This book had me sitting on the edge of my seat. The author did an amazing job at making me think I knew what was about to happen. I was totally wrong! I devoured this book in one sitting. There are twice and suspense. I really enjoyed this book!

TAKE YOUR BREATHE AWAY really lived up to the title. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going to happen next. The twists and turn up to the very end were so well plotted out and written. This will be a great book to take on a trip to read on the beach or simply sitting at home. Just be prepared to read until the end.

I’ve been a regular reader of Linwood Barclay’s books for several years, generally awarding 4 or 5 stars, so I was pleased to get a copy of Take Your Breath Away from William Morrow and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. But then I looked at the last book of his I reviewed, which was a (rare) 2-star review…considering we were about 9 months into lockdown due to the pandemic, I thought possibly that had shifted my perception and I should give Mr. Barclay another chance…

In this one, Andrew Mason returned from a fishing trip to find that his wife, Brie, had vanished without a trace. As happens, lots of people figured Andy had gotten away with murder—it’s always the husband, right—but the police couldn’t make a case against him. Andy wallowed in his grief (? or whatever) and drank too much, was abandoned by all his friends except one, nearly lost his business, and became a pariah in his hometown.

Then, six years later, after Andy had sold the house he shared with Brie . He moved away and settled down with a new partner, Jayne, and life seemed good. Then one day, a woman showed up at the old address where Andy and Brie lived, shouting “Where’s my house? What’s happened to my house?” The woman quickly vanishes, but when the police are notified, the questions start again. and old questions—and dark suspicions—resurface. WTH? Is Brie alive? Andy needs to figure it out! I enjoyed this read, and will once again consider myself a fan of Linwood Barclay. Four stars.

One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace. Most everyone assumed Andy had got away with murder—it’s always the husband, isn’t it?—but the police could never build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom—he drank too much to numb the pain, was abandoned by all his friends save one, nearly lost his business, and became a pariah in the place he once called home.

Now, six years later, Andy has finally put his life back together. He sold the house he once shared with Brie and moved away. To tell the truth, he wasn’t sad to hear that the old place was razed and a new house built on the site. He’s settled down with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good.

But Andy’s peaceful world is about to shatter. One day, a woman shows up at his old address, screaming, “Where’s my house? What’s happened to my house?” And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, the woman—who bears a striking resemblance to Brie—is gone. The police are notified and old questions—and dark suspicions—resurface.

Could Brie really be alive after all these years? If so, where has she been? It soon becomes clear that Andy’s future and the lives of those closest to him depend on discovering what the hell is going on. The trick will be whether he can stay alive long enough to unearth the answers.

What It's About: Six years ago, Andrew Mason's wife, Brie vanished without a trace. He moved to another town as most of the townsfolk assumed he was involved in her disappearance and somehow got away with it. Now, as he is trying to put his life back together, police comes knocking on his door again after a sighting of Brie was reported.

My thoughts: This book begins with a really intense scene and I was hooked! I just had to keep reading. This story is told mostly from Andrew's POV and there were also chapters on police interviews which I really liked! I do not know why, but I loved reading police interviews! Ha!

The story did drag a bit in the middle before things picked up again towards the end. As much as I liked the plot and the mystery surrounding Brie's disappearance, I did feel it meanders quite a bit.

Regardless, I still liked the story for the twists and turns and good characters depth. You may want to give this a read if you're looking for an entertaining domestic suspense/thriller!



Pub. Date: May 17th, 2022


***Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this gifted review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.***

Fast and fun suspense thriller that will keep you guessing!

Six years ago, while Andrew Mason was away with his best friend on a fishing trip, Brie Mason disappeared without a trace. Andrew was tormented by accusations and suspicion by the local police, his in-laws, and the people who lived in town. Finally, since there was no proof and no body, Andrew was left to get on with his life and he has found new happiness with girlfriend, Jayne, and her brother, Tyler. His newfound happiness, however, is about to vanish when a woman who looks like Brie starts showing up around their old home and by the hospital where her mother is currently dying. If this is really Brie, why isn’t she sticking around to explain where she’s been. Things are about to get really crazy.

I really enjoyed this as I do most of Barclay’s novels. The narrative shifts and the pacing made it hard to put down as I raced to the conclusion. Full of twists and red herrings, I still managed to solve the mystery before the big reveal, but it was pure enjoyment from beginning to end. This book was just what I needed after a string of titles that did not make my recommended list. Sure it is a bit far fetched and you might need to suspend some disbelief, but it was a great story.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow & Company for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

What a great face paced thriller. I read it in 24 hours wanting to know what was going to happen next. I liked the format the story was written going back and forth on timelines and characters. I thought I had the ending figured out but the twist was not what I expected. This book would be a great summer read…….when Andrew goes away for a weekend to hang with his best friend and returns home to find his wife has disappeared, the case was never solved and after being accused but no evidence to support he begins to find a way to live his life including a new family. Then one day years later someone calls saying they think they saw her and this sets up a domino effect trying to figure out what is going on. Every page brings more questions as to what happened.

