By: Linwood Barclay
Series: Promise Falls #2
ISBN: 9780451472700
Publisher: Penguin/Berkley
Publication Date: 3/8/2016
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Linwood Barclay delivers the second spine-chilling thriller set in the troubled town of Promise Falls, following the electrifying cliffhanger ending of Broken Promise... After the screen of a run-down drive-in movie theater collapses and kills four people, the daughter of one of the victims asks private investigator Cal Weaver to look into a recent break-in at her father’s house. Cal discovers a hidden basement room where it’s clear that salacious activities have taken place—as well as evidence of missing DVDs. But his investigation soon becomes more complicated when he realizes it may not be discs the thief was actually interested in.... Meanwhile, Detective Barry Duckworth is still trying to solve two murders—one of which is three years old—he believes are connected, since each featured a similar distinctive wound. As the lies begin to unravel, Cal is headed straight into the heart of a dark secret as his search uncovers more startling truths about Promise Falls. And when yet another murder happens, Cal and Barry are both driven to pursue their investigations, no matter where they lead. Evil deeds long thought buried are about to haunt the residents of this town—as the sins of the past and present collide with terrifying results.
My Review
A special thank you to Penguin/Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Linwood Barclay heats up the action, drama, secrets, betrayal, and scandal in the fictional Upstate New York small-town of Promise Falls, with the second installment, FAR FROM TRUE, following “Best Cliffhanger Mystery Thriller Suspense Series” Broken Promise, #1, landing on my Top 50 Books of 2015 and teaser novella, Final Assignment #1.5. Barclay fans will love all the characters from previous books: Detective Barry Duckworth (loves his donuts), David Harwood, his parents, Marla, Lucy Brighton, Cal Weaver, Derek Cutter, and Randal Finley, etc….. Keep your score card handy, in order to keep up with all the characters and how each is connected. There are murders to solve, as evil lies from the past began to surface, further complicating the lives of those in Promise Falls. A run down drive-in movie theater, the Constellation collapses, killing four people and injuring others. Demolition was not scheduled for the following week. The owner had sold the property to a developer, Mancini Homes and he and his wife were headed to Florida for retirement. A shootout at the laundromat, an attempt to kidnap a child, and we are just getting started. This was supposed to be the last night at the drive in. Of course Randel Finley, who is trying to work his way back into the good graces of the people and politics, does not listen to David Harwood, former reporter and now assistant to the former mayor. David did not even want this job; however, he needed the money to start his new life over with his young son. David is not cut out for all the drama. He had enough of it with his late wife, Jan, and the episode with Marla and her baby. Even his former reporting days had not prepared him for this kind of unrelenting stress. Detective Duckworth is on the case. In the meantime, Lucy, (daughter Crystal), we met in FINAL ASSIGNMENT, hires Cal Weaver regarding a break in at her dad's house. (Adam) and step mom, Miriam. They were at the drive-in --her father’s Jag car was crushed. Former writer, and bad boy ex Harley biker. (hedonist) Turns out Lucy’s dad was up to no good (naughty, naughty)—a sex room, (a man on the verge of sixty with a younger wife, a past, no new books, a hidden sex room, fully equipped with sex toys, spouse-sharing, prostitution, and a break-in. (how many involved-and participants) ? A missing letter, and an ex wife. Someone is after some incriminating evidence and Lucy is in search for something critical. Her biggest concern is to protect her daughter and provide for special needs. As always, things become complicated, connected, and one thing leads to another. Nothing is how it appears. Everyone has hidden secrets and motives. Connection between Jack Sturgess and Olivia? Now Cal and Lucy become close, jeopardizing the case, a step mom appears, and of course we are updated on the events from the last book, Thackery College drama, the murders of Olivia Fisher and Rosemary Gaynor, blackmail, murder, and last but not least the mystery surrounding NUMBER 23. From the 23 dead squirrels, number on Mason’s hoodie, the three mannequins with “you’ll be sorry” in carriage 23 of the Ferris wheel at Five Mountains—coincidence? The explosion at the drive-in occurred at twenty-three minutes past twenty-three hundred hours. (military time)-No coincidence. Duckworth no longer believed the frequency with which “23” was popping up was just happenstance. Something was going on. Mr. Twenty-three (per media) is tying to scare everyone to death. Terrorism? Finley is such a politician, always working an angle and David may be the person to finally put him in his place (maybe—for 5 seconds). Readers are left with another cliffhanger and new drama. Sorry, folks, we need to wait until the next installment to solve this mystery of Twenty-Three. As I mentioned in my tweet this week to Lisa Unger and Linwood Barclay. I want a joint collaboration to combine both fictional upstate New York troubled cities Unger's (The Hollows) with Barclay’s (Promise Falls). Possibly Unger’s Eloise or Finley (psychics) could head over to Promise Falls to help solve this #23 Mystery. Can you image these two cast of characters in one book, plus the creativity of Unger and Barclay? This would Explosive! Entertaining! Even though I am enjoying this series and a huge Barclay fan, with lots of wit, mixed with crime thrills---#1 Broken Promise was a little more intense; possibly from the usage of so many characters--#2, this go around (making your head spin); a lot of S**T going down. However, anxiously awaiting #3! Highly recommend all his books.
Peyton Place + Desperate Housewives + Murder + Lies + Dark Secrets + Twenty-Three = Promise Falls
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About the Author Linwood Barclay is the #1 internationally bestselling author of thirteen novels, including Trust Your Eyes, A Tap on the Window, No Time for Goodbye and that novel's followup, No Safe House.
This summer, his thriller Broken Promise, the first of three linked novels about his fictional upstate New York town Promise Falls, will be released. Book two will come nine months later, and another nine months after that, the conclusion will be released. Over the years, several of Barclay's novels have been optioned for film and television. Most recently, No Time for Goodbye has been optioned for television in France, and in 2012, Trust Your Eyes was the object of a film rights bidding war between Universal and Warner Bros. After spending his formative years helping run a cottage resort and trailer park after his father died when he was 16, Barclay got his first newspaper job at the Peterborough Examiner, a small Ontario daily. In 1981, he joined the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper. He held such positions as assistant city editor, chief copy editor, news editor, and Life section editor, before becoming the paper’s humour columnist in 1993. He was one of the paper’s most popular columnists before retiring from the position in 2008 to work exclusively on books. In 2004, he launched his mystery series about an anxiety-ridden, know-it-all, pain-in-the-butt father by the name of Zack Walker. Bad Move, the first book, was followed by three more Zack Walker thrillers: Bad Guys, Lone Wolf, and Stone Rain. His first standalone thriller, No Time for Goodbye, was published in 2007 to critical acclaim and great international success. The following year, it was a Richard and Judy Summer Read selection in the UK, and did seven straight weeks at #1 on the UK bestseller list.
The book has been sold around the world and been translated into nearly thirty languages. Barclay was born in the United States but moved to Canada just before turning four years old when his father, a commercial artist whose illustrations of cars appeared in Life, Look and Saturday Evening Post (before photography took over), accepted a position with an advertising agency north of the border. Barclay, who graduated with an English literature degree from Trent University, in Peterborough, Ontario, was fortunate to have some very fine mentors; in particular, the celebrated Canadian author Margaret Laurence, whom Linwood first met when she served as writer-in-residence at Trent, and Kenneth Millar, who, under the name Ross Macdonald, wrote the acclaimed series of mystery novels featuring detective Lew Archer. It was at Trent that he met Neetha, the woman who would become his wife. They have two children, Spencer and Paige. Read More
Broken Promise
Promise Falls #1
7/28/2015
Final Assignment
Promise Falls 1.5
Novella
1/12/2016
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