A Tap On The Window - Linwood Barclay
Published: 10/10/13
Publisher: Orion
Pages: 500
I am both thrilled and devastated to have finished this book. Thrilled because it was incredible but devastated because I have to wait a whole year for another book from Linwood. I must point out here that, if you know me at all, you’ll know that Barclay is my favourite author. From the moment I started reading Too Close To Home, I knew I’d stumbled upon a genius and as I read more and more of his work, I can’t help but feel he’s one of the greatest authors of our time. His latest novel A Tap On The Window is perhaps his best novel yet. Whilst it doesn’t quite have the shocking revelations that Trust Your Eyes had, it certainly packs a punch and leaves you guessing until the very end.
Cal Weaver is a troubled man. After the death of his teenage son Scott he is on a mission to find out who supplied him the ecstasy pill that ended his life. As a PI by trade, Cal knows how to go about an investigation. Late one rainy night, on his way home, he stops at a set of traffic lights and is alarmed by a tap on the passenger window. Standing in the pouring rain is a girl looking for a ride. Cal automatically realises how dodgy it would look if he picked up a teenage girl so gets ready to drive off, but when she mentions she knew Scott, Cal’s heart takes over his head and he offers her a ride so he can try and find out some more information about Scott. We find out the girl is called Claire; she looks completely soaking from standing in the rain and has a nasty cut on the back of her hand. When she asks Cal to quickly pull into a service station so she can use the bathroom, he obliges and waits for her to return to the car. However, the girl that gets back into the car is dry and doesn’t have a cut on her hand…
Wow. Wow. Wow. Barclay is the master of suspense and I challenge anyone to read a book by him and work out the plot. In all my years of reading into the thriller genre I profess to being a little bit of a Sherlock Holmes; I pride myself on being able to solve the majority of thrillers accurately. However, with Linwood, I just can’t. No one can. The twists and turns he takes you on are unpredictable and you never know who to trust. So often I sit there thinking I have it all worked out but then BAM he throws in a curveball and I’m back to square one.
What I love about his writing the most is the pace. All of his novels, especially this one have such a fantastic pace that you can’t help but stay up all night to keep reading. Not only that, Linwood has the amazing ability to end almost every chapter on a cliff-hanger, making you desperate to read on. His characters are incredible, you never quite know who to trust which leaves you on the edge of your seat. Cal was an amazing protagonist and I’ve seen some people comment on how his behaviour, as times, was despicable, but I was totally on his side the whole time and, because we get to see events through his eyes, you can feel the frustration and pure anger he has about events that have happened which goes a long way to account for his behaviour. Whilst I’m not condoning violence, I think you should cut Cal some slack!
Anyway, I know I am totally gushing over this book but I just can’t talk about a Barclay book without getting excited. If you have never read a book by him before then I’m not quite sure what planet you’ve been living on but I would start with No Time For Goodbye because that will really, really show you how amazing he is.
Another nail biting thriller from the King of suspense; A Tap On The Window is a book you need to have on your shelf. (Alongside all his others)
Publisher: Orion
Pages: 500
I am both thrilled and devastated to have finished this book. Thrilled because it was incredible but devastated because I have to wait a whole year for another book from Linwood. I must point out here that, if you know me at all, you’ll know that Barclay is my favourite author. From the moment I started reading Too Close To Home, I knew I’d stumbled upon a genius and as I read more and more of his work, I can’t help but feel he’s one of the greatest authors of our time. His latest novel A Tap On The Window is perhaps his best novel yet. Whilst it doesn’t quite have the shocking revelations that Trust Your Eyes had, it certainly packs a punch and leaves you guessing until the very end.
Cal Weaver is a troubled man. After the death of his teenage son Scott he is on a mission to find out who supplied him the ecstasy pill that ended his life. As a PI by trade, Cal knows how to go about an investigation. Late one rainy night, on his way home, he stops at a set of traffic lights and is alarmed by a tap on the passenger window. Standing in the pouring rain is a girl looking for a ride. Cal automatically realises how dodgy it would look if he picked up a teenage girl so gets ready to drive off, but when she mentions she knew Scott, Cal’s heart takes over his head and he offers her a ride so he can try and find out some more information about Scott. We find out the girl is called Claire; she looks completely soaking from standing in the rain and has a nasty cut on the back of her hand. When she asks Cal to quickly pull into a service station so she can use the bathroom, he obliges and waits for her to return to the car. However, the girl that gets back into the car is dry and doesn’t have a cut on her hand…
Wow. Wow. Wow. Barclay is the master of suspense and I challenge anyone to read a book by him and work out the plot. In all my years of reading into the thriller genre I profess to being a little bit of a Sherlock Holmes; I pride myself on being able to solve the majority of thrillers accurately. However, with Linwood, I just can’t. No one can. The twists and turns he takes you on are unpredictable and you never know who to trust. So often I sit there thinking I have it all worked out but then BAM he throws in a curveball and I’m back to square one.
What I love about his writing the most is the pace. All of his novels, especially this one have such a fantastic pace that you can’t help but stay up all night to keep reading. Not only that, Linwood has the amazing ability to end almost every chapter on a cliff-hanger, making you desperate to read on. His characters are incredible, you never quite know who to trust which leaves you on the edge of your seat. Cal was an amazing protagonist and I’ve seen some people comment on how his behaviour, as times, was despicable, but I was totally on his side the whole time and, because we get to see events through his eyes, you can feel the frustration and pure anger he has about events that have happened which goes a long way to account for his behaviour. Whilst I’m not condoning violence, I think you should cut Cal some slack!
Anyway, I know I am totally gushing over this book but I just can’t talk about a Barclay book without getting excited. If you have never read a book by him before then I’m not quite sure what planet you’ve been living on but I would start with No Time For Goodbye because that will really, really show you how amazing he is.
Another nail biting thriller from the King of suspense; A Tap On The Window is a book you need to have on your shelf. (Alongside all his others)
Laura