Skip to main content

The Twenty Three - Linwood Barclay



Dexcription
Everything has been leading to this.

It's the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd, and the small town of Promise Falls, New York, has found itself in the midst of a full-blown catastrophe. Hundreds of people are going to the hospital with similar flu-like symptoms—and dozens have died. Investigators quickly zero in on the water supply. But the question for many, including private investigator Cal Weaver, remains: Who would benefit from a mass poisoning of this town?

Meanwhile, Detective Barry Duckworth is faced with another problem. A college student has been murdered, and he's seen the killer's handiwork before—in the unsolved homicides of two other women in town. Suddenly, all the strange things that have happened in the last month start to add up…

Bloody mannequins found in car “23” of an abandoned Ferris wheel…a fiery, out-of-control bus with “23” on the back, that same number on the hoodie of a man accused of assault…

The motive for harming the people of Promise Falls points to the number 23—and working out why will bring    Duckworth closer to death than he's ever been before…

Review
This is the third book in a trilogy featuring the town of Promise Falls. I was less than thrilled when I reached the end of the first book (review here)to realise it was part of a trilogy. The second book Far from True which I review here when I thought I knew all the answers - I was wrong BIG time! But before all this came Never Look Away - not part of this trilogy but some of the back story to the one of the characters.

I've said it before - I am a big Linwood Barclay fan and I could not wait to read this latest book. However, I'm unsure that this tale needed three books - or even a fourth? There could still be some loose ends to tie up. 

You could read this book as a standalone. There are some nice recaps of the earlier goings on, not just for new readers but those that read the first two books too, as I doubt even the youngest will recall two books worth of info. They are done in a little gentle nod way, so you don't find yourself thinking, yes, I know all this get to the new stuff. 

The book opens with lots of different people getting sick. Barclay is a great observer of human nature and I could just imagine the many scenes playing out, so many different characters making such a small debut in his novel and yet he had all their traits right off. Little everyday nuances that you wonder why is he telling you this - so ordinary and that's how he reels you in, you overlook the clues! 

Barclay plays cat and mouse as usual with leading you to conclusions - or at least those you jump to yourself. All I can say is "I never saw it coming" especially the last line of "Thought about cake".......

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley and  The Berkley Publishing Group. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done - Sophie Hannah

  Description The twistiest murder mystery you are ever likely to read? A story about a family that does the unthinkable in order to save the life of one of its beloved members? Both? Or something else altogether? You'll have to read until the very last word in order to find out… You think it will never happen to you: the ring of the bell, the policeman on the doorstep. What he says traps you in a nightmare that starts with the words, 'I'm afraid…' Sally Lambert is also afraid, and desperate enough to consider the unthinkable. Is it really, definitely, impossible to escape from this horror? Maybe not. There's always something you can do, right? Of course, no one would ever do this particular something – except the Lamberts, who might have to. No one has ever gone this far. Until Sally decides that the Lamberts will… 'An incident involving a dog in a small village escalates to an all-out conflict, turning neighbour against neighbour, and culminating in murder. Bu...

The Dilemmas of Work Women - Fumio Yamamoto

  Description The classic Japanese bestseller published in English for the very first time -  a darkly funny and relatable book portraying the lives of five women 'Witty, wise and thought-provoking' Cecelia Ahern 'Crackles and pops with humour, empathy and intelligence' Lisa Owens, author of  Not Working 'So brilliantly written that I kept trying to memorise sentences in order to repeat them to people later' Roxy Dunn, author of  As Young as This Izumi  needs to get a job. Haruka  needs to stop talking about how she once had cancer. Katō  needs to get through a shift at the convenience store without being harassed. Mito  needs to break up with her boyfriend - or marry him. Sumie  just needs somewhere to live. In this classic Japanese bestseller, published in English twenty-five years after it took Japan by storm, the lives of five ordinary women are depicted with irresistible humour and searing emotional insight. Review A collection of short ...

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins

Description THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER. YOU DON'T KNOW HER. BUT SHE KNOWS YOU. Rear Window  meets  Gone Girl , in this exceptional and startling psychological thriller Review I must be one of the last people to read this book. I did apply for a review copy but unfortunately wasn't successful. I then waited for the book to come down in price which it didn't - so I decided I would buy it and read it straight away! I'm sure it will be a film and before anyone gives away what happens I felt I really needed to get it read, so it jumped the TBR queue. There is not much plot outline from the publisher as you can see in the description above, so there wasn't a lot to go on when I began to read the book. First of all the book jumps around date wise - past and present and also between the main characters. I did have a little trouble remembering who was who and which time frame we were in - but that soon settled down. I also had to re-read the beginning because I th...