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A review by katiecatbooks
Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay
4.0
Twists and turns. Multiple perspectives. Multiple crimes.
Story: David's wife has passed away, making him a single father of his son, Ethan. In order to make money to raise him, David moves to Boston to work for a major newspaper. But the job means he doesn't have any time to spend with his son, so he quits his job to move back to his hometown to live with his parents and work for the small town newspaper there. On his first day at the job, the newspaper announces it's shutting down, leaving David unemployed. One morning, David's parents ask him to bring some food over to his cousin Marla's house. Marla has a rocky past and most people consider her unstable and more than a bit looney. When David arrives at her door, he finds what appears to be smeared blood on the doorframe and finds Marla inside with a random baby. Marla explains that an angel dropped the baby boy off and what a miracle it is. It's up to David to handle the situation, but things turn out to be not so simple.
Language: There is violence and mild gore in this book, so it's heavier than a cozy, but not quite as raw as other crime novels. The book is told from multiple perspectives including David, policemen, and townspeople, but David's chapters are all marked, so it's easy to follow the shifts. This is a long book, but it's so enjoyable that it goes quickly. I thought about halfway through that I had solved the mystery and was going to have to label the book predictable but then twists and turns proved me wrong and the book finished with a great reveal. Some small details bothered me, like people solving or discovering things at the exact same time as others on the other side of town, but maybe that's just me being finicky. This book is the first book in the trilogy, and some of thr crimes are solved by the end of the boon, so you can read it as a standalone. But, not all the crimes are solved and there is a cliffhanger at the end, so if that bothers you then prepare to have the next two books on hand.
Characters: David is our protagonist and is in charge of a lot of the action (investigating, driving, putting clues together, taking care of family). Marla plays a central role, and as she is rather unstable and has mental challenges, she becomes a bit of a mystery person, where no one including the reader is really sure if what she says is the truth or just her version of it. David's son Ethan and and his elderly parents play side roles in the story and have their own smaller storylines and misadventures, which break up the main crime story nicely and adds in some small town life to the mix.
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the second (and third!) book.
Story: David's wife has passed away, making him a single father of his son, Ethan. In order to make money to raise him, David moves to Boston to work for a major newspaper. But the job means he doesn't have any time to spend with his son, so he quits his job to move back to his hometown to live with his parents and work for the small town newspaper there. On his first day at the job, the newspaper announces it's shutting down, leaving David unemployed. One morning, David's parents ask him to bring some food over to his cousin Marla's house. Marla has a rocky past and most people consider her unstable and more than a bit looney. When David arrives at her door, he finds what appears to be smeared blood on the doorframe and finds Marla inside with a random baby. Marla explains that an angel dropped the baby boy off and what a miracle it is. It's up to David to handle the situation, but things turn out to be not so simple.
Language: There is violence and mild gore in this book, so it's heavier than a cozy, but not quite as raw as other crime novels. The book is told from multiple perspectives including David, policemen, and townspeople, but David's chapters are all marked, so it's easy to follow the shifts. This is a long book, but it's so enjoyable that it goes quickly. I thought about halfway through that I had solved the mystery and was going to have to label the book predictable but then twists and turns proved me wrong and the book finished with a great reveal. Some small details bothered me, like people solving or discovering things at the exact same time as others on the other side of town, but maybe that's just me being finicky. This book is the first book in the trilogy, and some of thr crimes are solved by the end of the boon, so you can read it as a standalone. But, not all the crimes are solved and there is a cliffhanger at the end, so if that bothers you then prepare to have the next two books on hand.
Characters: David is our protagonist and is in charge of a lot of the action (investigating, driving, putting clues together, taking care of family). Marla plays a central role, and as she is rather unstable and has mental challenges, she becomes a bit of a mystery person, where no one including the reader is really sure if what she says is the truth or just her version of it. David's son Ethan and and his elderly parents play side roles in the story and have their own smaller storylines and misadventures, which break up the main crime story nicely and adds in some small town life to the mix.
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the second (and third!) book.