I received a free copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.
I would recommend this book to friends and my book clubs

When Andrew’s wife disappears while he is away at a boys’ weekend, everyone suspects him of killing her. Now 6 year later, Brie has come back - or else who is the woman that looks just like her and what does she want ?. 🤔


✔️definitely keeps you guessing - did I guess who the guilty party was early on ? Yes I did, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the various twists and turns that came along the way - because I didn’t see most of those coming at all !
✔️ then ending was somewhat unexpected

This is my second book by this author and he is definitely becoming a favourite ! I can’t wait to read more

Six years ago, Andrew's wife Brie disappeared while he was out of town. When a woman who looks like Brie shows up at their old house, Andrew has a lot of questions: Is this woman really Brie? Where has she been? And why is she back?

The premise of this book is interesting, but the plot dragged at points and there were too many things I saw coming. When a particular, unique setting was introduced, I guessed that it was going to be the location of the culminating scene of the story. When a specific character was introduced, I had a strong feeling that this person was going to be the culprit. I've enjoyed other Barclay books but this one was not his best work.

I have read almost all of Linwood Barclay’s books and have never been disappointed in the story. This one is equally as great as his previous books and I look forward to all his futures stories.

While I enjoyed this thriller, it does require you to suspend a lot of disbelief as you read. Having gotten that out of the way, I can say it is a fun read. I live in CT, so I enjoyed picturing much of the area of Stratford and Milford, Connecticut as the story unfolded. Andrew Mason's wife went missing six years ago. As the spouse, he was suspect number one. However, no body has ever been found, and Andrew has been able to move on as best he can. He is now in a new relationship in a new town. But all of the sudden, a woman that looks like Brie has surfaced in their old neighborhood. Is it Brie? What is the truth? This is a fun read- use it as a summer book!

Brie is all alone this weekend. Her husband is off on a fishing trip. Brie is tired because she couldn’t sleep last night. She heard noises downstairs and suspects their house has mice. An exterminator drops by and leaves her some traps and tells her to sprinkle flour on the floor in front of the sink. That way in the morning, she will see any mouse tracks. In the middle of the night, Brie hears noises downstairs that wake her up again. She sneaks downstairs, throws the switch for the kitchen overhead, and is confused by what she sees. The tracks in the flour are from a pair of big shoes. A noise right behind her causes her to whirl around. Her eyes fly open but she makes no sound.
Six years later, Andrew, Brie’s husband, has moved on. A while back, he changed his name so the police and the locals would stop hounding him, sure he had murdered Brie. He met a woman, Jayne, he really likes and asked her to move in with him.
Then all of sudden, his old neighbor and Brie’s family tell him they have seen her. All of these sightings have been from a distance so no one is really sure, but he finds out from his mother-in-law that Brie visited her in the hospital and told her everything would be okay. What is going on? If Brie is alive, where has she been and why hasn’t she ever contacted him or anyone in her family? Andrew feels like his new life is beginning to unravel. If he doesn’t want to lose Jayne, he needs to either find Brie or find out what happened to her.
I always enjoy reading Linwood Barclay. The pacing in this book was hypnotic, pulling the reader through to the very end. It was very hard to put down. The twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing until the very end. This book is for readers who like Rachel Hawkins.

Robyn Heil, Buyer for Brodart Co.

Another amazing stand-alone book by Linwood Barclay. Couldn't put this one down...so many twists and turns, I was definitely surprised at the end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

If you are in the mood for a fast-paced thriller, I would recommend checking this one out. The premise: Brie goes missing while her husband, Andrew, was away on a fishing trip with a friend. However, with a rocky marriage and ample time to drive back and forth, could Andrew have done away with his wife? Has she been abducted? Has she chosen to leave of her own free will? Many blamed Andrew, but then Brie is sighted back in town by several witnesses. This was so intriguing and I was hooked from the very beginning! The quick pace was helped along by short chapters (a personal preference, but really kept the story moving). The twists and relationship complications kept arriving, but in ways that added to the story. For example, I appreciated the storyline featuring Andrew, Jayne, and Jayne’s brother, Tyler—their dynamics felt real and compelling. Other well-drawn characters were Brie’s dying mother, Elizabeth, and the detective assigned to Brie’s missing person case, Detective Hardy. I was guessing how everything would resolve right up to the end which is a welcome surprise since I read so many thrillers. My only slight gripe is that some portions of the plot were a bit problematic if you spent too much time reflecting on them…I easily overlooked these things as I enjoyed how everything unfolded overall. The quality of the writing is excellent and I am already figuring out what I will read next by this author! Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy and Thoughts From a Page Podcast for selecting this for your Patreon and for organizing the discussion with the author—he was so down-to-earth and friendly! That definitely added to the reading experience from me.

