Book Review: Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay

Local newspaper reporter David Harwood has a lot on his plate. Not only is he investigating a private prison company suspected of buying off city council members in their bid to build a prison in his town, but he’s also dealing with a depressed wife, Jan, who has hinted at being suicidal. When David goes with Jan and their four year old son Ethan to an amusement park, Ethan goes missing, and by the time he is safely found, Jan has vanished without a trace. Unfortunately, David soon becomes a suspect in her disappearance and must track down a myriad of confusing clues to clear his name and hopefully find his wife.

This is my second Linwood Barclay thriller after NO TIME FOR GOODBYE (read my review), and I thought this one was more layered than that effort without losing any of the intriguing mystery that makes you keep reading compulsively. I really liked the parts about the newspaper falling on hard times and how staff was dealing with it, as well as the subplot with the private prison and its diabolical leader. Some parts of the mystery were pretty easy to figure out, while others came as complete shocks, and aside from a very unbelievable coincidence at the end, I was satisfactorily entertained yet again.

NEVER LOOK AWAY is out in hardcover now. Find out more about it at the author’s website.

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.