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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay
Narrated by George Newbern, Johnathan McClain
I'm not drawn to books that involve bombs, drug dealers, and scummy bad guys but I do enjoy books where everyday people get caught in situations they would have never imagined. Sadly, when English teacher Richard Boyle comes face to face with a former student of his school and that former student is wrapped and ready to blow up, Richard has had some training for such situations due to school violence going on nowadays. Still, being in the actual situation leaves no time to ponder, no time to think out solutions.
Despite the sad outcome of that meeting, overall Richard is a hero for saving any intended victims. But being in the spotlight draws unwanted and unmerited bad attention and soon Richard it having try to outsmart folks who may or many not be very smart. There doesn't seem to be any right and safe way to get a blackmailer and more baddies off his tail without him losing his job and possibly his family. Still, I did side eye some very questionable decisions made my Richard and others, everyone seems to need some lessons in doing a better job of thinking things through.
Linwood Barclay has some really good narrators for his audiobooks and as usual, George Newbern is great as an everyday man caught in an explosive and getting worse by the minute situation. Johnathan McClain is a great counterbalance to Newbern's narration and those narrations really helped to pull me into the story. I had strong suspicions about the biggest baddie and I was right but some other things got past me for way too long which made the story more fun and surprising for me. This was one of those books I stayed up too late to finish and I'm very glad I went with the audiobook edition.
Thanks to my library and Libby for this ARC.
Narrated by George Newbern, Johnathan McClain
I'm not drawn to books that involve bombs, drug dealers, and scummy bad guys but I do enjoy books where everyday people get caught in situations they would have never imagined. Sadly, when English teacher Richard Boyle comes face to face with a former student of his school and that former student is wrapped and ready to blow up, Richard has had some training for such situations due to school violence going on nowadays. Still, being in the actual situation leaves no time to ponder, no time to think out solutions.
Despite the sad outcome of that meeting, overall Richard is a hero for saving any intended victims. But being in the spotlight draws unwanted and unmerited bad attention and soon Richard it having try to outsmart folks who may or many not be very smart. There doesn't seem to be any right and safe way to get a blackmailer and more baddies off his tail without him losing his job and possibly his family. Still, I did side eye some very questionable decisions made my Richard and others, everyone seems to need some lessons in doing a better job of thinking things through.
Linwood Barclay has some really good narrators for his audiobooks and as usual, George Newbern is great as an everyday man caught in an explosive and getting worse by the minute situation. Johnathan McClain is a great counterbalance to Newbern's narration and those narrations really helped to pull me into the story. I had strong suspicions about the biggest baddie and I was right but some other things got past me for way too long which made the story more fun and surprising for me. This was one of those books I stayed up too late to finish and I'm very glad I went with the audiobook edition.
Thanks to my library and Libby for this ARC.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
High school English teacher Richard Boyle comes face-to-face with an ex-student determined to commit an atrocity. Thanks to his quick thinking, Richard averts a major tragedy and is hailed as a hero, with his face splashed across the media. But not all the attention is good. Richard is drawn into a fraught web of salacious accusations and deadly secrets. As he tries to uncover the truth, he discovers that there’s something deeply wrong in his town— and that he has landed smack in the middle of it.
Not gonna lie, it took me a while to get into the story at the start. Richard’s storyline was immediately gripping and it kept my interest, but I wasn’t sure where Billy’s and Martha’s would merge in so I just wanted to skip their chapters.
However, when everything finally converged, it was a complete page-turner! I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to know what’d happen next. The last 10% of the book was amazing. My heart was racing, and I was completely hooked. All in all, another high-adrenaline, high-drama popcorn thriller from Linwood Barclay.
(Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review)
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated