No Time For Goodbye (Kindle Edition)

by Linwood Barclay (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Barclay (Bad Guys) tugs hard on the heartstrings with the tragic tale of Cynthia Bigge, whose parents and brother vanished without a trace the day after she had a tempestuous teenage argument with her father. Twenty-five years later, raising a daughter with her husband, Terrence Archer, in Milford, Conn., but still haunted by her family's disappearance, Cynthia goes on TV to talk about what happened and plead for clues. A mysterious phone call leads her to believe her father, at least, may still be alive, but as her excitement grows, so do Terrence's worries. It soon appears that someone is playing a unexpectedly vicious game with Cynthia's emotions, and that her family held secrets she never suspected. Though some plot twists require significant suspension of disbelief, skilled characterization and convincing dialogue more than compensate. (Oct.)
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From Booklist
After turning out four mystery novels featuring science-fiction author Zack Walker (the most recent is Stone Rain, 2007), Toronto Star columnist Barclay pens a stand-alone thriller that carries his signature blend of humor and suspense. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge wakes up one morning to find her entire family gone. Twenty-five years later, their unexplained disappearance still haunts her. She agrees to appear on the reenactment show Deadline, hoping the TV exposure might provide her with some answers, although her husband, English teacher Terry Archer, is considerably more skeptical. Indeed, not long after the show airs, the two are shaken down by a psychic, receive a series of bizarre phone calls, and become the victims of a break-in, although nothing is taken; instead, something is left—a hat that Cynthia is convinced belonged to her father. As Cynthia's paranoia escalates, Terry's patience wears thin, and the two decide to hire a private detective. That's when the mayhem starts. Despite a few implausible plot turns, this fast-paced read is bound to please, offering an especially intriguing premise and plenty of irreverent humor. Wilkinson, Joanne

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 363 KB
• Print Length: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (September 25, 2007)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000W8HC8S
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,105 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite thrillers of the year, September 29, 2007

By	Overworked writer (Maine USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Time for Goodbye (Hardcover)

I'm in publishing, so I get the chance to read quite a few thrillers before they're released, and NO TIME FOR GOODBYE made my top-10 list of the year. The premise is stunning: a teenage girl wakes up to find her family gone. Her father, mother, and brother have simply vanished, leaving her to deal with the painful aftermath of abandonment. Or are they dead? She never finds out... until years later, when she's happily married, with a child of her own. Suddenly new clues arise that make her wonder if her parents and brother may still be alive. But then, why did they leave her?

It's her husband who narrates the tale, and as the story twists and turns, even he wonders about the sanity of his own wife. The ending is a stunning surprise. Deeply satisfying, emotionally wrenching, this is one terrific book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just a thriller, November 9, 2007

By	Robert Deutsch - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: No Time for Goodbye (Hardcover)

No Time for Goodbye is marketed as a can't-put-it-down suspense thriller, and while the description is appropriate, the book is much more than that. Like Linwood Barclay's novels featuring Zack Walker, No Time for Goodbye is more character- than plot-driven. Yes, there is a clever, intricately-woven plot, but what distinguises this novel from the typical thriller is that the characters seem like real people, not just convenient plot devices. Barclay has the ability to draw us into the lives of his characters, so we come to genuinely care for them, and don't want anything bad to happen to them. And, most unusual for a novel in the suspense genre, there are some truly touching passages, at least two of which brought tears to my eyes. This is definitely not your run-of-the-mill suspense thriller.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the serials, October 23, 2007

By	Dave Schwinghammer "Dave Schwinghammer" (Little Falls, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: No Time for Goodbye (Hardcover)

I read NO TIME FOR GOODBYE because of the hook: a rebellious teenage girl wakes up in the morning to find her entire family gone. The story then moves ahead twenty-five years and Cynthia Bigge still has no idea what happened to her family.

Most of the story is narrated by Cynthia's husband Terry Archer. He's an English/creative writing teacher in Milford, Connecticut. Linwood Barclay wisely incorporates Archer's job environment, making the story seem more real. He is good friends with the principal, who knew Cynthia's father, and there's a talented young girl in his writing class, Jane Scavullo, who only does well in his class. Both will play huge roles later on in the plot. When Cynthia begins receiving strange messages Terry reluctantly sets out to find out what's going on.

There's also a dialogue going on between two mysterious characters. The reader naturally assumes they're Cynthia's lost mother and brother, still alive. Cynthia was raised by her aunt Tess, who when she is diagnosed as terminally ill, gives Terry clues as to what happened to Cynthia's family.

One of my favorite characters was Vince Fleming, the boy Cynthia was with the night her family disappeared. Fleming has criminal ties, but he's going with Jane Scavullo's mother and he's bonded with Jane. Vince furnishes the clue that sets Terry on his way to solving the dilemma.

If you're paying close attention, there's an early clue that'll give the whole plot away. I knew what was going on about twenty pages in. Some of the other connections---Terry's principal's involvement in the plot, Jance Scavullos relationship with the boy Cynthia was with during the night her family disappeared---seem a bit too convenient, but you can find that in any book if you look hard enough. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. Non-serial thrillers have one advantage over serials: You never know for sure if one of your favorite characters is going to make it.