twists and turns with every page! Liked his writing so much I bought 6 more books just now!

**There may be a spoiler in this review**Goodreads Description- A warm summer Saturday. An amusement park. David Harwood is glad to be spending some quality time with his wife 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. 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.After beginning this book I realized that I had read this a few years ago and I must say it was just as good the second time around as the first. The writing and plot remind me quite a bit of Gillian Flynn's recent bestseller, Gone Girl. The story sounds out describing a fairly "normal" couple, David and Jan Harwood. David is a reporter at the local newspaper doing a story on the intended development projects of a for-profit prison on city land and the possibility that some council members are being paid for their votes. Jan has been having a difficult time emotionally going so far as to hint that she has thoughts of suicide. David, worried about his wife, thinks that her idea of spending a day at the new amusement park will be a way for Jan to get her mind of her worries and to spend time with their son, Ethan. Soon after arriving, Jan realizes that Ethan has been taken and they immediately separate to find their missing son. Little does David know that that is the last time he will see Jan. He quickly finds Ethan safe in his stroller and goes to meet Jan but she never shows up at the meeting spot. This begins the story of David's life unraveling before his eyes. Over the next few days, David realizes that Jan isn't who she says she is and their life has been a con.The author does a good job of setting up the plot in advance so everything unfolds for the reader as it does for David. It was chilling watching how everything David thought was true in his life is turned upside down. The reader is in excellent hands with Barclay who is able to spin a tale of absolute psychological suspense and the lengths people will go to when things go bad. 4 stars!

This book grabbed me from the first page. I didn't want to put it down. How well do we ever really know someone? How do we know we can we trust someone? How can we tell when someone is lying; or not really who or what they seem to be? Can we even trust our own judgment? These are the questions a young reporter faces when his wife suddenly disappears during a family trip to a local amusement park and he becomes the main suspect in her disappearance. What follows is a riveting tale of suspense with more twists and turns than the roller coasters that fascinate, but also terrify, the couple's four-year old son in the opening pages. Who better than a reporter to unravel the twisted plot his wife has devised to set him up as a murderer, then disappear; leaving all the clues pointing directly at him? Despite the lack of a body, the police and the whole town are convinced that she's dead and he's a murderer. This frees her to hook-up with her old, ex-con boyfriend to recover a cache of jewels they had stolen together years before, and can finally cash in on. After five years of playing the perfect wife and mother under an assumed identity, her dream of living the high life in some far flung, exotic locale, is finally within her grasp. The only flies in the ointment are her love for her son, and the courier she maimed during the robbery, who is now stalking her for revenge. Throw in a few subplots, including conspiracy, bribery, kidnapping, and betrayal, and you are just about ready to take the steepest plunge down the highest hill on the biggest roller coaster in the park. I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did!

More twists than a rollercoaster. Absolutely brilliant writing!! Linwood Barclay is my favourite author. Many a happy hour has gone by for me reading his books.

I've read three books by Barclay now and he is fast moving up my list of favorite authors.In this standalone thriller, Barclay's fourth, reporter David Harwood begins to notice his wife Jan is acting strangely. For no apparent reason she seems to be depressed, so a trip to the amusement park with their young son Ethan seems like a good idea, but shortly after they get to the park Ethan goes missing and when he's finally found, no one can locate Jan. Some people aren't even sure she was there at all.This book is full of interesting twists and turns. It's well pacing and dynamic. The characters are complex and believable, some more fully fleshed out than others, but all interesting and well drawn. The villains are disturbing because they seem quite believable, and the dialogue is well written. Chapters alternate between the first person account of David's search for his wife and third person narratives around a few other characters, including Detective Barry Duckworth, a tenacious and intelligent, hungry man.There have been very popular thrillers, some made into movies, that weren't nearly as good as Never Look Away. I read Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, similarly about a spouse who disappears, and Never Look Away is SO much better. I couldn't put the book down, stayed up late to finish it, and enjoyed the ending -- very twisty and fun.Note: David Harwood's story is continued in Barclay's 9th standalone, Broken Promise.

David Harwood is a reporter at a struggling regional newspaper. One minute it appears the only thing he’s got to worry about is keeping his job as he tries to uncover a network of bribery and corruption while working on the story of a lifetime. The next, he learns his wife is having her own troubles. Not realising the seriousness of it, he tries to juggle the two, which is where it all begins to go wrong and David’s life changes overnight.A great story. It had me gripped from the beginning. There were characters who had me rooting for them, those I loved to hate, and some well… I guess you’d have to judge for yourself.Very cleverly written, this is a pacey read and there were times I really couldn’t put it down.I loved it.

This book is one from my own personal book shelf. Linwood Barclay has a new book coming out in April which I have ready to read and review courtesy of Netgalley. I love Linwood's books so much that I try to keep some in reserve, so I decided it was time to read this one, as I know I have the pleasure of a new one in weeks to come.Only gripe I have is that these books are not numbered and you have no way of knowing which ones to read first, so I had read Broken Promise the book that follows this one, and knew that something had happened to David Harwood's wife Jan but not what. I'm still confused why that book is called Broken Promise Falls #1. Maybe that is all part of some bigger scheme on Linwood's part.Putting all that aside, the plot was as usual fantastic. Yes some of it is a little unbelievable but as they say "truth is often stranger than fiction". Near the beginning of the book David sets out to look for his wife, and something he uncovers made me literally gasp out loud, and yet again there it was - the hook.. So many little subtleties that start to stack up, you are thinking "how is it ever going to come together?", but as always it does.The book did have me wondering would there be any way out for David? It is difficult to review this genre without giving away spoilers. All I can say is that to me Linwood is the master of this genre - I've never read a bad one yet - bring on the next one........I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

And it's a fantastic book. There's a lot of twists and turns that were unexpected, although I did predict a couple of them!The story is about David Harwood, whose son, Ethan goes missing on a day out to a theme park. He and his wife, Jan frantically search for him, and David finds him. But when he's found Ethan, he can't find Jan, who disappears until the end of the book. The story moves on very rapidly, as more and more is revealed, such as the fact she was suffering from depression, and the only person who noticed is David, which plays a major part in the book. I would tell you more, but I'd end up spoiling everything for you. I also liked the ending, as you get the answers you have looked for throughout.I enjoyed the way the story was told; the way the chapters were told from different perspectives throughout as it gave a good insight into what was happening, and a very strong storyline, with twists that make you want to read on.Fully recommend it for a captivating read. It has 513 pages, and I have finished it in 3 days including work and sleep time!

This is my first Linwood Barclay novel and certainly won't be my last. Never Look Away sets a cracking pace with so many twists and turns that it made my head spin. I have to admit I sort of guessed what the outcome would be about 3/4 in but getting to that point was very exciting and made for a good thriller! Mr Barclay certainly knows how to keep the suspense going although the ending was rather silly, to my mind the book could have ended 2 chapters in from the end and it would have been more satisfying. Also note there is rather a lot of swearing from a certain character which I never condone no matter what type of character (and they are usually the deadbeats) says them, while it may be the norm in today's society I just feel if a book is worth its salt there is no need for it. However, having said that, I really enjoyed the book and will look forward to another read from this author. Thank you Linwood.

I really enjoyed this book though a few parts of it were very similar to something else I've either seen on TV or read in another book. I liked David a lot, he made me laugh. Despite the nightmare he was living he kept his sense of humour.I only happened across 2 missing apostrophes, I think it was, and one missing word. That alone merits an extra star. Such a pleasure not having to trawl through something full of spelling mistakes or a scarcity of grammar. I have to wait out this author's books dropping in price before I get them so I'm always lagging behind.I was surprised a lot of previous readers weren't that keen on this offering from him since I enjoyed it so much. It kept my interest all the way through and it wasn't one of those when you dread picking up your Kindle again !! Lots of twists and turns which I like.