Monday, August 24, 2009

Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

I fell in love with Mr. Barclay's work when I read his first book in a cozy mystery series surrounding a goofy dad who worked as a comic book author and have enjoyed his books ever since. I have been dying to read Fear the Worst since I first learned it was coming out and was so happy to finally pick it up from the library. It was another great book by Mr. Barclay, and I give it an A-.

Inside cover:
Tim is an average guy. He sells cars. He has an ex-wife who's moved in with a man whose moody son spends more time online than he should. Tim's girlfriend is turning out to be a bit of a flake. It's not a life without hassles, but nothing will prepare him for the nightmare that's about to begin.
His daughter, Sydney, has vanished into thin air. At the hotel where she supposedly worked, no one has ever heard of her. Even her closest friends seem to be at a loss. Now, as the days pass without word, Tim must face the fact that not only is Sydney missing, but that he may not have known his daughter as well as he thought.
As he retraces Sydney's steps, Tim discovers that the suburban Connecticut town he always thought of as idyllic is anything but. What he doesn't know is that his every move is being watched. There are others who want to find Sydney as much as Tim does.
But they're not planning a welcome home party.
The closer Tim comes to the truth, the closer he comes to every parent's worst nightmare- and the kind of evil only a parent's love has a chance in hell of stopping.

Mr. Barclay does such a great job writing books that are fast-paced, suspenseful, and have a touch of humor in them. Though the book's topic is heart-wrenching and the suspense is at top speed, there are little parts here and there that entice a chuckle or small smile out of you. I loved Tim and thought he was a wonderful character. A dad who loves his daughter and will do anything for her, but isn't so blind with his love that he doesn't see the stupid things that all teenagers do. I can't recommend Linwood Barclay books enough, and if you haven't checked one out from him, I highly suggest you run and get one! The reason for the A- and not an A is because of one little aspect of the story that seemed just a bit too unbelieveable for me and one that I really thought didn't have to be added to the story.

I am not sure what I am going to read next. I still have some library books, including a biography that I would like to get to, but I really need to start reading some of my own books for the RYOB challenge. I can't believe August is almost over already! The job still stinks, and I am absolutely dreading going, but I am not going to let it ruin my evenings when I am home and can relax with a good book like I did yesterday. I am going to hop in the shower right now and sneak in a few chapters of one of my own books before bed time. Happy Reading everyone!

3 comments:

Staci said...

*bowing head in shame* I've never read Barclay!!! Sounds like I'm missing out on some good reads. Think I may just start with this one!! Especially because you gave it an A-!!

Kristie said...

Staci his books are so good! Check one out from the library... you won't regret it!

Thoughts of Joy said...

I really enjoyed this one, too! I have one more on my iPod that I hope to get to within the next couple of months.