No Time for Goodbye

From Amazon:

Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke one morning to discover that her entire family–mother, father,brother–had vanished. No note, no trace, no return. Ever. Now, twenty-five years later, she’ll learn the devastating truth. Sometimes it’s better not to know. Cynthia is happily married with a young daughter, a new family. But the story of her old family isn’t over. A strange car in the neighborhood, untraceable phone calls, ominous “gifts”–someone has returned to her hometown to finish what was started twenty-five years ago. And no one’s innocence is guaranteed, not even her own. By the time Cynthia discovers her killer’s shocking identity, it will again be too late . . . even for goodbye.

My Thoughts:

Can show more Linwood Barclay write a bad book...or even a mediocre book? It seems the answer is a resounding "NO WAY!". No Time for Goodbye is certainly not the exception. The novel is more character than plot-driven. There is a clever, intricately-woven plot, but what distinguishes this novel from the typical thriller is that the characters are like real people. Barclay has the ability to draw us into the lives of his characters and we come to genuinely care for them...even those that are portrayed as slightly on the bad side:) With these cleverly written characters comes some truly touching passages. It's not a novel that you will immediately know what is happening...you THINK you do...then it changes. Again Linnwood Barclay has produced an incredible story. 5 Stars show less

This was my first Barclay and it will most definitely not be my last! Fourteen year old Cynthia Bigge wakes up one morning to find her entire family vanished. Their cars are gone and there's no sign of them. No sign of foul play, no note, no evidence of any kind. It's now 25 years later and Cynthia has a family of her own, a great husband and an 8 year old daughter. Strange things start happening, as if someone is trying to dredge up the past, reopen the mysterious disappearance of her family. Is she just paranoid? Is she crazy? Did she do it? This is just the start of a fast paced, well plotted series of events that lead us to what really happened that night in 1983. Excellent characters, some you love, some you hate, some you cheer show more when bad things happen to them. This was very tense, which is very fun! Will recommend to anyone that loves a good mystery, loves to try to figure it out but hates when it's too easy. This one had me guessing the whole time. show less

WOW. What can I say about this book that could possibly do it justice, while being careful not to over-hype? Very little, I suspect, so here goes:

This was quite honestly one of the most gripping, suspenseful books I've read in a long time. The plot is relatively simple: a 14-year-old girl wakes up one morning only to find that her family has vanished. Everything in the house is there, but the people are missing. Where did they go? Why did they leave? Why did they not even leave a note or say goodbye? Nobody knows, and Cynthia Bigge has to live her life with the mystery.

Then, 25 years later, when she's married and has her own daughter, she starts receiving mysterious phone calls, seeing strangers in the neighbourhood, and generally being show more informed that whatever happened when she was 14 hasn't been finished. What happened? Does she even want to know?

I managed to devour this book in a few days. Dangerous to read on the bus lest you miss your stop. Linwood has written an excellent story and the narrative voice is consistent, with good pacing and dialogue. And unless you're some kind of whiz-kid super genius (or read spoilers) you're not going to figure out the ending. It's quite the shocker. And the last page may cause you to shed a tear. It's a wonderful, brilliant book, and it is well deserving of the hype it's had in Britain. If you like tense, well-written thrillers with no really graphic violence, this book is for you. show less

I came late to the Linwood Barclay party, but I'm enjoying catching up. I enjoyed the "voice," the story, and the pacing of No Time for Goodbye, although I did have a problem or two with the book over all.

This plot is very carefully constructed. Seemingly unimportant objects mentioned casually are mentioned for a reason, and the same holds true for characters. Speaking of characters, my favorite was young Jane Scavullo, a troubled teen with so much potential. I don't know if she shows up in another Barclay novel, but I certainly wouldn't mind seeing her again.

Now for the two things that rubbed me the wrong way. Quite frankly, I found main character Cynthia Bigge to be a royal pain in the neck. Everything is about her. No one can voice show more an opinion if it might be "against" her, and she's in real danger of smothering her young daughter. Yes, it's realistic behavior for someone whose family vanished without explanation, but that doesn't mean I have to like her.

