One thing that almost always disappoints me is the lack of thrills in most thrillers. The reading shelf in my office (and there really is a reading shelf, where most of the books that are sent to us by publishers sit waiting for an editor to grab them) is usually piled high with manuscripts being touted as the latest great thriller by so-and-so, or a debut thriller by somebody-or-other that’s even better than the latest great thriller by so-and-so. But when I read them, I remain sadly thrill-free. And a thrill-less thriller is a little like hot ice cream: it just doesn’t get the job done.
So when I initially read Linwood Barclay’s No Time for Goodbye, I will admit I wasn’t expecting anything. After all, I’d never heard of him, and he was just one more thriller writer highly touted by his publisher. And then—whoa, Nellie! I started reading this book—and I don’t say this as hype or exaggeration—and I simply could not put it down. It was unique, it was exciting, it was nonstop, it was funny, it had great characters, it kept me guessing. I was blown away. When I was finished, I wrote a report on it for my colleagues saying, simply, don’t read this report: read the book! I say the same to you: don’t read this blog, read the book!
I only wish more thrillers did the job the way this one does. It's in the current volume of Select Editions. Let us know what you think.
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