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voraciousreader10's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Kidnapping, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
amylou215's review against another edition
5.0
The Promise Falls Trilogy is turning out to be one of the best trilogies I've read in a very VERY long time. I don't think I've ever gone through 400/500 page books as quickly as I have with these! So fast-paced and completely unpredictable, the story is so easy to devour and the ending of each chapter is a complete cliffhanger. Although at first I thought the amount of characters and smaller plot lines would become confusing, the narrative is kept fairly simple and surprisingly easy to follow throughout all of the smaller mysteries. The only annoying thing is that the bigger mysteries are unfinished and drawn out but that'll surely make the ending so much more exciting, so hopefully this last book doesn't disappoint! I'm thinking Linwood Barclay may well be my new favourite author...
hsimonton's review against another edition
3.0
Ending is so abrupt I went back and listened again, assuming I had missed an entire section of the book. I like books in a series but this ending left out too much counting on the reader to remember everything when the next one comes out. I would suggest waiting until the next one is out before reading this.
willac's review against another edition
4.0
Linwood Barclay is one of my favorite authors, and I enjoyed this book. I did think, though, that there was an awful lot of stuff going on. It was a little hard to keep track of all the characters and various storylines. Even though it could probably be read as a standalone, it would definitely be helpful to have read several of Mr. Barclay's books, including the first book in the Promise Falls trilogy, "Broken Promise."
In this novel, the big event that starts everything rolling is the collapse of a drive-in movie screen. The theater was due to be demolished, but it was full on that night for the last show before it was torn down. No one is sure if it was a crime or an accident, and as it is investigated, many secrets are revealed, sparking new investigations by both a private detective and the police department. In fact, there were so many things going on that I had a hard time remembering who was who.
In any event, I enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading the third one in this trilogy.
I was provided a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
In this novel, the big event that starts everything rolling is the collapse of a drive-in movie screen. The theater was due to be demolished, but it was full on that night for the last show before it was torn down. No one is sure if it was a crime or an accident, and as it is investigated, many secrets are revealed, sparking new investigations by both a private detective and the police department. In fact, there were so many things going on that I had a hard time remembering who was who.
In any event, I enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading the third one in this trilogy.
I was provided a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
glammybird's review against another edition
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
3.75
weaselweader's review against another edition
5.0
“Cut the bullshit. That’s what I’m about. I want to cut the bullshit”
FAR FROM TRUE, the second installment in Linwood Barclays’ best selling Promise Falls trilogy, was published in 2016. So it’s possible that Randall Finley, the ne’er do well attempting to gain re-election to the Promise Falls mayor’s office after an unsavory wrangle with the law involving sex with an underage girl, resembles Cheetolini merely by coincidence. And that campaign slogan? It hardly comes more Trumpian right-wing than that. Well, as a Canadian reader who welcomes any opportunity to make mock of the most disgusting president in the USA’s 250 year history, I suspect that Linwood Barclay knew EXACTLY what he was doing when he created the character! But I digress …
Here’s the thing! FAR FROM TRUE is a genuine barn-burner, gut-busting thriller that will have you turning the pages long past your bedtime. But – and this is a HUGE but – do NOT read it before BROKEN PROMISE, the debut novel in the trilogy. BROKEN PROMISE, FAR FROM TRUE and THE TWENTY-THREE actually comprise a single full length story that would best be enjoyed by reading them back to back in order. BROKEN PROMISE and FAR FROM TRUE don’t really end on what lovers of the suspense thriller or the psychological thriller genre would call cliff-hangers. A much better description would simply be to say that somewhere around 450 pages, the publisher, the editors and the author just decided to call it a day, publish, package it up, sell it as a book and move on to the next title. Tying up the threads and resolving the intricately connected plots doesn’t happen until THE TWENTY-THREE comes to a close, over 1,300 pages later.
In short, don’t read them out of order, don’t read any of them unless you’re willing to read all three, and, for best results, read them all back to back. In the words of the immortal James Patterson, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
Paul Weiss
FAR FROM TRUE, the second installment in Linwood Barclays’ best selling Promise Falls trilogy, was published in 2016. So it’s possible that Randall Finley, the ne’er do well attempting to gain re-election to the Promise Falls mayor’s office after an unsavory wrangle with the law involving sex with an underage girl, resembles Cheetolini merely by coincidence. And that campaign slogan? It hardly comes more Trumpian right-wing than that. Well, as a Canadian reader who welcomes any opportunity to make mock of the most disgusting president in the USA’s 250 year history, I suspect that Linwood Barclay knew EXACTLY what he was doing when he created the character! But I digress …
Here’s the thing! FAR FROM TRUE is a genuine barn-burner, gut-busting thriller that will have you turning the pages long past your bedtime. But – and this is a HUGE but – do NOT read it before BROKEN PROMISE, the debut novel in the trilogy. BROKEN PROMISE, FAR FROM TRUE and THE TWENTY-THREE actually comprise a single full length story that would best be enjoyed by reading them back to back in order. BROKEN PROMISE and FAR FROM TRUE don’t really end on what lovers of the suspense thriller or the psychological thriller genre would call cliff-hangers. A much better description would simply be to say that somewhere around 450 pages, the publisher, the editors and the author just decided to call it a day, publish, package it up, sell it as a book and move on to the next title. Tying up the threads and resolving the intricately connected plots doesn’t happen until THE TWENTY-THREE comes to a close, over 1,300 pages later.
In short, don’t read them out of order, don’t read any of them unless you’re willing to read all three, and, for best results, read them all back to back. In the words of the immortal James Patterson, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
Paul Weiss
emmanoon1404's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
rojo25's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I would have started the series in order. This was still terrific.