Take Your Breath Away

Take Your Breath Away is Linwood Barclay's 21st crime thriller. Barclay has written a few short series but this book is a standalone novel. It was published on May 17, 2022.

The publisher's summary:

One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace. Most everyone assumed Andy had got away with murder—it’s always the husband, isn’t it?—but the police could never build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom—he drank too much to numb the pain, was abandoned by all his friends save one, nearly lost his business, and became a pariah in the place he once called home.

Now, six years later, Andy has finally put his life back together. He sold the house he once shared with Brie and moved away. To tell the truth, he wasn’t sad to hear that the old place was razed and a new house built on the site. He’s settled down with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good.

But Andy’s peaceful world is about to shatter. One day, a woman shows up at his old address, screaming, “Where’s my house? What’s happened to my house?” And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, the woman—who bears a striking resemblance to Brie—is gone. The police are notified and old questions—and dark suspicions—resurface.

Could Brie really be alive after all these years? If so, where has she been? It soon becomes clear that Andy’s future and the lives of those closest to him depend on discovering what the hell is going on. The trick will be whether he can stay alive long enough to unearth the answers.

The book is billed as suspense. However, I think it is more realistic to call it a crime thriller. There was some suspense but it was not tightly written as you would normally see with a suspense novel. The characters were masterfully drawn. Their backgrounds are what created most of the suspense. With their backstories being slowly revealed the reader comes away with the thought that perhaps they could be motivated to kill. As far as whether Brie was or was not alive, the author was able to keep us guessing until the end. ( )

What actually happened to Brie Mason?

Was she really seen at her old home, in the hospital parking lot, and in her mother's hospital room after her disappearance six years ago and after being declared dead?

No one knows for sure because the photos they captured on security cameras are too blurry, she was too far away when she was recognized, and her dying mother wasn't the best person to believe she had talked to Brie.

These sightings brought the pain and questions back for the police and especially Andrew.

How could this be happening? He has a new life, a new name, a new girlfriend, and a baby on the way.

The police still considered Andrew the prime suspect, but there was no evidence to prove he was guilty.

There definitely are many characters who could be suspects, but Mr. Barclay keeps us guessing and in the dark as he leaves his thoughts hanging at the end of the chapters and leaves us thinking it seemingly could be anyone one who killed Brie or kept her away for those six years.

Then we meet another shady character...then more twists happen....then it gets tense...then your jaw will drop.

TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY won’t disappoint Mr. Barclay’s fans.

Do you think you will be able to figure out what happened?

Let everyone know if you do. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher for an honest review. ( )

I loved the ending, did not see that coming at all. This was very well written, I didn't want to put it down but I had to do house chores, boo.

Looking forward to reading more books from Linwood in the future. ( )