Monday, September 16, 2013

A Tap on the Window -- Linwood Barclay

Linwood Barclay is a master of the bestselling thriller.  Things begin innocently enough with the titular tap, and then they start to spiral almost out of control.

Cal Weaver, ex-cop, is a p. i. in a middling New York city near Buffalo.  He and his wife are going through a touch time because their son died in a fall from a rooftop while under the influence of Ecstasy.  The town's going through a tough time because of a feud between the mayor and the chief of police, who happens to be Weaver's brother-in-law. Weaver can't let his son's death alone, and he's investigating it in sometimes unorthodox ways.

Weaver gives a ride to a young woman on a rainy night.  She disappears.  Her best friend is murdered.  Other people die.  There are intercut chapters of something strange and seemingly unrelated (though of course they're not) going on in town.  If you're looking for a feel-good read, this isn't it.  It's fast-paced and effective, and in places it's even funny, but humor isn't the game here.  By the end, no one's left untouched by the fear and the violence and the secrets.

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