Helpful Score: 1
I gave this book 3 stars only because it was Linwood Barclay! I always enjoy his usual hard to put down non-stop thrillers. Therefore I was disappointed in this non too exciting mystery, but enough to keep me reading to the end. However, even though it did resolve one mystery, a killer was still at large. One has to wait for the next book to find out about that!
GAIL L. (my2luvsemmyandmally) reviewed Broken Promise (Promise Falls, Bk 1) on + 758 more book reviews
First I have to say I am a big fan of Barclay books!!!
This book for me was a bit disappointing! I felt he could have cut out a lot of extra pages that just did NOT seem very necessary to the whole story.......to me it seemed too "wordy" & dragged the story longer than necessary to get to the point. Hope the next book in the series is better.
This book for me was a bit disappointing! I felt he could have cut out a lot of extra pages that just did NOT seem very necessary to the whole story.......to me it seemed too "wordy" & dragged the story longer than necessary to get to the point. Hope the next book in the series is better.
As Linwood Barclay's new novel, Broken Promise, opens, David Harwood is a reporter for a local newspaper that has just closed on his first day back after returning from a gig at the Boston Globe. Things didn't work out in Boston because he had to work nights and hardly ever saw his son Ethan. So, for the good of his son, David and Ethan had moved back in with his parents.
His cousin, Marla, has just gotten involved with a kidnapping and murder. There are a lot of characters and subplots going on in Broken Promise but Barclay is able to juggle all of them deftly. Barry Duckworth, a 20-year veteran of the Promise Falls Police Department is investigating the murder and apparent kidnapping, as well as a host of other crimes, which may or may not be related.
The twist at the end I did not see coming. I thoroughly enjoyed Broken Promise and I look forward to the sequel! Well done Mr. Barclay.
I did not rate this higher because in the beginning there is a scene where he thinks his son was kidnapped and now, returned, but he is told to wait for another adult to arrive to get his son out of the car. I found that very unrealistic. I cannot imagine him waiting to grab up his child.
His cousin, Marla, has just gotten involved with a kidnapping and murder. There are a lot of characters and subplots going on in Broken Promise but Barclay is able to juggle all of them deftly. Barry Duckworth, a 20-year veteran of the Promise Falls Police Department is investigating the murder and apparent kidnapping, as well as a host of other crimes, which may or may not be related.
The twist at the end I did not see coming. I thoroughly enjoyed Broken Promise and I look forward to the sequel! Well done Mr. Barclay.
I did not rate this higher because in the beginning there is a scene where he thinks his son was kidnapped and now, returned, but he is told to wait for another adult to arrive to get his son out of the car. I found that very unrealistic. I cannot imagine him waiting to grab up his child.
I'm a huge Linwood Barclay fan but Broken Promise felt SO overdone. Way too many "who really cares" plotlines going on, way too much character bloat.
Promise Falls is most definitely turned into a broken town. But the story lacked focus and didn't hold my interest. I was curious about continuing David Harwood's story from Never Look Away, which I really liked, but he was given the plot-by-dumb-decisions treatment in this one. I just didn't buy a lot of his motivation for taking the risks he took on behalf of his cousin, who just needed to be committed to get the help she so clearly needed. The twists in the end notwithstanding. She was obviously nuts from the word go!
Since it's a trilogy, I feel compelled to continue and give the next two books a chance, but I can't say I'm in a hurry. I'd rather read a few more of his stand-alones first.
If you're an LB fan, you'll want to check this out. If not, skip it and read The Accident or Never Look Away instead.
Promise Falls is most definitely turned into a broken town. But the story lacked focus and didn't hold my interest. I was curious about continuing David Harwood's story from Never Look Away, which I really liked, but he was given the plot-by-dumb-decisions treatment in this one. I just didn't buy a lot of his motivation for taking the risks he took on behalf of his cousin, who just needed to be committed to get the help she so clearly needed. The twists in the end notwithstanding. She was obviously nuts from the word go!
Since it's a trilogy, I feel compelled to continue and give the next two books a chance, but I can't say I'm in a hurry. I'd rather read a few more of his stand-alones first.
If you're an LB fan, you'll want to check this out. If not, skip it and read The Accident or Never Look Away instead.
Trust your eyes was not a great book and I didn't give it a good review, it had to many flaws. I'm sure others think this one does too but I feel like it is a story told very well and not too complicated for anyone to understand.
As Detective Duckworth calls Promise Falls, the town is like a suit, once new, has now turned shiny and threadbare.
The story starts with the discovery of 23 bodies ... all squirrels, all hanging by their necks.
Now that I have your attention, this is what you're going to find in this book.. other than the dead squirrels. In no particular order ....
Woman stabbed to death in her home
Nanny and woman's baby are missing
Baby turns up mysteriously at the home of another woman who previously kidnapped a baby from the hospital
Several attempted rapes at the local college
A physician with a gambling problem
A sheriff who wants to know what's happening to his town
A politician who has already been outed after he was found 'associating' with underage prostitutes
An unemployed newspaper reporter and his son, who are living with his parents
A friend to many, whose daughter was murdered several years earlier and whose wife has recently died of cancer
Naked mannequins found in a carnival ride that has been unused for ages
...... and the number 23
There are several story lines running parallel to each other, but at some point they start dovetailing.
This is the beginning of a new series .... and what a beginning it is! Normally with so many characters being introduced all at once, it is easy to get lost. Not so with this one.
Most of the story lines come to a conclusion in a very satisfying way, so this 'could' be a stand-alone. But .. there is one mystery that remains and the book gives just the slightest hint that more is coming. The next book is FINAL ASSIGNMENT .. just in case you want to add it to your wish list.
A very easy 5 stars from me!
A huge THANKS to NetGalley / PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL / Signet Romance, DAW for furnishing the e-book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
The story starts with the discovery of 23 bodies ... all squirrels, all hanging by their necks.
Now that I have your attention, this is what you're going to find in this book.. other than the dead squirrels. In no particular order ....
Woman stabbed to death in her home
Nanny and woman's baby are missing
Baby turns up mysteriously at the home of another woman who previously kidnapped a baby from the hospital
Several attempted rapes at the local college
A physician with a gambling problem
A sheriff who wants to know what's happening to his town
A politician who has already been outed after he was found 'associating' with underage prostitutes
An unemployed newspaper reporter and his son, who are living with his parents
A friend to many, whose daughter was murdered several years earlier and whose wife has recently died of cancer
Naked mannequins found in a carnival ride that has been unused for ages
...... and the number 23
There are several story lines running parallel to each other, but at some point they start dovetailing.
This is the beginning of a new series .... and what a beginning it is! Normally with so many characters being introduced all at once, it is easy to get lost. Not so with this one.
Most of the story lines come to a conclusion in a very satisfying way, so this 'could' be a stand-alone. But .. there is one mystery that remains and the book gives just the slightest hint that more is coming. The next book is FINAL ASSIGNMENT .. just in case you want to add it to your wish list.
A very easy 5 stars from me!
A huge THANKS to NetGalley / PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL / Signet Romance, DAW for furnishing the e-book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
This book had a hard time getting started but did pick up about 1/2 way through. Since this is part of a trilogy, it felt a little slow-paced as if Barclay was trying to stretch the story out over 3 books. It has plots and sub-plots which are a little bit too much for one book and it got a bit convoluted. In the end he came through, so I am looking forward to the next book in the trilogy. I've read other Barclay books, so I know he's a talented writer. Just don't let this one be the first of his books you read if you haven't read him yet.
