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bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
Pure popcorn entertainment. The characters didn't have a great deal of depth, but there was an interesting mix here. The plot was contrived and pretty over-the-top, but that didn't bother me so much here because of the way the book was set up. Too many thrillers strive to be deep but then expect readers to suspend all disbelief once they start sending preposterous twists their way, whereas this book was more the action movie equivalent of a thriller. The fast pace and large cast meant I couldn't quite figure out what was going on until just before the big reveal.
litwithleigh's review
4.0
Writing: 4/5 | Plot: 4/5 | Ending: OTT but what's new/5
SYNOPSIS
Tech millionaire Miles finds out he has Huntington's, a rare terminal illness with a 50% chance of being passed down to the next generation. Cue the panic: Miles finds out he has a gaggle of kids from a despo-for-cash sperm donation years ago. And when his heirs start getting picked off one-by-one, Miles has to figure out wassup while he still can.
MY OPINION
Ok so IYKYK, I'm not a big fan of male authors. They usually annoy the shit outta me by 1) writing about women as if they're only mounds of flesh 2) throwing in some CIA/underground mafia/KGB storyline in a crime book that takes place in Boise, Idaho. PLS SIR. Linwood Barclay is on the few exceptions; his male gaze is minimal, and he doesn't go too crazy with the John Wick subplots.
I really like his writing style: sharp prose, short chapters. I've read [b:Take Your Breath Away|58735545|Take Your Breath Away|Linwood Barclay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643832602l/58735545._SX50_.jpg|92414258] and [b:A Noise Downstairs|36339629|A Noise Downstairs|Linwood Barclay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524840527l/36339629._SY75_.jpg|58019576] which had their strengths, but kinda fell apart at the end and landed in 3-star territory. This book is my fave so far; in fact I hurried my ass out to the secondhand store and scored two more books of his. Just helping the economy ya know.
AnywayZZZ let's talk about the book. I should add that if you are adopted or your parent(s) used a sperm donor, you may feel very differently about this story as you're coming at it through a different lens. For me, I thought the premise was interesting; I'm always curious about sperm donor because personally I couldn't live knowing that I my DNA may be walking and talking on this earth unbeknownst to me.
Maybe this is common knowledge but it's clear that Barclay was inspired by Jeffrey Epstein when writing Jeremy Pritkin LOL. The parallels are hard to miss but entertaining. In his other books that I read, I felt he included too many unnecessary POVs, but in this case I actually enjoyed the lil background stories into Miles' kids. I thought he did a good job exploring the father-daughter relationship with Chloe and Miles was a well-developed character with a clear redemption arc.
All in all, an enjoyable read. I was hankering for this one, so I'm glad it didn't let me know. Excited to read more from Barclay.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, interesting and layered plot, developed and distinct characters, juicy ass premise
Cons: could be offensive to individuals who are adopted or their parent(s) used a sperm donor so proceed with caution if this applies to you, ending was doing thee most but what's new boo
SYNOPSIS
Tech millionaire Miles finds out he has Huntington's, a rare terminal illness with a 50% chance of being passed down to the next generation. Cue the panic: Miles finds out he has a gaggle of kids from a despo-for-cash sperm donation years ago. And when his heirs start getting picked off one-by-one, Miles has to figure out wassup while he still can.
MY OPINION
Ok so IYKYK, I'm not a big fan of male authors. They usually annoy the shit outta me by 1) writing about women as if they're only mounds of flesh 2) throwing in some CIA/underground mafia/KGB storyline in a crime book that takes place in Boise, Idaho. PLS SIR. Linwood Barclay is on the few exceptions; his male gaze is minimal, and he doesn't go too crazy with the John Wick subplots.
I really like his writing style: sharp prose, short chapters. I've read [b:Take Your Breath Away|58735545|Take Your Breath Away|Linwood Barclay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643832602l/58735545._SX50_.jpg|92414258] and [b:A Noise Downstairs|36339629|A Noise Downstairs|Linwood Barclay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524840527l/36339629._SY75_.jpg|58019576] which had their strengths, but kinda fell apart at the end and landed in 3-star territory. This book is my fave so far; in fact I hurried my ass out to the secondhand store and scored two more books of his. Just helping the economy ya know.
AnywayZZZ let's talk about the book. I should add that if you are adopted or your parent(s) used a sperm donor, you may feel very differently about this story as you're coming at it through a different lens. For me, I thought the premise was interesting; I'm always curious about sperm donor because personally I couldn't live knowing that I my DNA may be walking and talking on this earth unbeknownst to me.