From my blog: Always With a Book

This is the second book I’ve read by Linwood Barclay and I really like his writing style. He’s got this binge-worthy, addicting quality to his writing and I don’t know why I haven’ read more of his books. Thanks to Cindy and her Patreon early reads group, I was able to not only read this one early and discuss it with our group but also chat with the author and I just loved being able to hear how he came up with the idea for this story and everything.

This book kept me engaged and frantically flipping the pages from start to finish. I loved that I had so many questions running through my mind as I read – this is definitely a case where I was totally an active reader throughout the book – my mind just wouldn’t stop trying to figure out what was going on and coming up with question after question. And, as I found out in our book discussion I definitely wasn’t the only one. I had so many theories as to what happened to Brie and while none of my ideas came to fruition, I still enjoyed this one immensely. Yes, I did have to suspend belief a few times, but I find that sometimes happens with thrillers and I’m totally ok with that.

This one is so cleverly plotted and the twists and turns really kept me on edge and fully engaged. I am definitely looking forward to reading Barclay’s backlist as I didn’t realize just how prolific an author he is. If you like a good, fast-paced thriller, I highly recommend adding this one to your summer reading list – it’s out May 17th!

A Noise Downstairs was one of my favorite books of 2021, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Take Your Breath Away. Cindy from the Thoughts from a Page Podcast was so kind as to provide ARCs to Patreon members, and then we had a zoom discussion with Linwood Barclay, which was so fun and insightful! This was such a propulsive, fast-paced, suspenseful read. I loved that it was set in 2022, and while the pandemic wasn't a focus, there were details about it throughout, making the story and characters seem even more realistic. There were plenty of twists and turns, and I was suspicious of every character. This was only my second book by Barclay, and I am looking forward to reading more from his extensive backlist. Take Your Breath Away releases on May 17th - you don't want to miss this one!

Looking for your next fun vacation read? If you want a fast-paced thriller set amidst a mysterious disappearance, then Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay is the one for you. Six years ago a young wife, Brie, disappeared and the police were never able to explain how, why or who done it. The author cleverly points the finger at all the usual suspects (husband, former lover, quirky pest control guy, sibling, etc.), but you're just not sure what exactly happened. Then Brie is spotted returning home six years later, and, as you can imagine, everyone is flustered and not in a good way. The mystery unfolds in present time with great pacing of chapters. The believable characters could easily be your coworkers and neighbors and my favorite was Detective Marissa Hardy. This was my first book by Mr. Barclay, and he won me over!

3.5 stars
What an entertaining read! Full of interesting characters with secrets and subplots all woven nicely together, will keep you guessing who the guilty party is. The multiple POV was well executed and provided some great character development. The many twists kept me turning pages to find out whodunit.

Thank you Harper Collins Canada for this ARC.

The story starts off strong with the reappearance of Brie, Andrew's wife who had been missing for six years. There are a lot of rabbit trails the author leads readers on with many characters to choose from in this mystery. I felt the plot was drug out a little too much with so much needless information to sort through. This was not my favorite by this author.

The dreaded reading slump. We’ve all been there. Thank you, Linwood Barclay for snapping me out of my rut with your latest page-turner, TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY.

The unexplained disappearance of Andrew Carville’s wife Brie has left his life in shambles. Six years later, her disappearance remains unsolved despite unproven accusations of Andrew’s guilt. He has made a new life for himself when multiple sightings of Brie are reported that calls everything into question.

My mind was reeling at every turn as I tried to piece together what actually happened to Brie and who was responsible. Linwood Barclay masterfully led me down multiple paths of suspicion with a large cast of potential suspects. I was never confident in who could be trusted and each of my elaborate theories for Brie’s disappearance turned out to be dead wrong.

If you’re looking for a slump-buster in your reading, TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY is just the book to sweep you away with its clever twists & turns.

RATING: 4.5/5
PUB DATE: May 17, 2022

Many thanks to William Morrow and Thoughts From a Page podcast Patreon community for providing me with early access to an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.