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A review by lmt01
Far From True by Linwood Barclay
4.0
She took a deep breath. “When I heard about what happened, when the police got in touch, I came over here. I didn’t know quite what else to do, but I also knew that sooner or later I was going to have to pick out clothes, for the funeral home, and then there’d be the whole matter of what to do with the house and…”
“And what?”
“When I stepped into the house, I heard the back door close. Someone was leaving as I was coming in.”
In the town of Promise Falls, tragedy has struck: the Constellation Drive-In Theatre is closing. A damn shame, the people of the town agree. So strong is their sorrow that the crowd that musters for the final screening is a mighty one, people from all over Promise Falls arriving for the theatres swan-song. However, tragedy strikes again at this screening, and one far worse than the closing of a theatre: the large screen is blown down onto the crowd. However, even in the chaos it is apparent that such a catastrophe was the product of one with a sinister mind, one who is intent on giving a warning. With the fallout of the situation to deal with, Detective Barry Duckworth finds himself battling not only with Randall Finley, a ruthless politician hell-bent on reclaiming the title of mayor, but also a mysterious killer from the past who has resurfaced to take revenge. Also dealing with the fallout, in one way or another, is PI Calvin Weaver, a former Promise Falls police officer who, after moving away, has returned following the deaths of his son and wife. Following the event at the theatre, Weaver receives a call from Lucy Brighton, whose father was one of the tragedy’s victims; she claims that, after visiting her father’s house after learning of his death, she caught somebody leaving. Investigating the house, Weaver finds a “playroom” hidden behind a bookcase, the state of it suggesting that it has recently been ransacked. However, Weaver soon finds himself stumbling across something a lot more serious than what he had thought, and is about to be placed in dangerous waters…
I saw it first on CNN the next morning. Flipped over to the Today show, found they were covering it, too. All the morning shows were focused on Promise Falls. We were famous. I’d noticed the emergency vehicles the night before, as I’d stood on the porch next to my brother-in-law, but figured it was probably just a multicar accident.
Turned out to be much bigger.
Going into FAR FROM TRUE, I was quite looking forward to discovering what events would occur. Not only because it is a sequel, but also because it features Cal Weaver, the main protagonist from my first Barclay novel, A TAP ON THE WINDOW, and a character who I liked for his grey views on right-and-wrong and gritty sense of justice. I was also interesting in seeing how he would end up coping with the murder of his wife at the end of A TAP ON THE WINDOW, a death which took me by surprise like a punch to the gut. Honestly, Donna Weaver’s death in A TAP ON THE WINDOW was one of the most shocking deaths I’d read in ages, and still remains one of the most devastating.
It was nice to catch up with characters who had been met with in BROKEN PROMISE, and the continuation of their journeys was interesting to read. Barry Duckworth is as sympathetic a character as ever, especially with the tension between him and his son, what with said son working for Randall Finley, Duckworth’s enemy. We also see the relationship between David and Samantha rekindle after the apparent destruction of their relationship in the last novel.
He’d been reaching out to her, trying to explain that he hadn’t done anything—at least not intentionally—to betray her. Someone had evidently taken pictures through her kitchen window of the two of them having sex, and now the pics were being used as evidence that she was somehow an unfit mother.
I think that, in terms of enjoyment, I preferred this novel to its predecessor. However, in terms of predictability, BROKEN PROMISE had the most shocking twists of the two; while FAR FROM TRUE was, at times, unpredictable, there were certain plot twists that I, unfortunately, did see coming.
With only one book left, I am eager to crack into THE TWENTY-THREE and see how the Promise Falls Trilogy concludes—and to learn the identity of the mysterious “Mr Twenty-Three”!
“And what?”
“When I stepped into the house, I heard the back door close. Someone was leaving as I was coming in.”
In the town of Promise Falls, tragedy has struck: the Constellation Drive-In Theatre is closing. A damn shame, the people of the town agree. So strong is their sorrow that the crowd that musters for the final screening is a mighty one, people from all over Promise Falls arriving for the theatres swan-song. However, tragedy strikes again at this screening, and one far worse than the closing of a theatre: the large screen is blown down onto the crowd. However, even in the chaos it is apparent that such a catastrophe was the product of one with a sinister mind, one who is intent on giving a warning. With the fallout of the situation to deal with, Detective Barry Duckworth finds himself battling not only with Randall Finley, a ruthless politician hell-bent on reclaiming the title of mayor, but also a mysterious killer from the past who has resurfaced to take revenge. Also dealing with the fallout, in one way or another, is PI Calvin Weaver, a former Promise Falls police officer who, after moving away, has returned following the deaths of his son and wife. Following the event at the theatre, Weaver receives a call from Lucy Brighton, whose father was one of the tragedy’s victims; she claims that, after visiting her father’s house after learning of his death, she caught somebody leaving. Investigating the house, Weaver finds a “playroom” hidden behind a bookcase, the state of it suggesting that it has recently been ransacked. However, Weaver soon finds himself stumbling across something a lot more serious than what he had thought, and is about to be placed in dangerous waters…
I saw it first on CNN the next morning. Flipped over to the Today show, found they were covering it, too. All the morning shows were focused on Promise Falls. We were famous. I’d noticed the emergency vehicles the night before, as I’d stood on the porch next to my brother-in-law, but figured it was probably just a multicar accident.
Turned out to be much bigger.
Going into FAR FROM TRUE, I was quite looking forward to discovering what events would occur. Not only because it is a sequel, but also because it features Cal Weaver, the main protagonist from my first Barclay novel, A TAP ON THE WINDOW, and a character who I liked for his grey views on right-and-wrong and gritty sense of justice. I was also interesting in seeing how he would end up coping with the murder of his wife at the end of A TAP ON THE WINDOW, a death which took me by surprise like a punch to the gut. Honestly, Donna Weaver’s death in A TAP ON THE WINDOW was one of the most shocking deaths I’d read in ages, and still remains one of the most devastating.
It was nice to catch up with characters who had been met with in BROKEN PROMISE, and the continuation of their journeys was interesting to read. Barry Duckworth is as sympathetic a character as ever, especially with the tension between him and his son, what with said son working for Randall Finley, Duckworth’s enemy. We also see the relationship between David and Samantha rekindle after the apparent destruction of their relationship in the last novel.
He’d been reaching out to her, trying to explain that he hadn’t done anything—at least not intentionally—to betray her. Someone had evidently taken pictures through her kitchen window of the two of them having sex, and now the pics were being used as evidence that she was somehow an unfit mother.
I think that, in terms of enjoyment, I preferred this novel to its predecessor. However, in terms of predictability, BROKEN PROMISE had the most shocking twists of the two; while FAR FROM TRUE was, at times, unpredictable, there were certain plot twists that I, unfortunately, did see coming.
With only one book left, I am eager to crack into THE TWENTY-THREE and see how the Promise Falls Trilogy concludes—and to learn the identity of the mysterious “Mr Twenty-Three”!