I ended up not finishing this one. My friends had told me how amazing this author was so I had to give this one a try. It sounded intriguing enough. It started out good, but just completely went in a direction I was not expecting. Just a bit too crazy and I was rolling my eyes. Others may like this one but I was expecting something totally different from what I got.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This is a very creepy horror story with old school 80's horror vibes.

You've got the small town and the absolutely evil force that visits it. It gets very, very gruesome and very chilling.

While I loved the train aspect, I didn't love the overall reason behind everything. No spoilers here - I'll just say that the way everything culminated was just a tiny bit disappointing for me. I'm not sure that's fair to the author because I also can't tell you exactly *what* I wanted to happen in the end.

But it's an eerie, eerie read and I read it at breakneck speed.

Will happily read the author again!

This chilling novel blends possession, cosmic horror, and a dash of Needful Things. Set in a small Vermont town across two timelines—2001 and the present—it delivers a sinister story centered on a seemingly harmless toy train set.

In 2001, a mysterious train shop appears overnight, selling sets that unleash unspeakable horrors: a father’s gruesome death at a BBQ, a woman’s fatal electrocution, and even a family pet turning vicious. The shop’s eerie owner isn’t just a man—he’s something far more sinister. The town’s police chief starts uncovering the truth, setting the stage for catastrophe.

In the present day, a children’s author retreats to Vermont with her son to heal after a traumatic year. But when her son discovers an old train set, their escape turns into a nightmare.

Tense and terrifying, the dual timelines unravel a dark mystery with a gripping ending. Highly recommended!

4 stars.

Annie Blunt’s husband John was killed in a hit and run near their Manhattan home. Then a book in her “Pierce the Penguin” children’s series was somewhat implicated in the death of a child. Now she and her young son Charlie have fled to a home outside a small town in upstate New York for a break, or maybe a new start.

Charlie finds a train set in a shed on the property. Annie is glad he found something he likes but it also weirds her out a bit. Then Annie starts waking to what sounds like a train even though there’s no active track nearby and she hears some odd stories about her house from a neighbor. Now, me? I’m taking the train to a gas station dumpster and leaving the house and everything in it BECAUSE I’VE SEEN MOVIES AND READ BOOKS but I guess Annie has not, because she doesn’t.

Then bad things start happening in the neighborhood and Annie can’t stop drawing a strange new character….AAAAHHHHH! It’s taken over your HAND, Annie! GTFO!

And what does all this have to do with Harry Cook, Chief of police in tiny Lucknow, Vermont and a nerd who sells model trains there?

Oh, this was nice, and I was glad, because I had been on a losing streak with books. This was very Stephen King-ish, and there’s a shout out to him, plus it appears he may have done a read through for the author pre-publication. The story is told from two POVs, Annie’s and Harry’s and then there’s a very nice dovetail between the two. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Recommended.

Linwood Barclay taps into his darker side for this supernatural horror thriller. This was my first reading by Barclay, his previous books crime thrillers, which is not my preferred genre. He definitely makes an original contribution with this novel and I hope there is more to come from Barclay in the horror genre. In The Whistle, Barclay seamlessly blends two stories, one of the past, one in the present, into a terrifying tale of possessed train sets and their menacing creator Mr. Choo. I have always enjoyed possession stories of dolls, so this novel full of horrible “accidents” centered around the ownership of train sets did not take long for me to become immersed into and finish the book in a day. The story starts with the tragic events of Annie and Charlie lives and leads them towards Lucknow, Vermont where the past is revealed along with the impending doom of the present. At no point did I lose interest in the story, there are some fairly gruesome incidents, and the ending pulled it all together. The book will be available May 20, 2025.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Whistle is an outstanding divergence into horror by author Linwood Barclay.

I have happily followed this author throughout his entire career, as he has grown into a bestselling writer of psychological domestic thrillers.

Although I have always enjoyed Barclay's writing (hence my dedication) Whistle is my new hands-down favorite.

I also enjoy Stephen King and Bentley Little books, so it wasn't a hard seque for me.

