Seeking Solution from Ruin
Review of the William Morrow hardcover (May 7, 2024) released simultaneously with the William Morrow eBook and the HarperAudio audiobook.

Such is circumstance that soon after reading GR Friend Berengaria's review of Linwood Barclay's Never Saw it Coming (2010) I happened to be in the library and there was Barclay's latest novel right there on the New Releases shelf. I saw that as a sign and grabbed it up right away 😊!

Barclay never disappoints with his suspense fiction and I Will Ruin You is yet another successful outing. The plots do get somewhat elaborate and unrealistic at times though. Could a mild-mannered high school teacher defuse a school suicide-bomb threat, be subjected to a blackmail scheme, be hunted by ruthless drug dealers, attempt to solve a possible teacher-student abuse case, be suspected of murder, become the unwilling go-between in a drugs for cash exchange deal etc. etc. and still manage to survive? In a Linwood Barclay novel, yes he can!

Trivia and Links
I Will Ruin You has a subplot about book banning which the teacher Richard Boyle is dragged into due to his use of the off-curriculum book The Road (2006) by Cormac McCarthy in his English language reading class. Author Linwood Barclay wrote a short column about his personal experiences with book banning in a story from his childhood and with his later writing mentor Margaret Laurence and her book The Diviners (1974) which you can read at Linwood Barclay Talks About Book-Banning from The Book Reporter, May 10, 2024.

Barbara Peters of the Poisoned Pen Bookstore interviews Linwood Barclay on the release of I Will Ruin You on its YouTube channel and you can watch the interview here.

Although born in the U.S. in 1955, Linwood Barclay moved with his parents to Canada in 1959 and has lived here ever since, so I count him as a Canadian author. He was a popular humour columnist in my hometown's Toronto Star newspaper for the early part of his career until 2008. After the breakthrough success of his 5th novel No Time for Goodbye (2007), he became a full time novelist. He is somewhat like Harlan Coben, i.e. the books typically have an ordinary person protagonist who is thrust into a mysterious and dangerous situation which they have to resolve. ( )

I am always excited when I see that Linwood Barclay is releasing a new title! It's here - I Will Ruin You. Turn the first few pages - I guarantee you won't be able to stop reading!

Richard Boyle is a teacher who finds himself front and center on the news, after a very serious incident on the school grounds. He's a hero to many, but there are others with a different opinion...

This is one of the reasons I love Barclay's suspense. An ordinary guy dropped into a crazy, unbelievable situation. He can handle what's going on - right? Well you know what's going to happen don't you? He can't control it - and things start to spin out of control. There's a wealth of twists and turns that I hadn't couldn't have expected or predicted. I love being surprised by an author. And Barclay does with every book.

Making things even better is the cast of supporting players - some good, some bad, but all with a hand in the action. Most of those players have a voice with their own take on things.

Another great suspense tale from Barclay - I can see this one as a show series! ( )

3.5⭐️

After high school English teacher Richard Boyle intercepts Mark LeDrew, a former student attempting to enter the school building with a bomb strapped to his chest and manages to talk him out of entering the building thus averting a mass tragedy, he is hailed a hero. However, the incident also attracts the attention of a former student with a grudge. Billy Finster, an airport baggage handler with shady dealings, threatens to go public with his allegations unless Richard pays him for his silence. Richard vehemently denies Billy’s allegations but suspects that Billy’s accusations might not be completely baseless as Mark had also voiced similar grievances. But Billy isn’t Richard’s only problem. Jealous colleagues, a lawsuit, irate parents protesting Richard’s classroom discussions on books they deem inappropriate and coping with the trauma of almost being blown up and the strain of keeping secrets from his wife complicated the situation further. Unbeknownst to Richard, Billy’s criminal associates are being investigated by Richard’s sister-in-law, who works in law enforcement. As the narrative progresses, we follow Richard as he tries to deal with his blackmailer, keep himself and his family safe from Billy’s criminal associates and get to the truth behind Billy’s accusations.

Having enjoyed the author’s work in the past, I was eager to read his latest offering. I was intrigued by the premise of I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay. The narrative is shared in short chapters from multiple perspectives, including Richard’s first-person PoV. Twisty, suspenseful and consistently paced, there is a lot to like about this thriller. The beginning of the novel had me hooked. Richard was an interesting protagonist and I thought the author incorporated several relevant themes into the narrative. However, as the narrative progressed, I thought that there was perhaps too much going on (a few of the sub-plots were unnecessary), which was distracting. I was hoping for a more tightly woven thriller and I can’t help feeling a tad disappointed, though I did enjoy the novel overall and look forward to exploring more of the author’s work in the future.

Many thanks to William Morrow for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ( )