The New York Times bestselling author of No Time for Goodbye returns with a haunting psychological thriller that blends the twists and turns of Gillian Flynn with the driving suspense of Harlan Coben, in which a man is troubled by odd sounds for which there is no rational explanation.
College professor Paul Davis is a normal guy with a normal life. Until, driving along a deserted road late one … along a deserted road late one night, he surprises a murderer disposing of a couple of bodies. That’s when Paul’s “normal” existence is turned upside down. After nearly losing his own life in that encounter, he finds himself battling PTSD, depression, and severe problems at work. His wife, Charlotte, desperate to cheer him up, brings home a vintage typewriter—complete with ink ribbons and heavy round keys—to encourage him to get started on that novel he’s always intended to write.
However, the typewriter itself is a problem. Paul swears it’s possessed and types by itself at night. But only Paul can hear the noise coming from downstairs; Charlotte doesn’t hear a thing. And she worries he’s going off the rails.
Paul believes the typewriter is somehow connected to the murderer he discovered nearly a year ago. The killer had made his victims type apologies to him before ending their lives. Has another sick twist of fate entwined his life with the killer—could this be the same machine? Increasingly tormented but determined to discover the truth and confront his nightmare, Paul begins investigating the deaths himself.
But that may not be the best thing to do. Maybe Paul should just take the typewriter back to where his wife found it. Maybe he should stop asking questions and simply walk away while he can. . . .
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If you haven’t read Mr. Barclay’s books then you need to! He writes a couple of series but several stand alone books as well. I’ve not rated any of this books less than 4 1/2*. He keeps you on the edge of your seat with the fast-paced action of his plots.
Have you ever thought you’re losing your mind? Have you forgotten something? Have you ever heard things in the night? Well, “A Noise Downstairs” doesn’t disappoint. I like to ‘figure’ out the ending as to who dunit, but so far I’ve not been able to do that totally. I get part of it, then get slammed with the real culprit out of left field and it makes total sense once it’s laid out. This one does that AGAIN. If you have a two story house, I hope that you’ll be able to sleep after the first few chapters. 🙂 Check your doors, windows, and ‘mind’ and enjoy this tale.
I enjoyed this book. Towards the end I thought I had the whole thing figured out, but I was wrong. Biggest drawback to this book was that it really (and I mean really) needed a good editor!! I really wish I had written a few of them down, so I could have included them in this review…there were some foodies!!!
Edge of your seat. Good.
This was a good book. Story took a turn did not expect and the ending was not what I thought.
A Noise Downstairs is so mind blowing you won’t be able to put it down. There are no wandering aimless passages of extraneous fillers. This plot moves! The story is not only so compelling that it swallows you up, the final ending is a shocker that you’ll never figure out in advance. A must read especially if you’re on a plane!
I loved the twists and turns in this book! Crazy good!
Totally did not expect the ending!! Enjoyed this book, hard to put it down!
I liked the book but didn’t care for how some of the characters died. But, justice prevailed.
I liked the plot twists. I could see plot twists coming just not those twists.
I could not put this book down. Kept me guessing as to what was really happening, and even though I figured out who was doing what, I wanted more to see if I was right. Wasn’t prepared for the ending though. Excellent mystery.
Best author
I could not put it down! It ends a half dozen times and like the Energizer Bunny, just keeps going…getting better with each additional page. Watching a man go mad among his loved ones is scary. But when the madness is directed towards a goal, it’s haunting. And the manipulation goes on and on and on…
This one of the best books I have ever read.
Barclay does it again. I seriously could not put this book down. Halfway through I had an inkling about who was behind this action. I was partially right, but did not expect the ending. A great story.
Great story.
Really enjoyed it.
Great twists and good characters.
A vintage Linwood Barclay Domestic Thriller
I’m noticing a trend with Linwood Barclay tales – well I’ve read two haha, this one and Trust Your Eyes.
His style of Domestic Thriller includes a protagonist – or two – who are fairly well adjusted. A.J. Finn gives his main character agoraphobia, Gillian Flynn gives her character absolute craziness, but Barclay makes his main character the kind of person you might want to hang out with.
But he provides no such normalcy to his secondary characters, the ones who drive the plot. They are absolutely insane.
Sometimes they do bad things, sometimes they serve as red herrings, but they keep things moving.
In this book, it’s Gavin.
The main character, Paul, has a normal psychologist, Anna.
She is not the problem – it’s her patient Gavin that makes things go sideways.
But no spoilers here – just know that it is a straightforward page turner
There are ups and downs, and there are twists. There are characters hiding their true intentions to reveal them later.
And there is a typewriter that types in the middle of the night.
I highly recommend it – it’s a great tale!
Well done Mr. Barclay! This is your best novel to date, you had me guessing someone else and when I found out who, boy oh boy I did not see that coming! When Paul witnesses his friend, mentor and fellow professor trying to get rid of two bodies and almost gets killed himself it’s the start of a very good suspense/thriller! Click, Click, Click…goes the keys in the night, is Paul going crazy or is someone playing tricks on him? This story has many twists, many turns and a just a few who could be behind it. A must read for those who love a gripping story they can not put down.
I know I’m in the minority, but I didn’t find this book scary, creepy, suspenseful, thrilling, or any of the things people have written about A Noise Downstairs. I found it boring, not particularly well written, and geez, the characters were all so unlikable. Every single one of them.
Paul, the man haunted after an attack by a murderous colleague and (laughably) also by an antique typewriter, was especially useless. Charlotte, his wife, was portrayed as the kind of hysterical woman who causes more harm than good with her intentions, the kind male authors tend to write. Ugh. Instead of dying to know what was really going on with Paul and their household, instead I JUST WANTED THE BOOK TO END. But NOOOO, you can’t leave! We still have to waste 100 pages explaining what was going on, ad nauseum, because it’s vital we painstakingly suck all excitement and creepiness out of this “thriller” before anyone can go.
I won’t bother with any more books by this author, because the writing and story were both unimpressive. Life is too short.
Couldn’t put it down. I figured out who was doing it, but still great.
I didn’t expect the outcome and I love that type of mystery