Fear the Worst (edition 2010)

This is a light read for when you don't want your brain to be too taxed. Not too obvious, but not unsolvable and not un-put-down-able. ( )

WARNING: This review contains spoilers.

****

Of the three Linwood Barclay stand-alone thrillers I've read (No Time For Goodbye, Too Close to Home and Fear the Worst), this one took me the longest to become really involved in the characters' plight. Perhaps it was because, while I can sympathize with Tim Blake's distress at the thought of his daughter going missing, I couldn't really *feel* it because I am not a parent and don't actually possess much maternal instinct. To compare with the other two, I could fully imagine the horror of waking up one morning to discover my whole family was gone, or the next-door neighbours being murdered and realizing that the killers had visited the wrong house. Also there was a lot of discussion of cars at the beginning (fitting, considering Tim works at a car dealership), and it didn't sound quite natural to have a protagonist talking that way. But then I reasoned, well, if this is really a car salesman telling his story, of course he's going to describe the cars a lot, and it'll sound awkward until you get used to it.

However, don't let this first paragraph make you think I disliked the book. Far from it. Yes it took a chapter or two to get into it, but once I was in, I was hooked. This is a tense, puzzling plot. Where has Sydney Blake disappeared to? Why are the staff at the hotel where she worked insisting that they'd never heard of her? What has happened? As Tim gets deeper into the mystery, it turns more and more nightmarish, and the reader gets sucked in as well. Linwood has excellent plotting skills, as usual, and no narrative element is wasted. Also this is probably one of the most interesting explorations of the theme of "your past actions will come back to haunt you" I have ever come across -- sperm donors may be rather unsettled after reading this.

Verdict: Recommended for Linwood fans. Newcomers may want to try Too Close to Home first before coming to this one. ( )

I found this book very gripping and entertaining. His work is very similar to the works of Harlen Coben in that their books both contain plenty of plot twists that present themselves in unexpected ways. If you like Harlen Coben, I recommend Linwood Barclay. ( )

Exciting unpredictable storyline about a man's relentless search for his missing daughter. Fast moving and entertaining - highly recommended. ( )

Tim Blake goes to pick up his daughter after work only to find everyone denies she ever worked there. He then spends the rest of the book desperately searching for her and trying to unravel the mystery of where she is and why, whilst others try to stop him at every turn.

As usual a high quality plot and characters which reminded me of Harlen Coben's plotting, high praise indeed! ( )