One of the Boston Globe’s Best Crime Novels of the Year!One of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2013! Since private investigator Cal Weaver’s teenage son died in a tragic accident, Cal and his wife have drifted apart. Cal is mired in a grief he can’t move past. And maybe his grief has clouded his judgment.Driving home one night, a rain-drenched girl taps on his car window and asks for a ride. He … taps on his car window and asks for a ride. He knows a grown man picking up a teenage hitchhiker is foolish—but he lets her in. Cal soon senses that something’s not right with the girl or the situation. But it’s too late. He’s already involved.
Drawn into a nightmare of secrets, lies, and cover-ups in his small, upstate New York town, Cal knows that the only thing that can save him is the truth. And he’s about to expose the town’s secrets one by one—if he lives long enough.
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This book grabbed me on page one and kept me turning pages well into the night. Several plot lines were intertwined to make for a book with lots of twists and things I didn’t see coming. It was well worth my time.
I didn’t actually READ this book, but it would have been even better if I had. I listened to it on audiotape and I think you just don’t capture EVERYTHING that way like you do when you hold the book in your hands as you make that investment. Or I’m not as good of an auditory person as I am with the visual. But it was so good! It was so good the only thing that could make it better would be if I had been able to share it with someone, like, read it at the same time as a friend, or watch it like a movie with my husband. So I’ll recommend it, yes, and maybe I will read it now that I know all the pieces of it, and enjoy the whole picture all the way through and get a kick out of piecing it together nicely during a read-through since I now know all the answers and all the mysteries have been solved. It’s super sad though too. Full of action, no fluff. Like, everything counts in this book, and I like that. Good, good job! I’ll have to see what else this author has written. I am just sure I missed some not having READ it myself. I really enjoy that investment of doing the work of reading it and kind of making that journey that much more personal, but it was so wonderful to listen to and escape into while I was driving a lot of hours.
Although this novel was published in 2013, and Linwood Barclay has had many really good books after it. I would have to say it’s his best work ever. This book kept me glued to the pages and had me second guessing myself about who was responsible for the killings that had taken place. I don’t cry at the end of many novels but this one had me very close. I am behind Cal on what he did, losing a child is hard, losing his son they he did is even harder. Cal and Donna had been through a lot, but you could still feel the love between them. Donna was right on how she felt when she said, “We’re never going to be happy. But we could be happier. Happier then we are now” this is so true when you lose anyone you are close to, you just want to be able to feel the sun again and enjoy it without being sad. If you are a fan of great detective work, suspense, thrillers! Pick up this book….I dare you.
Not bad. Cal Weaver is obsessed with finding the person who sold his son ecstasy which led to his death. He stumbles upon a missing girl and a man held prisoner in his own home and is not dead. Oh and the police are crooked. The mayor is not a choir boy either. A lot going on in this book. Certainly tragic but entertaining.
I have followed Linwood Barclay’s writing from the early days of his Toronto Star column. His stories are always action-packed and suspenseful!
“A Tap On the Window” was my first Linwood Barclay book. Wow just WOW! Immediately upon finishing, I binge listened to every Barclay book available on Audible. I haven’t listened to a single Barclay book that didn’t blow me away, but A Tap On My Window is one of my favorites. Narration by Mark Zeisler is perfection, his voice, inflection, and spot-on pacing brings each character to life. Don’t miss this one, I absolutely recommend.
Another great thriller by Barclay! Cal Weaver from Promise Falls is main character in this book, but he’s not in Promise Falls. Things start out bad and only get worse as the story unfolds….but Barclay reigns it in to give a satisfying few hours of reading time. Don’t miss this one.
Great story of suburbia gone wrong.