What I found amazing is what an outstandingly captivating book Whistle is; it is as if this author, after decades of improving his psychological thrillers has found his most natural niche in writing horror novels.

5 stars and a standing ovation from this dedicated fan (congratulations Mr. Barclay). I look forward to many more genre busting books from this bestseller.

*****Supernatural/Horror Writing At Its Best!

I’ve enjoyed several of Linwood Barclay’s thrillers and looked forward to reading the advance copy of Whistle.
provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

Having just finished it, I consider Whistle, which departs into new territory for Barclay,
to be supernatural/horror writing at its best and reminiscent of the best of Stephen King’s “earlier days”;
and particularly of his Needful Things.

I won’t say much about its excellent plot since this is already provided in the Book Description by the publisher. I’ll just say to whet your whistle (sorry about that) that the book is about a woman and her son who move to a small town in upstate New York to start fresh. They encounter disturbing events and strange visions after finding a mysterious train set in a storage shed.. With this in mind be prepared to be taken on a non-stop, unforgettable ride filled with thrills, twists, turns and horrors that will having you gripping tightly to your book/ereader until you come to its its explosive end, i think saying more than this will take away from the thrilling trip you’ll encounter along the way with Barclay’s well-developed cast of characters; especially his unforgettable VERY, VERY bad character.

Buckle up, prepare yourself for a memorable reading experience that I assure you will have you thinking about model trains sets in a way you’ve never thought about before. Choo Choo!!

The plot sounded delightfully bananas and I thought I was fully on board (no pun intended) for where it would go. I was very wrong. In the first few chapters, it became clear this book simply isn't for me.

(However, a huge shout-out to this cover design, which manages to seamlessly blend mystery, intrigue, and horror.)

Like other reviewers, this was not at all what I was expecting to read when I requested the newest by Linwood Barclay. I have loved his previous novels but this one didn't meet or come close to my expectations. I am not into this genre and would not have read it if it was by any other author.

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Annie's husband has recently died and she has been at the center of a tragedy related to one of the children's books she authored. So she decides to pack up her son and spend some time in upstate New York to get out of NYC and get a change of scenery. But, when they get to their rental house in the country strange things start happening.

I LOVE Linwood Barclay. He has written some books that I literally read in one sitting because I could NOT put them down. This was not one of those. I did not care for this book at all. First, it was too long and there were endless descriptions of trains, a topic I have zero interest in. Then it turns out to be a horror/supernatural situation, which are genres that I do NOT read because I do not enjoy reading about things that could not happen in real life. I actually was mildly engaged when the book flashed back to 20 years ago when the train obsession was going on in the small town in Vermont, wondering how all of these weird things were happening, but the explanation was so unsatisfying because it was all a bunch of nonsense that couldn't happen in real life. I find this kind of thing to be a cop out of a way to end a book because you can make up anything and it doesn't have to make any sense. In short I hated this book, I only finished it because it was Linwood Barclay. I will certainly read reviews before I read his next book to make sure he is back on track with normal material, which may not be the case based on his notes at the end of this book. I would have given this one star if it was by a different author.

Haunted toy choo-choos. Give me strength. Barclay’s writing is pedestrian enough when his plots are preposterous in a fun way, but this is just ludicrous.

This creepy novel is a cross between a possession story (sort of) and Needful Things with a bit of cosmic horror thrown in.

It takes place in a small Vermont town between two different timelines, one in 2001 and the other current day. Believe it or not, toy train sets are used as the catalyst for the horrors which take place.

Back in 2001, a mysterious toy train shop opens seemingly overnight. But whoever purchases a set from the creepy owner soon begins to experience terrifying atrocities. A BBQ blows a father to pieces, a woman kills herself by electrocution, a sweet family pet tries to kill it's owner, and more.

The "man" running the store is something evil and you'll read about him throughout. But the chief of police starts putting things together and that's going to lead to an unimaginable catastrophic event.

