And he's back! After being slightly disappointed by Linwood Barclay's last novel, he's back on top form with his newest novel 'Take Your Breath Away'.

The story mainly follows the perspective of Andrew, 6 years after his wife went missing. Settled down with a new partner in a new house in a new town, his life is suddenly turned upside down when a woman, who looks exactly like his missing wife, is seen by himself and her family members.

The pacing was good and the plot was filled with twists and turns- so much so, that I devoured the story within 24 hours, and suspected almost every character at some point.

This is a great read, and probably his best novel in the last few years. I've already ordered multiple copies for my library service, and have preordimh own hardback copy. I highly recommend!

I’ve read a few Linwood Barclay books and have really enjoyed them, and so I jumped at the opportunity to read an advanced copy, and this didn’t disappoint. I could have easily read this in one sitting.

This was an excellent page Turner and hooked me from the start. Reading from Andrew’s point of view I really didn’t think he had done it, but the way it’s written you doubt everyone at some point throughout the book.

I really enjoyed the way the chapters flowed and revert back to the police investigation to tell the story of what had happened six years ago, combined with the present day and even Covid has a mention in 2022.

It kept me guessing right up to the end, full of twists and turns, fast paced you want to read on to the next chapter to get back to what’s happening to the character.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this, I absolutely loved it.

A brilliant thriller! Kept me guessing all the way through and wrapped up nicely at the end. Would recommend!

This book has everything you expect from Linwood Barclay. Gripping Edge of your seat thriller with twists and turns.

Excellent book and highly recommend.

A good tale, told in the authors unique way with multiple characters and storylines all whizzing and whirling around……but in the end it all fits together with a rip roaring conclusion
I guess this was a ‘whodunit’ but we didn’t really know if there was a crime or a culprit until near the end! All makes sense, honestly, when you read it
The author still has his chatty way of writing and the pages flow by with much conversation between characters, some with no real relevance to the actual story but helped get some back stories sorted
Fast paced, at times exciting and at times a bit frustrating but in a ‘got to find out what is going on here’ way and for me at all times easy to pick up and read
I do love this authors books and this one proved no different

8/10
4 Stars

There's so much going on in this book to keep track of, however the finished book worked amazingly well and did not confuse the reader greatly with its weaving sub-plots. There were many deliberate mis-directions thrown along the way, and as intended, suspicion is pointed at almost everyone at some point. The ending had quite a few surprises and they kept on coming right up to the last few sentences.

Linwood Barclay has an amazing imagination- his books are always so clever. They are the sort of books I cannot put down until I get to the very end. “Take Your Breath Away” was no exception and it was so well plotted that I really couldn’t guess what the outcome would be: even when I got to the last few pages there were still more surprises!
Andrew’s wife, Brie , disappeared 6 years previously when he was away on a fishing trip with his best friend, Greg. Brie has not been seen since and everyone, including the police and Brie’s relatives believe that Andrew killed her. It just can’t be proven.
Andrew has moved from the house he shared with his wife, changed his surname and started again with Jayne who knows nothing about his background.
When a woman claiming to be Brie turns up at Andrew’s old home, he cannot believe it and nor can the police. Investigations recommence and very quickly matters escalate. However the woman cannot be traced and if it is Brie, where has she been for the last 6 years?
The story is mainly told from Andrew’s point of view so it is difficult to know if he is telling the truth. Is he an unreliable narrator? He claims he didn’t do it but can we as readers believe him?
This is such a great read which was a real page turner. I loved all the twists and turns and the question about whether Brie was still alive is a brilliant plot device.
Linwood Barclay is an expert in his field and always provides entertaining reads. I highly recommend this one to all his fans and to anyone who loves a well written mystery that both entertains and enthrals.
It certainly kept me up reading late into the night which is always the sign of a great book!
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ publishers for my arc.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without trace. Most people assumed Andy had got away with murder, but the police couldn't build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom - he drank too much. was abandoned by his friends, nearly lost his business and became a pariah in his own home. Now, six years later, Andy has put his life back together. He's settled with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good. Until a woman shows up at his old address bearing a striking resemblance to Brie. The police open up the cold case again.

This is a cleverly crafted story. The plotline is engaging, thrilling and filled with twists. This is quite a dark read with a slow reveal towards the end. The pace is fast from the beginning pulling me in straight away. Most of the characters have secrets. Brie's disappearance is complex. There's a few subplots thrown in to keep you on your toes. I love the authors style of writing. I was surprised and a little shocked at the ending.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HQ and the author #LinwoodBarclay for my ARC of #TakeYourBreathAway in exchange for an honest review.

