Too Close to Home: Amazon.co.uk: Linwood Barclay: Books

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

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3.1 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you turning the pages, 9 Sep 2008

By	Julia Flyte - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Jim Cutter is shocked when his neighbours, the Langleys, are murdered, but even more shocked when it turns out that Derek his teenage son is keeping a secret about the crime and that all the evidence points to him. As suspicion turns on his family, Jim starts to do some investigating of his own into who might have committed the murders. As he starts to uncover some long-buried secrets, his own life comes under risk.

This is the second book by Linwood Barclay that I have read. I enjoyed No Time for Goodbye, but felt that the ending let it down. Too Close to Home is just as readable but also hangs together better. It's an accomplished mystery that grabs you early and keeps you turning the pages late. Linwood Barclay's writing style is similar to that of Harlan Coben's and the cliffhanger endings to each chapter keep you wanting to read just one more. There are a lot of different strands to the book (at least one of which is a total red herring), and while parts of the mystery are quite predictable, there were a couple of twists that I definitely didn't spot in advance. The final resolution is somewhat far-fetched (so often the case with this genre), but overall it's a clever story that's been well thought through. The central narrator is likeable and the relationship with his teenage son feels very believable.

I do have one significant criticism of this book and it's hard to explain it without giving anything away, but there's one central secret that someone has kept because they thought they would be compromised and I just didn't believe that they would have felt the need to do that. However I still really enjoyed Too Close To Home. I read this book when I was in hospital recently and it was the perfect lightweight diversion. If you like Harlan Coben's books, I'm pretty sure that you will enjoy this too.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE NIGHT THEY KILLED OUR NEIGHBORS, WE NEVER HEARD A THING, 3 Dec 2008

By	Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Too Close to Home (MP3 CD)

Experienced and excellent best describes narrator Christopher Lane. He has read more than 150 audio books - thus, you name the genre and he can personify it. He's taken home an Audie Award and an Audiofile Earphones Award - with Too Close To Home he takes listeners on an 11 hour journey as psyches are probed and the unthinkable happens.

Promise Falls is a small town in upstate New York. It's unlike other towns in that area as a triple murder has just been committed, a family is shot to death in what should have been the safety of their home. It was a hot, steamy summer night when the Langley's and their son, Adam, died. Despite the proximity of their homes and the stillness of the night their next-door neighbors, Jim and Ellen Cutter did not hear a thing.

The Cutters believed they knew their neighbors; their sons had been friends; they shared neighborhood gatherings. All of Promise Falls was shocked by this heinous crime, unable to comprehend how it could have happened. If the entire populace is stunned, think how the Cutters might have felt? What is going through their minds?

Author Barclay has crafted a compelling psychological journey. Might Jim Cutter be wondering if the killers had gone to the wrong house, fearing what might happen next? As for Ellen, what of her? Has she kept things from both Jim and herself?

Another explosive page-turner from Linwood Barclay.

- Gail Cooke

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Hope the next one is better...., 25 Jan 2009

By	holly "hollyjuls" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

I read No Time For Goodbye and thought it was quite good, so I thought I'd give Linwood Barclays latest novel a go. However, I was disappointed to discover a book that was badly written with a muddled plot and terrible dialogue. Perhaps his publisher was pressing him to capitalise on the success of his previous book, and in a rush to publication didn't bother to edit it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Much of A Let Down!

I thoroughly enjoyed 'No time for goodbye' and was delighted to see another Linwood Barclay mystery story hit the bookshelves. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Mr. Stuart Black

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific book, which I could not put down.
Seventeen year old Derek Cutter is friends with Adam Langley. The Langleys live next door - well the next house down the lane. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Lizzie Hayes

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad but not as good as his other books
Having just read "no time for goodbye" I had high hopes for this one. Perhaps I hoped for a little too much. The first few pages were great but then it went a bit flat. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Martin

3.0 out of 5 stars Read better.....
Having read all of LB's books now, i'm used to how the plot falls into place. Having said that, this book starts somewhat like the previous novel,pretty catchy then pans out into... Read more

Published 6 months ago by saggy of London

2.0 out of 5 stars Too close to disappointement !
After racing through 'No time for goodbye',I had high expectations for this second one by Barclay. Unfortunately, I was quickly disapointed. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Josephine Huys

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	68% buy the item featured on this page: Too Close to Home 3.1 out of 5 stars (8)
	21% buy Too Close to Home 3.8 out of 5 stars (18) �8.99
	5% buy No Time For Goodbye 3.6 out of 5 stars (181) �4.99
	3% buy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 4.1 out of 5 stars (162) �3.99


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