In the present day, a successful children's book author is living for the summer in another small town to get her and her son away from NYC for a break. They've had a very traumatic year and need the escape. But when her son finds a box full of a toy train set, it's going to lead to terrors beyond their imagination.

These two perspectives are going to come together and provide an ending which is full of fear and tension. I loved how the author switched timelines in between sections. The back and forth slowly unlocked a picture of this man and his purpose and it's certainly frightening.

I highly recommend this novel. I received an ARC through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

4.5 ⭐️ I’ve read Linwood Barclay thrillers, but this is a new genre for him and I loved it! Who would have thought a train set could be so scary!

Told in dual timelines and from multiple POV the story is fast paced and chilling! 2001 Mr Choo aka Edwin of Choo Choo’s Trains sets up shop in a small town in VT selling train sets to the locals. Strange things and disappearances begin to happen and local Police chief Harry starts to connect the dots.

Several years later Annie and her son Charlie rent a house outside N.Y. to escape after the death of her husband and Charlie finds an old train set in the shed. Strange things occur and it becomes obvious the train is not what it seems.

A frightening page turner that’s so scary! Both timelines come together for a great satisfying ending!

Thanks NetGalley and William Morrow Publishers for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! The book starts off with Annie who is a children's author losses her husband to a truck killing him as he walking across a street. Her publisher thinks its a good idea for her and her young son to take some time away from the hustle bustle of New York city and rents her a house 3 hours away in a small town. She settles in and not long after that there are strange things that start happening there.
Away for peace and quiet turn into nightmares and she second guesses why she agreed to go there.
A fantastic author and a fantastic book that I highly recommend.

Whipped through this one. Barclay thanks Stephen King for being an early reader, and I can definitely see his fingerprints on this book. It also reminded me of Joe Hill's NOS4A2, but not quite as fully realized. A solid horror novel from a new-to-me author.

Borrowing heavily upon Stephen Kings works of Needful THings and Christine comes a blockbuster from Linwood Barclay.

I loved how the author took a beloved childrens (collectors) toy and turned it into a thing of evil. It was so suspenseful, when the Chief of Police Harry was investigating and he KNEW something was off, yet how do you bring someone in on NO evidence but for just being evil?

Linwood builds a masterful tale and left me guessing at what would happen next. I DID NOT SEE THE ENDING COMING>

THis is another masterfully told horror story from the author that will wow and entrance anyone.

CHOO CHOO!

Better than I thought it was going to be. Crossing a small town horror and suspense with a deeper story unraveling secrets and discoveries.
Interesting concept with the delivery.
Very Stephen King'ish and Needful Things.

Annie is having a bad year.
Annie is a children’s book author and illustrator. When a child dies after becoming obsessed with flying, Annie is stuck. Unable to move forward and now trying to deal with the shocking death of her husband.
When her publisher finds her a house out of town, she takes her son and goes. But right away you know something is not right with this house, the people or the town.
Annie and her son are hoping to heal from the past year and are struggling.
When Charlie finds an old train set in the shed, things turn weird. Is this a haunting? Is this real?
Hearing train whistles in the night, with no tracks around, odd things happening around the town, and then Charlie goes missing.


Creepy, but in a good way!




NetGalley/ William Morrow May 20, 2025

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley of this ARC of Linwood Barclay's 'Whistle.'

If you like Stephen King's Main/New England small-town horror then you'll like this. It has all the elements of King's best small-town yarns - likeable stalwart local sheriff, strange interloper targeting innocent children and their families, familiar array of townspeople, and a fractured timeline involving big city blow-ins. It's like a combination Salem's Lot, Needful Things, Christine, and IT and even includes King's famous technique of foreshadowing.

Very enjoyable and, as I say, especially attractive to Stephen King fans.

Love Linwood Barclay, but I wasn't expecting the supernatural element in this book. Loved it though! Very creepy and atmospheric with a past/present back and forth narration from two different viewpoints. It was reminded me a bit of Bentley Little books (which I love but are usually too graphic for me) without all the violence..

Great story, well paced, with some great characters that I was really rooting for to save the day!