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Book Review: Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

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I am a huge fan of Linwood Barclay’s novels so of course I had to read his newest one Fear the Worst and it had me hooked from page one! I had such a hard time putting this fast paced thriller down. It had me up and turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning because I just had to know what was coming next.

Fear the Worst is about a father’s worst nightmare coming true. Tim Blake’s daughter Sydney goes missing. One minute she’s at home having breakfast with him and then she’s gone, she doesn’t come home after work. Tim is beside himself with worry and searching anywhere and everywhere he can to find her starting with the Just Inn Time hotel she worked at. The problem is nobody there has any clue who Sydney is; they’ve never seen her before and according to them she certainly hasn’t worked there.

This sets Tim off on a wild, at times hair raising thrill ride to find his daughter. He’s dodging bullets and being framed at every turn, even the police begin to think he’s guilty of harming his own daughter. The only thing is he can’t figure out why, at least not at first. However, Tim is one determined father and he will stop at nothing and I mean nothing to get his daughter back alive. Along the way he discovers that somehow his daughter was involved in something very dark and dangerous. He thought he knew his daughter pretty well, he can’t imagine how she became involved in all of this. He’s going crazy trying to find her and wondering if he’ll find her dead or alive.

Tim is a great character. He’s a car salesman, certainly not anyone you’d expect to throw caution to the wind and do things he probably never imagined possible all in the quest to find his daughter. More than that though and what I found interesting for a thriller is that I cared about Tim. His character is written in such a way that you grow to care about him and it doesn’t hurt that at times he can be pretty funny as well with some pretty sassy comments.

Fear the Worst is another great read by Linwood Barclay. It’s full of twists, turns, a whole lot of suspense and even an ending that took me a bit by surprise. I love when I think I have it all figured out only to find there was a small detail that turned into a big one and completely changed what I thought was going to happen until the very last pages. As happens to me every year when I finish a Barclay novel, I wish for the next one!

Fear the Worst was released by Random House Canada on August 11, 2009 and you can buy it here in the US and here in Canada. Make sure to pop over and take a peek at Linwood Barclay’s website as well which you can find here. Fear the Worst is well worth the read if you’re looking for a thriller for your summer reading!

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  1. I think this is the third review of the book that I've seen, and I just keep getting more and more excited about it, everytime I see a review. This is the type of book that I read about 90% of the time before I started blogging (until you all widened my scope!) and I still find myself falling back into the genre now and again. Love it1

  3. Never having read this author and now reading your review, I know I need to rectify the situation. Don't you just love a book with those twists and turns? Really ratchets up the reading experience. Glad you enjoyed it so much. Have a great week!

  4. I love suspenseful thrillers, so I can't figure out why I've never read any of Barclay's work. I must add it to my wish list!

  5. I love suspense novels and this author sounds like a good one. I haven't heard of these books, but I'll keep them on the radar

  7. Wow, your excitement for this book and author really come through in your review, Dar. I'll have to put this on my someday list … gotta get to those other Barclays I've been wanting to read first.

  10. Great review! it definitely made me want to buy this book. I love the ones with twists and turns at every page and surprising endings. Something definitely right up my alley.

  12. I've only read one book by this author so far and I loved it! I'll have to look out for more of his books! Thanks for the lovely review, Dar!

  14. BTW…I never read the other comments but after posting I thought it was hilarious that Kaye-Pudgy Penguin and I both used the word rectify!! We obviously read too much!!!

  15. Car salesman? huh? Seems like a funny character to have in a thriller. 🙂 I don't read many of these books, but after reading Eclipse and having my heart thump a little bit and feeling the need to turn the pages faster and faster, I think I could stand to have a few more of these books in my reading diet.

  16. I went to the library today to pick up my copy they reserved and they were closed. If they aren't open tomorrow and I can't get my book for the weekend, I'm finding a way to break in. I can't wait to get my hands on it even more now!

  17. I have been meaning to read Linwood Barclay's novels for a while now. He used to write a humour column for the Toronto Star and I read him regularly – he was always so funny! I've heard some nice things about his mysteries.

  18. Never heard of this author before, but thank you for letting me know. ALso Dar – I need to tell you that I recieved the book you sent me and I am so excited about it!

  19. I've never read any books by Barclay, but I've been thinking about this one. Great review!

  20. This is the first time I'm hearing about this author and it sure sounds good! Thanks for the review, Dar!

  22. I haven't read any Linwood Barclay, but I need to rectify that soon! Thanks for this review.

  24. Great review! Thanks! I've never read Barclay, but this one's been added to my ever growing wish list!

  25. I haven't read this book yet, but i must advise you to read Linwood Barclay "No Time For Goodbye". If you like suspensful thrillers, then you'll love this. I can hoonestly say, it was the best book I have ever read, and still nothing comes quite close to it.

    "What if the ones you loved and cherished the most suddenly just vanished? No good bye, no reason why, one minute they are there and the next they are not. This is the question explored by Barclay in this wonderfully weird and spooky novel. When teenager Cynthia Archer awakes to find her entire family has disappeared (Dad, Mom and younger brother) and must face the next 25 years wondering how, why? Was she left behind or spared? Then she agrees to be interviewed for a TV documentary that is exploring the old case, still searching for clues. Will some one remember something or maybe he Mom, Dad or brother will finally reach out to her. Then she receives something in the mail that makes her wonder if she has made the right decision to pursue this mystery."

  26. I listened to the audio version, which really brings the plot to life in a very startling manner! Linwood Barclay has created an incredibly believable and riveting plot, which leaves the reader guessing at just what will happen next. Only wish there he'd included an epilogue at the end – one can't help but wonder what happened.. say a month down the road. His writing reminds me of Stephen White's impressive style, with all the same twists and turns. Definitely want to read Linwood Barclay's next book..

  27. Lovley Review.
    I read this tremendous thriller over the summer.I absolutly enyoyed every part of it. It had me on the edge of my chair constantly.

    What really excited me was the enticing storyline. As the suspense builds the more you'll have to read. I dont know how annyone can pass an opportintuy to read this brilliant, superb, alluring book?

  28. I read this book myself and, although it's a great book, I couldn't help but noticing that it is too similar to No Time For Goodbye. Okay so was Too Close To Home, but even it was more different. Does anyone else think the same thing? To me, the only thing that should be similar in these books is the narrative and that's it.