Customer Reviews

Too Close to Home

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I hadn't even heard of Linwood Barclay less than a month ago but after discovering his sensational novel No Time for Goodbye I eagerly looked for everything else he'd written. Too Close to Home is another sensational Harlan Coben style novel with a totally different plot but written in the same way that No Time for Goodbye was.

Like with No Time for Goodbye we the reader are initially inside the head of not who will become the main character of the book but one of their family members in their teens. This time around we've got Derek whose got a plan to climb into his next door neighbours, the Langley's wallspace, so when they lock their house and depart on a trip he can unlock the backdoor and let his girlfriend Penny in for a few days of alone time and the action he's been waiting all his life for. Problem is his plan starts falling apart when the Langley's unaware he is in their house open the front door and are gunned down. Derek is undiscovered and spared as obviously no one expected him to be there, only he can't tell his parents or anyone else he was there or they'll punish him.

The main character of narrator of the book is Derek's father Jim Cutter. Jim has no idea why the family next door was gunned down but theorises his family is safe due to even if being a totally random killing the killers wouldn't come back to the same area twice. Promise Falls is a small town after all. It is only when he discovers some of his son's activities with the neighbour boy before he was shot, and his son is in fact in possession of something the killers may have been after, and is also reminded of the fact that many people including the postman have mistaken the Langley's house for his address that the question dawns on him, what if the killers went to the wrong house?

This is a can't put down thriller with a mystery angle as we the reader ponder until the final pages why were the Langley's murdered? Jim Cutter is an extremely likeable character as well. The book also has its fair share of unlikeable villains too which makes it that much more enjoyable. Plus Barclay while telling this story, gives a few brief paragraphs of a novel called A Missing Part, which is quite interesting. Hopefully like Dean Koontz did with Santa's Twin which we saw glimpses of in his earlier novel Mr. Murder, we'll one day see A Missing Part written in full as well.

Too Close to Home is a great book, can't wait to see what else Linwood Barclay has written! If you haven't read Barclay yet but like Harlan Coben, Joseph Finder, James Siegel, Matthew Klein and the other masters of this genre, then you'll love Too Close to Home!

This is the second book I've read from Linwood Barclay and there are certain common elements in each of them. The bottom line is Barclay is a far better storyteller than writer. The characters are shallow and the dialog in this one, as well as "No Time For Goodbye" is banal and unrealistic; however, the plot itself keeps the reader engaged and turning the pages. The story is generally well-crafted; however, the "twist" in the plot is a dead-giveaway for anyone paying the slightest attention. The problem, to me, is that characters just relate to each other in ways that seem forced. An educated, artistic couple swear repeatedly in casual conversation with their teenage son. A woman has an affair with a man and, not only does her husband manage to get over this transgression, but he is actually accepting of her working for the same man she cheated with. The main character is intelligent enough to figure out complex aspects of the mystery, yet he is foolish enough to let his son work alone with a mysterious stranger, who happened to show up just after several murders were committed in town. And, as seems to always be the case in pop culture, the evil intolerant politician here is once again a "right winger". It would be refreshing if writers and movie producers made the bad guys left wingers from time to time. Lord knows, there are plenty of real life examples to use for reference.

Overall, this is a decent read, even if the ending is a bit predictable and far-fetched at the same time.

Jim Cutter is shocked when his neighbours, the Langleys, are murdered, but even more shocked when it turns out that Derek his teenage son is keeping a secret about the crime and that all the evidence points to him. As suspicion turns on his family, Jim starts to do some investigating of his own into who might have committed the murders. As he starts to uncover some long-buried secrets, his own life comes under risk.

This is the second book by Linwood Barclay that I have read. I enjoyed No Time for Goodbye, but felt that the ending let it down. Too Close to Home is just as readable but also hangs together better. It's an accomplished mystery that grabs you early and keeps you turning the pages late. Linwood Barclay's writing style is similar to that of Harlan Coben's and the cliffhanger endings to each chapter keep you wanting to read just one more. There are a lot of different strands to the book (at least one of which is a total red herring), and while parts of the mystery are quite predictable, there were a couple of twists that I definitely didn't spot in advance. The final resolution is somewhat far-fetched (so often the case with this genre), but overall it's a clever story that's been well thought through. The central narrator is likeable and the relationship with his teenage son feels very believable.

I do have one significant criticism of this book and it's hard to explain it without giving anything away, but there's one central secret that someone has kept because they thought they would be compromised and I just didn't believe that they would have felt the need to do that. However I still really enjoyed Too Close To Home. I read this book when I was in hospital recently and it was the perfect lightweight diversion. If you like Harlan Coben's books, I'm pretty sure that you will enjoy this too.

I can't believe this book got such high ratings. I bought it because according to the people that bought this book, it was great...a very suspenseful page turner. It was not a thriller in any sense of the word. And the so called twist, was dopey. The characters were not any that I could root for. From the way the husband acted, punching out the mayor, its no wonder his son wound up in jail. The wife was ridiculous and the husband was even more ridiculous for putting up with her bull. I found it hard to believe this story. I bought his other book "no time for goodbye" based on the rave reviews for this one. I'm only hoping its better than this one (which won't be hard).

