Monday, February 07, 2011

Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay .

This novel starts off with a prologue all about Derek, a 17 year old boy, who is visiting his neighbours, the Langley's. Derek has a plan, that when the Langley's go away on holiday, he will use their home to entertain his girlfriend Penny. So Derek say's goodbye to the Langley's and pretends to go home but actually hides in their basement. The Langley's leave and Derek is sitting there in the basement. He makes some telephone calls to his girlfriend and decides to wait, in case the Langley's return if they have forgotten something.

Derek is surprised when the Langley's return but continues hiding in their basement. Shortly after their return the door knocks, Albert Langley answers the door and a person or persons enter. A few words are spoken then Albert, his wife Donna and Adam, their son are shot dead. Derek remains in the basement until the killer or killers have gone before he runs home.

From now on this novel is written in the first person, the character is Jim Cutter, who is Derek's father. Jim is a decent, average sort of guy who earns a living cutting people's lawns. Too Close to Home was written in 2008 and has 466 pages. This story is a crime thriller with an intensive plot and a haunting narrative.

What motive was there to kill all of the Langley family? You do not read about a motive but an aura of suspicion abounds. Jim Cutter is feeling lost in the mystery of the triple murder of his neighbours as there is no obvious motive. It is very easy for the average hetrosexual reader to relate to Jim Cutter, as this story progresses at a good pace. The plot is simply first rate, it is very clever, rather involved and complex as it develops a random act of violence into something more personal. Too Close to Home is a rather dark novel, where the reader hopes that things will turn out okay for Jim Cutter. But who can Jim trust, including members of his own family?

The blurb on the back of this book and it's title are misleading. Please ignore those words and start reading this novel with a clear, fresh mind. Too Close to Home is not a shallow plot and you will not guess the solution. I did not enjoy Too Close to Home as much as I enjoyed No Time For Goodbye , but it is still a good read. The ending is a little far fetched but the ground work within this novel is sound. I will vote this book 4 stars on Goodreads .
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