Book Review: Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
I had the opportunity of meeting Mr. Barclay and purchased some of his books.
Cover of Never Look Away
Linwood Barclay is a former humour columnist for the Toronto Star Newspaper. He retired a few years ago to write novels – thriller mystery novels.
In Never Look Away David Harwood, his wife and four-year-old son take a trip to an amusement park. What begins as a pleasant family outing turns into a nightmare after an inexplicable disappearance. A frantic search leads to more shocking and harrowing events. Desperate to restore his family David dives into his own investigation. For every new piece of evidence he uncovers he finds more questions and moves even closer to the shattering truth.
This story was definitely a page-turner. Barclay not only writes exciting mysteries, but he always includes the sense of humour that made him famous as a columnist. I met him at an author forum and he is indeed a funny person, someone I would love to encounter more often in my life. I cannot resist including the following introduction to chapter ten:
Dr. Andrew Samuels hated to think of himself as a cliche, but couldn’t shake the feeling that that’s exactly what he was. He was a doctor and he was golfing. Cops ate donuts, postal workers shot each other, and doctors played golf. He hated golf.
He hated everything about it. He hated the walking, he hated having to put on sunscreen when it was a blistering hot day. He hated waiting for the dumb bastards on the next green dicking around, taking their time when he was ready to shoot. He hated the tacky clothes you were expected to wear. But more than anything else, he hated the whole idea of it, using up thousands upon thousands of acres of land so men and women could chase around little balls and drop them into tiny holes in the ground. What a fucking ridiculous idea.
Anyone who knows me knows I am a golf widow so I loved this passage. I’ve read it to several people. But that is not the only thing I liked about this book. A man who loves his family dearly is searching for answers and, unfortunately, he is not taken very seriously by law enforcement as his clues do not match up with the police investigation. One cannot help but side with the protagonist and be frustrated right along with him. It’s a wonderful journey for any reader – a book you just can’t put down.
Never Look Away is Mr. Barclay’s 9th book. I believe he has released two more since this one. I previously did a review on the 10th book, The Accident.
Linwood Barclay & Mary Patricia Bird
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