I bought this book after seeing a review on the cover saying something like, "If you like Harlen Coben, you'll love Linwood Barclay". This book is nothing like Harlen Coben. Harlen Coben thrillers keep me interested. This book fizzled after the prologue. As soon as the story switched to first person writing in Jim's point of view, the story went downhill. For some reason, I didn't like Jim or Ellen for that matter.

Last year when I read an earlier Linwood Barclay, the story was pretty good, but a bit too contrived; I felt a little manipulated. Lately, I've read several books where, halfway into the story, I've wondered if it would ever be possible to become enthralled.

TOO CLOSE TO HOME by Linwood Barclay (2008) captured my attention within the first few paragraphs, and had thrown the first whammy by the end of Chapter One.

The plot moves, mutates, and continues to surprise. By the time the story is into its final arc, tall tales are being told, but I never felt disconnected. The twists in the plot provide continuing, and captivating, interest.

The protagonist is my favourite kind: fallible, quirky and kinda loveable.

TOO CLOSE TO HOME was a very satisfying story.


Theresa de Valence, Reviewer, [...]

Too Close To Home was fantastic. One of the best books I have read, and I read about 3 books a week. You cannot stop reading this as you can't wait to see what will happen next. I read this in 2 days.

Experienced and excellent best describes narrator Christopher Lane. He has read more than 150 audio books - thus, you name the genre and he can personify it. He's taken home an Audie Award and an Audiofile Earphones Award - with Too Close To Home he takes listeners on an 11 hour journey as psyches are probed and the unthinkable happens.

Promise Falls is a small town in upstate New York. It's unlike other towns in that area as a triple murder has just been committed, a family is shot to death in what should have been the safety of their home. It was a hot, steamy summer night when the Langley's and their son, Adam, died. Despite the proximity of their homes and the stillness of the night their next-door neighbors, Jim and Ellen Cutter did not hear a thing.

The Cutters believed they knew their neighbors; their sons had been friends; they shared neighborhood gatherings. All of Promise Falls was shocked by this heinous crime, unable to comprehend how it could have happened. If the entire populace is stunned, think how the Cutters might have felt? What is going through their minds?

Author Barclay has crafted a compelling psychological journey. Might Jim Cutter be wondering if the killers had gone to the wrong house, fearing what might happen next? As for Ellen, what of her? Has she kept things from both Jim and herself?

Another explosive page-turner from Linwood Barclay.

- Gail Cooke

Promise Falls, New York is a small town where big crimes are never supposed to happen. Teenager Derek Cutler hides in his neighbor's basement crawlspace waiting for them to leave so he have some cuddly time with his girlfriend Penny. When they finally go, he takes a tour of their house, but hears a noise and scurries back to his basement hiding place. The Langleys have returned home because the wife felt ill. Derek waits for them to go to sleep so he can sneak out. Someone enters the house and shoots the entire family; Derek flees without talking to anyone including the police about what he witnessed.

The police find a suspect who lied to them. They realize Derek was in the house when the homicides occurred based on phone calls he made. His earring is found in the bed of the late mother and the blood on his sneaker belonged to his friend Adam. The cops arrest Derek; however other evidence surfaces exonerating Derek who is freed from imprisonment as the charges are dropped. His parents fear the nightmare has just begun as a cold blooded killer is still on the loose and their family may be the target.

Linwood Barclay creates a great complicated crime caper that seems so genuine especially for anyone who has a teen in the household. The murders strip away the veneer of safety in the small town ands secrets become known that were never meant to see the light of day. The only moralistic person in Promise Falls is Derek's dad Jim who always wants to do the right thing, but also realizes how difficult that can be with so many choices to make that harm perhaps kill someone; often an innocent. Although he knows there is NO TIME FOR GOODBYE with his expecting a stalking killer coming their way, his cerebral ethical pondering adds depth to a strong whodunit that will have sub-genre fans seeking Mr. Barclay's backlist.

Harriet Klausner.

I am an enthusiastic fan of Never Look Away: A Thriller and Fear the Worst: A Thriller my first two Linwood Barclay books. This book continues in the tradition of many film noir thrillers - the regular guy who gets his whole life overturned by some sort of crime and how he reacts to it. Unfortunately, "Too Close to Home" was not the equal of those two books.

In "Too Close to Home" we meet the Cutter family, a mom, dad and a teenage son. The neighbors are brutally murdered one night and the family skeletons start to come out of the closet in a big, big way as the police begin to investigate everyone who even might be connected to the victims.

This was precisely the problem with the book in my opinion. This family has too many skeletons. Every few pages there is a major plot twist with a "sit down, I've got to tell you something moment."

I am still giving the book 3 stars out of 5 because Barclay makes you want to keep pushing on - even though you know it is just going to get more complicated to the point of being silly.