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A review by litwithleigh
Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay
3.0
Thank you Harper Collins Canada for the physical ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.
Writing: 3.5/5 | Plot: 3/5 | Ending: 2.5/5
THE PLOT
Six years ago, Andrew's wife Brie went missing and he became prime suspect numero uno. When Brie suddenly reappears, Andrew's life is sent into a tailspin. Is it really Brie? Where did she come from? Where did she go? Where did you come from, Cotton Eye Brie?
MY OPINION
My first Linwood Barclay book and I enjoyed the writing. The pacing dragged in some places; from the point Brie popped back on the scene to when Andrew decided to finally get off his ass and find out wagwan was over 100 pages.... Pls.
This is Honda Civic reliable if you're prepared to suspend your disbelief and don't mind the hallmarks of male-authored books, which include:
-unlikeable women with horrible personalities (the only "good" ones are subservient)
-random gang/mafia storyline just to spice tings up
-action scenes
-male "protagonist" that really ain't shit and ofc had a drinking problem at one point
I didn't like some of the POVs–tbh we didn't need Tyler in there at all. I understand his "role" in the end, but still, the book would've been just fine without him. You could've swapped in Jayne for his scenes and it would've worked just as well. This goes with my point of the pacing, the rando POVs and police interview scripts just bogged things down without really providing any necessary info to move the plot forward. I guess it was all about creating suspense but it felt more like I was in a slow line at the grocery store.
There were humorous parts and I can see this working very well as a fancy Netflix/HBO series. The premise was interesting and I was wondering if Brie really did come back (Unmissing style) to wreak some havoc or if something else was afoot. Read this to find out.
BTW THERE WAS A SKULL WITH HAIR AGAIN!!!!!!! CMON PEOPLE!!!!!!! DON'T DO THIS TO ME!!!!!!!!!
PROS AND CONS
Pros: interesting premise, decent writing, some humour
Cons: slow in some parts, requires you to suspend your belief (hair on a skull, hawk in a mall???), pretty obvious what was poppin off
Writing: 3.5/5 | Plot: 3/5 | Ending: 2.5/5
THE PLOT
Six years ago, Andrew's wife Brie went missing and he became prime suspect numero uno. When Brie suddenly reappears, Andrew's life is sent into a tailspin. Is it really Brie? Where did she come from? Where did she go? Where did you come from, Cotton Eye Brie?
MY OPINION
My first Linwood Barclay book and I enjoyed the writing. The pacing dragged in some places; from the point Brie popped back on the scene to when Andrew decided to finally get off his ass and find out wagwan was over 100 pages.... Pls.
This is Honda Civic reliable if you're prepared to suspend your disbelief and don't mind the hallmarks of male-authored books, which include:
-unlikeable women with horrible personalities (the only "good" ones are subservient)
-random gang/mafia storyline just to spice tings up
-action scenes
-male "protagonist" that really ain't shit and ofc had a drinking problem at one point
I didn't like some of the POVs–tbh we didn't need Tyler in there at all. I understand his "role" in the end, but still, the book would've been just fine without him. You could've swapped in Jayne for his scenes and it would've worked just as well. This goes with my point of the pacing, the rando POVs and police interview scripts just bogged things down without really providing any necessary info to move the plot forward. I guess it was all about creating suspense but it felt more like I was in a slow line at the grocery store.
There were humorous parts and I can see this working very well as a fancy Netflix/HBO series. The premise was interesting and I was wondering if Brie really did come back (Unmissing style) to wreak some havoc or if something else was afoot. Read this to find out.
BTW THERE WAS A SKULL WITH HAIR AGAIN!!!!!!! CMON PEOPLE!!!!!!! DON'T DO THIS TO ME!!!!!!!!!
PROS AND CONS
Pros: interesting premise, decent writing, some humour
Cons: slow in some parts, requires you to suspend your belief (hair on a skull, hawk in a mall???), pretty obvious what was poppin off