Barclay, Linwood: No Time For Goodbye

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Cynthia Bigge woke up one day when she was fourteen years old to find her mother, father, and brother gone. No note. No sign of struggle. No explanation. The police investigation into their disappearance was inconclusive. Cynthia wound up living with an aunt, her mother's sister, and managed somehow to get on with her life. Twenty-five years later, Cynthia is still haunted by what happened, and when a crime-stopper program runs a segment on the cold case, she finds herself thinking about her family's disappearance more than ever. Were they in fact all killed that night? Are they still alive? Did they choose, inexplicably, to abandon her? We watch Cynthia struggle with her past through the eyes of her husband, high school teacher Terry Archer. Since we're not privy to Cynthia's unexpressed thoughts we, like Terry, cannot know for sure whether she's losing her grip on reality--or if something more sinister is going on--when she tells him, for example, that a car has been following her and their eight-year-old daughter, or when she claims to have received a menacing phone call when alone in the house.

Linwood Barclay does a good job of sowing doubts about Cynthia's sanity--and about her culpability in her family's disappearance--but she's not the only one readers have to worry about. For most of Barclay's book we don't know whom to trust. This is not a story that scares with gore and firepower, yet it's one of the most frightening and suspenseful books I can remember reading. In part this may be a function of the ostensible ordinariness of the characters' lives. They're not secret agents or gun runners or private eyes, just middle-class suburbanites. And Cynthia didn't wake up that morning to a bloodbath, something outside of the average experience, but to an empty house--which is far more readily imagined and thus more truly frightening. Barclay also has a delicious way of of casually injecting into otherwise mundane scenes small but heart-stoppingly chilling details.

In short, Barclay's thriller is the sort of book you stay up late reading--I speak from experience--both because you don't want to stop and because the prospect of turning off the light doesn't bear contemplating. It would make a great movie.

Tags: book reviews, books, Linwood Barclay, No Time For Goodbye

Comments

[Kerrie]

1.

this is still on my list of books to read - I have a copy somewhere!

[Tracee]

2.

I also have this book on my bookshelves somewhere -thanks for making me go look for it, it will be something to read in the VERY near future!

[Debra Hamel]

3.

Glad to hear I've sparked some interest! This one was actually my first 5-star book of the year. Can't believe it took this long this year.

[Mrs S]

4.

I'm not usually into this kind of thing - but I'm pretty sold on your review! I think I'll buy a copy for my MIL for her birthday and then borrow it when she's done! *lol*

[Debra Hamel]

5.

Sounds like a plan! I hope everybody enjoys it!

[Maxine]

6.

I read and reviewed this on Petrona -- agreed it is a jolly good book. Glad you liked it.

[Debra Hamel]

7.

Ah, now that you mention it, I do remember reading this one of yours. Here's the link, folks: http://petrona.typepad.com/petrona/2008/01/sunday-salon-no.html

I'm trying to remember why I got this book. I think it was a discovery via Bookins.com. Not sure if that preceded your review or not.

I would say that I preferred the build-up in the book to its solution--but the solution did surprise me. (I had a sort of "Oh, of course, that makes sense" response to it, but I didn't foresee it.)

[sebastien L]

8.

This book seems to be very cool ! I don't used to read thrillers, but this one is appealing !
I'm French, so I hope that it will release in France soon, or that i could read it in English !
I have also a blog, but in french. However i enjov discovering english blogs on books. this one is wonderful.
I'll come back soon !

[Debra Hamel]

9.

Hi, Sebastien. Thanks for dropping by! And for your nice note. If you do wind up reading the book, let us know what you thought.

[Alfred]

10.

Sounds nice..... hope it's a nice book for gift.

[Kerrie]

11.

My review is at http://paradise-mysteries.blogspot.com/2008/05/no-time-for-goodbye-linwood-barclay.html and I did enjoy it Debra

[Debra Hamel]

12.

Excellent, Kerrie! Thanks for the link to the review. I'm glad you liked it. Do you have a system for determining your book ratings?

[Debra Hamel]

13.

Excellent, Kerrie! Thanks for the link to the review. I'm glad you liked it. Do you have a system for determining your book ratings?

[Aaron]

14.

About the book "No Time To Say Goodbye" by Linwood Barclay...you may have to re read this excellent novel to figure out that "Cynthia" had multiple personality disorder and that "Terry" and "Grace" and most other "characters" were all parts of Cynthia's own shattered mind. What caused her to develpe multiple personalities? The trauma of either witnessing her family being killed, or killing them herself. Note the first chapter was written in the third person, then we go directly to the first person style from "Terry's" point of view. Any other reader's come to this conclusion?

[Debra Hamel]

15.

I read it too long ago to be able to respond intelligently to your suggestion. Anyone else with a fresher memory?

[Carlos Mathieu]

16.

Great story! I need to have a copy of this book.