Not a Word Not a Word

Not a Word

    • 4.1 • 12 Ratings
    • $12.99

Publisher Description

'This book is in the can't-put-it-down category. You're gonna love it' Stephen King

'Magnificent. Gripping. Barclay has simply never been better' Daily Mail

'Linwood Barclay is a flat-out master of the modern thriller' David Koepp

‘A gritty, twisty, heart-stopping blockbuster’ SAGA

* * * * *

Wrong time. Wrong place. Wrong person?

Every family has secrets, but when Reece visits his parents’ house, he’s shocked to find them in bed, dead. At first glance it looks like a murder-suicide perpetrated by his father, but on closer inspection there’s clearly more to the story. For starters, inconsistencies in the crime scene suggest his dad may not have shot himself.

As Reece, shaken by his horrifying discovery, awaits questioning from the police, his phone lights up with a call. It’s the last person he ever would have expected to hear from.

Reeling from the day’s events, Reece finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew about his parents – and whether he and his own family are in danger now. While the authorities work to untangle the baffling crime scene, Reece is pulled into a web of secrets linked to the unscrupulous pharma company his father worked for years ago.

In order to protect the people he loves most, he’ll have to dig deep into his own past to understand who his parents were, what they did, and who they hurt – before he ends up paying for their sins.

In the latest chilling thriller from Number One bestseller Linwood Barclay, a man’s world is upended after he stumbles upon a grisly crime scene in the family home.

* * * * *

Readers are HOOKED by Not a Word:

'Gripping. Clever twists, strong pacing, and that addictive “just one more chapter” pull' ★★★★★

'A wild ride with twists and turns aplenty' ★★★★★

'Exceptional. I was hooked in from the first chapter' ★★★★★

* * * * *

Praise for Not a Word:

'Original and brilliantly paced, I could not put it down' Prima

'A tense, fast-paced thriller full of twists' Woman's Own

'First-class storytelling from a first-rate novelist' Booklist

'This fast-paced page-turner will keep readers guessing until the end' Library Journal

'The plot twists come fast and furious as past and present collide, but never at the expense of readers’ emotional investment. It’s a winner' Publishers Weekly

BOOK OF THE MONTH FOR DELIA ONLINE

* * * * *

Praise for Linwood Barclay:

‘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

GENRE
Crime & Thrillers
RELEASED
2026
10 September
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
384
Pages
PUBLISHER
HQ
SELLER
HarperCollins Australia Pty Limited
SIZE
4.6
MB

Customer Reviews

rhitc ,

Ho hum

Middle-aged out-of-work dude finds his Dad and a chick who’s not his Mom dead in bed in the family home in an upmarket Toronto suburb. It looks like a murder-suicide, but the female detective isn’t so sure. Tolstoy’s observation about unhappy families holds true avec sub-plot involving a dodgy drug company selling Oxy. Yada, yada, predictable twist, the end.

Third-person narrative from various POVs told in two timelines: present day and 1999. Takes a long time to get going. Characters are unidimensional, and about three steps behind as the mystery unfolds, except for the female cop, who should have locked it down a hundred pages earlier IMO

Bottom line
Not as good as Elevator Pitch (2019) or I Will Ruin You (2024).

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