The other thing that bothered me was the explanation for what actually happened to Cynthia's parents and brother, so I can't say much about it without giving it away. I'll just say that Barclay's solution was a bit over-the-top for me, and I had trouble suspending my disbelief enough to accept it all.

But Linwood Barclay can write like a house afire. I love his plots, I love his voice, and just because I didn't like one of his characters doesn't mean I'm going to stop reading his books! show less

This thriller by Linwood Barclay had me sitting up late at night, reading just one more chapter, and one more. I give it 4.5 stars.
When Cynthia Bigge is fourteen, her parents and older brother disappear from the house, never to be seen again. No bodies are found, no signs of foul play. It is as if they just walked away. But if they weren’t murdered, why did they leave? Did they hate her so, to abandon her? Twenty five years later, Cynthia takes part in a television program to publicize cold cases. She could never have imagined what would happen next.
First, there is a mysterious letter. Then a phone call, an e-mail. Suggesting something is going to happen, hinting her family is still alive. Cynthia questions her own sanity, her husband show more [and the main part of the story is told from his point of view] questions it too, and their daughter Grace is seemingly untroubled except she looks through her telescope every night before bedtime to check there is no asteroid heading for earth to destroy their world. There are a great deal more of excellent supporting characters.
This is a classic thriller. Who to believe? Is Cynthia’s family dead or alive? Who is contacting her now, the murderer? Is Cynthia so stressed that she is fabricating things? As the clock ticks, the police seem suspicious and there are more deaths, until a clue, something so ordinary it has been overlooked, suggests the truth. show less

Cynthia Bigge was fourteen years old when she woke one morning to find her family gone. No note; no sign of struggle; no explanation. The police investigation into their disappearance was inconclusive. Cynthia wound up living with an aunt, her mother's sister, and managed somehow to get on with her life. Twenty-five years later, Cynthia is still haunted by what happened. When a crime-stopper program runs a segment on the cold case, she finds herself thinking about her family's disappearance more than ever. Were they in fact all killed that night? Are they still alive? Did they choose, inexplicably, to abandon her?

The story is told through the eyes of her husband, high school teacher Terry Archer. Barclay does a good job of sowing show more doubts about Cynthia's sanity - and about her culpability in her family's disappearance - but she's not the only one readers have to worry about. For most of the book we don't know whom to trust.

This is not a story that scares with gore and firepower, yet it's very disturbing. In part, this may be a function of the ostensible ordinariness of the characters' lives. They're not secret agents or gun runners or private eyes; they are people just like us. And Cynthia didn't wake up that morning to a bloodbath, something outside of the average experience, but to an empty house--which is far more readily imagined and thus more truly frightening. Barclay also has a delicious way of of casually injecting into otherwise mundane scenes small but heart-stoppingly chilling details.

In short, Barclay's thriller is the sort of book you stay up late reading - because you don't want to stop -and because the prospect of turning off the light doesn't bear thinking about. It will make a great movie. show less

Looking for a thriller that you don't want to put down? Then you need to read No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay.

This book is definitely a page turner! Cynthia's paranoia - is it in her head? Something she's doing - maybe a split personality? What happened to her family? Are they really dead? I cannot imagine for even a second that my family would just disappear. It's not even in my ability to imagine. Knowing that, I can imagine how if that were to happen, how messed up I would be. How I really would have trust issues. And abandonment issues. And, really, all sorts of issues! (And, yes, I know I already have issues --- these are not what I am referring to!)

The book is written primarily from Terry's, Cynthia's husband, point of show more view. And it's easy to see he wants to believe her and yet also easy to believe that maybe she's finally cracking up after 25 years. The characters are quite real, flawed, and I could imagine all of them in my town. I felt myself rooting for Cynthia not to be crazy, but boy howdy! I probably would have had her committed! LOL

I read this book all today. It was a perfect day for reading and the perfect book as I didn't want to put it down. I highly recommend this thriller. show less