Author: Linwood Barclay
Publication: Delacorte Press (March 2, 2010)
Product Description from Amazon: In this tense, mesmerizing thriller by Linwood Barclay, critically acclaimed author of Fear the Worst and Too Close to Home, a man’s life unravels around him when the unthinkable strikes.
A warm summer Saturday. An amusement park. David Harwood is glad to be spending some quality time with his wife, Jan, 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. His paper, the Promise Falls Standard, is struggling to survive. Then he gets a lead that just might be the answer to his prayers: a potential scandal involving a controversial development project for the outskirts of this picturesque upstate New York town. It’s a hot-button issue that will surely sell papers and help reverse the Standard’s fortunes, but strangely, David’s editors keep shooting it down.
Why?
That’s a question no longer at the top of David’s list. 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.
My Thoughts: This is a traditional thriller which is a little outside the genres I read most frequently these days.
Newspaper reporter David Harwood is investigating a new for-pay prison coming to town. He has evidence that at least one member of the coucil is being bribed but is discouraged from pursuing the lead by his boss at the newspaper (who wants to sell land for the new prison to keep the paper afloat) and the prison owner who is a real psycho.
But that just starts David's problems. He goes to an amusement park with his wife and son and only two of them come home. What follows is a complete tangle. David is a likeable character with a Don Quixote complex. Readers will root for him as he tries to untangle the mess his life has become. Secondary characters are also well characterized if a little stereotypical. This is a quick, engaging read.
I received my ARC as a part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. If you read thrillers, this one should go on your TBR list.
I've been really wanting to read this one! Your review makes me want to read it even more now!
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