Maybe this is common knowledge but it's clear that Barclay was inspired by Jeffrey Epstein when writing Jeremy Pritkin LOL. The parallels are hard to miss but entertaining. In his other books that I read, I felt he included too many unnecessary POVs, but in this case I actually enjoyed the lil background stories into Miles' kids. I thought he did a good job exploring the father-daughter relationship with Chloe and Miles was a well-developed character with a clear redemption arc.
All in all, an enjoyable read. I was hankering for this one, so I'm glad it didn't let me know. Excited to read more from Barclay.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, interesting and layered plot, developed and distinct characters, juicy ass premise
Cons: could be offensive to individuals who are adopted or their parent(s) used a sperm donor so proceed with caution if this applies to you, ending was doing thee most but what's new boo
dianelaw's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
garete62's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
nreyno's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Gun violence, Infertility, Confinement, Death, Murder, and Violence
paulabrandon's review against another edition
3.0
Billionaire app designer Miles Cookson discovers that he has Huntington's disease, and his condition is deteriorating, causing him to reassess his life. Twenty-odd years ago, he donated sperm. He wants to find any children he sired so that he can leave money for them, and also inform them of the possibility they have inherited his condition. However, once he begins looking for them, it seems someone is getting to them first...and killing them! Is there someone out there who is eliminating them so that they can get their hands on Miles' fortune?
To be honest, this was terribly and sloppily written, with too many characters and a somewhat cringey forced team-up between Miles and Chloe Swanson, one of his daughters. The many different plot strands at play only serve to undercut a lot of the suspense and surprises. For example, who know that billionaire Jeremy Pritkin is involved in things up to his eyeballs, otherwise why would we be learning so much about him? And the shock Chloe and Miles experience when they realise someone was in a trailer with them and didn't know is made redundant by the fact we already knew who was in there with them and why. Absolutely everything here gets telegraphed in advance merely by the way the story is set up.
However, the plot is fast-moving enough to let you skip past how badly written this is (unusual for this author) and at least doesn't try to sock us over the head with too many outlandish twists. My interest was engaged all the way through. (I could have done without the guessing-someone's-password after 'hundreds' of attempts sequence. Does Barclay even know how passwords work and what happens if you get it wrong too many times?) It builds to a decent, over-the-top climax. Books get extra points from me simply by virtue of not being boring. This works just fine on a turn-your-brain-off level, but don't go looking for more than that.
To be honest, this was terribly and sloppily written, with too many characters and a somewhat cringey forced team-up between Miles and Chloe Swanson, one of his daughters. The many different plot strands at play only serve to undercut a lot of the suspense and surprises. For example, who know that billionaire Jeremy Pritkin is involved in things up to his eyeballs, otherwise why would we be learning so much about him? And the shock Chloe and Miles experience when they realise someone was in a trailer with them and didn't know is made redundant by the fact we already knew who was in there with them and why. Absolutely everything here gets telegraphed in advance merely by the way the story is set up.
However, the plot is fast-moving enough to let you skip past how badly written this is (unusual for this author) and at least doesn't try to sock us over the head with too many outlandish twists. My interest was engaged all the way through. (I could have done without the guessing-someone's-password after 'hundreds' of attempts sequence. Does Barclay even know how passwords work and what happens if you get it wrong too many times?) It builds to a decent, over-the-top climax. Books get extra points from me simply by virtue of not being boring. This works just fine on a turn-your-brain-off level, but don't go looking for more than that.
highlanderporc's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
tfisher78's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
billymac1962's review against another edition
4.0
It's been way too long since I've read Linwood Barclay. The guy can plot like nobody's business.
This one is his latest, and again with a highly engaging plot. As with all of his novels (as far as I'm concerned, EVERY novel), you're best going in blind and let him take you around the corners.
My favourite of his still remains Trust Your Eyes, which was one of my favourite reads the year I read it. He knocked it out of the park in every aspect.
Find You First didn't wrench my emotions in any way, but as far as a thriller goes, and this is coming from a guy who has not shaken thriller fatigue in years, it delivers very well. Also fun that there is a character who is unsubtly inspired by notable scumbag Jeffrey Epstein. Hard to ignore the past five years or so as inspiration for deplorable characters, eh Linwood?
This was an entertaining read and a solid four stars.
This one is his latest, and again with a highly engaging plot. As with all of his novels (as far as I'm concerned, EVERY novel), you're best going in blind and let him take you around the corners.
My favourite of his still remains Trust Your Eyes, which was one of my favourite reads the year I read it. He knocked it out of the park in every aspect.
Find You First didn't wrench my emotions in any way, but as far as a thriller goes, and this is coming from a guy who has not shaken thriller fatigue in years, it delivers very well. Also fun that there is a character who is unsubtly inspired by notable scumbag Jeffrey Epstein. Hard to ignore the past five years or so as inspiration for deplorable characters, eh Linwood?
This was an entertaining read and a solid four stars.