Broken Promise: (Promise Falls Trilogy Book 1)

Description

Broken Promise is the first book in the epic Promise Falls Trilogy from master of the thriller, Linwood Barclay.When David Harwood is asked to look in on his cousin Marla, who is still traumatised after losing her baby, he thinks it will be some temporary relief from his dead-end life. But when he arrives, he's disturbed to find blood on Marla's front door. He's even more disturbed to find Marla looking after a baby, a baby she claims was delivered to her 'by an angel'. Soon after, a woman's body is discovered, stabbed to death, with her own baby missing. It looks as if Marla has done something truly terrible.But while the evidence seems overwhelming, David just can't believe that his cousin is a murderer. In which case, who did kill Rosemary Gaynor? Why did they then take her baby and give it to Marla? It's up to David to find out what really happened, but he soon discovers that the truth could be worse than he ever imagined . . .

Linwood Barclay is the international bestselling author of many critically acclaimed novels, including NO SAFE HOUSE, A TAP ON THE WINDOW, TRUST YOUR EYES and the Richard & Judy 2008 Summer Read winner and number one bestseller, NO TIME FOR GOODBYE. He lives near Toronto with his wife.www.linwoodbarclay.com.

Barclay's greatest strength is weaving menace into everyday situations and he delivers this in spades in Broken Promise. * DAILY EXPRESS * compulsive * BUZZ MAGAZINE * Broken Promise smoothly combines a page-turning Harlan Coben pace with a Jeffery Deaver-esque twist. There's even a hint of classic Stephen King in the presentation of an American small town with disturbing secrets. Barclay's evocation of middle-class America and the frustrations of a man forced to return to his roots form the heart of this cleverly constructed mystery that amply demonstrates why Barclay is one of the biggest-selling US writers of crime fiction. The first chapter may read simply "I hate this town", but readers will be seduced by the dark heart of Promise Falls. * SUNDAY HERALD * Like a less surreal Twin Peaks, this is a compellingly grotesque portrait of the American dream in meltdown. And don't expect all the answers in this first volume - Barclay is keeping plenty of secrets back for parts two and three. * MAIL ON SUNDAY * Like a less surreal Twin Peaks, this is a compellingly grotesque portrait of the American dream in meltdown. * SUNDAY EXPRESS * Fast and smartly plotted. * SUNDAY MIRROR * a relentless white-knuckle ride of a thriller, set in the fictional small American town of Promise Falls... There is real storytelling craft on display here, and if ever a book deserved the description 'page turner' it's this one. * BIG ISSUE * If you like your crime more twisty than a bowl of fusilli pasta, then you will love Linwood Barclay and this tale of a small town newspaper reporter investigating a gruesome murder and a missing baby. * RED ONLINE * Broken Promise is a treat, full of ingenuity and flair and, what's more, it's a book that does not accentuate its effects, but assumes that the reader will be paying the closest attention. * THE INDEPENDENT *