I Will Ruin You
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3.6 • 56 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
‘A page-turner… you’ll get your money’s worth out of this one’ Stephen King
'Riveting' Sunday Times
'Linwood Barclay is a flat-out master of the modern thriller, and I Will Ruin You is impossible to put down. You need this book in your life' David Koepp
WHEN IT'S LIFE OR DEATH, WHO CAN YOU TRUST?
Teacher Richard Boyle certainly never thought he would find himself talking down a former student intent on harming others, but when a former student shows up at school with a vest packed with explosives, he springs into action. Thanks to his quick thinking, Richard averts a major tragedy but his moment in the spotlight puts him in the sights of a deranged blackmailer with a score to settle…
As events rapidly spiral out of control, Richard is drawn into a tangled web of salacious accusations and deadly secrets. As he tries to uncover the truth, Richard discovers that there's something dangerously wrong in the town. Everyone in his life seems to be hiding something, and trusting the wrong person could cost him everything he loves.
International bestseller Linwood Barclay returns with a breathtaking new thriller.
PRAISE FOR LINWOOD BARCLAY:
‘Barclay deserves all the accolades that routinely flow his way, as this hypnotic outing attests’ Financial Times
‘Linwood Barclay has crafted another perfect page-turner’ The Times
‘Pacy and tense, it’s a triumph from a master thriller writer. Every page makes your heart beat that little bit faster’ The Sun
‘You’ll be left speed-reading towards the end to discover answers expertly posed by the bestselling Toronto-based crime writer’ The Independent
‘Totally absorbing… brilliant stuff’ Neil Lancaster
‘A superior thriller’ Sunday Times
‘A suspense master’ Stephen King
Reviews
Readers are gripped by I Will Ruin You!
'Nail bitingly brilliant. I read this very quickly as I couldn't put it down' (Five stars)
'This is everything you would hope for from a Linwood Barclay novel; the plot is gripping from the start, the characters are fascinating, the writing is fast-paced and the twists are great! Brilliant!' (Five stars)
'Love love love this book! Another cracker from Linwood Barclay. This kept me on my toes all the way through and I couldn’t put it down' (Five stars)
'Starts with a bang and the pace never lets up until the final page … Another winner from Linwood Barclay' (Five stars)
'A superb thriller. Stephen King is a fan and I am too, read this and you probably will be' (Five stars)
PRAISE FOR LINWOOD BARCLAY:
‘Devilishly good’ Shari Lapena
‘The novel speeds from first page to last… Bravo!’ Jeffery Deaver
‘A fast-moving, high-concept thriller from the talented Barclay’ Daily Mail
‘Linwood Barclay is in a class of his own’ T.M. Logan
‘One of the finest thriller writers in the world at the very top of his game’ Mark Billingham
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This dark mystery has an unlikely star in English teacher Richard Boyle, who’s widely praised after thwarting a deadly threat at school from a former student who wandered onto the grounds wearing a bomb. But when a blackmailer ensnares Richard in his personal vendetta, the accidental hero has to figure out why he’s being targeted and just how far the town’s illegal network extends. Even worse, Richard has to deal with jealous colleagues, angry parents, would-be book censors, a lawsuit and having to hide his true feelings from his wife. Prolific thriller writer Linwood Barclay knows exactly how to push our buttons, piling up the stress and the twists across multiple character perspectives. An exhilarating roller coaster of mounting tension from multiple sources, leading to an explosive finish.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A Connecticut high school teacher stops a mass murder only to be targeted by a blackmailer in this hair-raising standalone from bestseller Barclay (The Lie Maker). Richard Boyle looks out his classroom window one afternoon just in time to spot Mark LeDrew, a "benign fuckup" of a former student, approaching the building while wearing a vest loaded with dynamite. Boyle tells his class to call 911 and lock themselves in, then goes to confront Mark. He convinces the 20-something to leave—but then Mark trips and sets off the explosives, killing himself and wounding Boyle. The fallout is swift. First, Mark's parents, who blame Boyle for their son's death, slap him with a lawsuit. Then Billy Finster, whom Boyle coached on the wrestling team, claims the news about Mark dug up memories that Boyle sexually abused him, and that he won't go to the cops if the teacher comes up with an unspecified sum of cash. As Boyle scrambles to pay off Billy and hire a lawyer, he discovers links between Billy's threat and a local crime network. Barclay makes his protagonist's plight devastatingly immediate, and keeps readers on tenterhooks throughout. This is difficult to put down.