Linwood Barclay is a must read or me every single time, and this book just confirms that. Fantastic concept, expertly executed. Starts with what has to be an impossible situation - if Andrew didn't kill his wife, where has she been for six years, and why come back now? It's something that could cause his carefully reconstructed life to implode, as he searches desperately for the answers. As ever though, there's another agenda at play here. One he has no knowledge of, but he'll soon be swept up in it as he battles to find out what happened to his wife all those years ago.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my free e-copy

From the very beginning this is a 'who done it' and it was a real page turner for me, kept me wanting to find out what had happened from the start.

Follows Andrew who is living with his partner Jayne, but hasn't told her yet that 6 years ago his wife Brie went missing and he was the prime suspect.

Now after several sightings of her, Andrew, her family and a detective who has tried to pin this on Andrew for years set out to find out exactly what the hell has happened,

I enjoyed reading this book and will be recommending and looking out for more from this author.

I usually prefer to read books that are set in the UK.But for Linwood Barclay i put that to one side,Andrew is married to Brie but she goes missing Andrew is under suspicion straight away as he was away on fishing trip with best friend Greg.with plenty of twists and turns along the way this is up there with the best books by Linwood Barclay, and with a good ending as well it is a great thriller as always.A great 5 star read for me.

I so loved this book, it captured my imagination right from the first chapter until the very last page. I enjoyed how the author, a new one to me, has written this captivating story with so many twists, turns and different plots going on, it made my head spin, in a good way.

What happens when one day you go on a fishing trip kissing your wife goodbye, only to come home and find her gone, never to be seen again. Having eventually moved on and now in a new relationship life is looking up for Andrew, but his past is about to come hurling back full force to once again disrupt his whole life and devastate him all over again.

I felt for Andrew in this story, I trusted him and liked him, his character seemed very genuine.
This was a wonderfully written story that had me guessing who might be responsible and who was not. In fact, I was so sure I was right but I was so, so wrong. It is a very clever multi-layered story, and the book literally did take my breath away. Fantastic and an absolute must-read.

I think I’d much prefer a hard copy of this book. So I will purchase and will post a review up on my Instagram page.

This was a typical Linwood Barclay thriller in so much that the twists and turns kept coming and the way that the information was fed to the reader kept me changingmy mind as to who was responsible for what.
The characters were well described and felt very real as wwas the scenery aspects. This will make agreat film/TV series as has his other stories.

This is my first Lingwood Barclay book and what a good mystery thriller it is. A page Turner that kept me wanting to read on. Well written storyline and good characters. Even if you think you know the outcome you still want to keep reading. So many twists and turns, complex and enthralling. Will look out for more books by this author

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This was a very fast paced mystery! The multiple POVs kept it very interesting and the additional POVs coming along the way keep you interested. I loved the police interrogations chapters as they give you the feeling you’re in the story! I did expected the plot quite early but still really enjoyed the story and they did get me second guessing myself a few times.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Short Chapters
Multiple POVs
Multiple plot twists

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯.
𝘈 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 … 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘦, 𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 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?'

I've read the majority of Linwood Barclay' books and have thoroughly enjoyed them and this one did not disappoint.

A missing wife and you think straight away that it must have been the husband and, as everyone blames him for her going missing and never being found 6 years ago, it's easy to assume it was him. However I was wrong and towards the end even my guess as to what happened and which member of the family was responsible was also wrong!

This novel keeps the reader guessing right up until the end with twists and turns at every page. I was eager to read on and I enjoyed this from start to end.

Another good book from Linwood.

Perhaps the best way to start is to say that i read this book quickly once I had started as I wanted to know!!
Once again Linwood has hit the mark and written a great mystery thriller around a set of circumstance which I could never have dreamt up. Clever! I certainly didn't guess all the twists and turns although I began to work it out towards the end as any good detective does!

Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay is a story about a missing person. Andrew Mason goes away on a fishing weekend with his business partner. While he is away, his wife Brie goes missing. Andrew remains the main suspect. Six years later, the mystery resurfaces. A woman fitting the description of Brie Mason makes an appearance and causes unease. Andrew Mason has since changed his name to Andrew Carville, sold their old house and is in a new relationship. Having read a couple of the author’s crime novels, it is evident that Linwood Barclays has mastered the craft of keeping his readers hooked from beginning to end. All the characters in the story give flesh to the plot and keep the reader guessing who will benefit from Brie not being found. I give this book a five-star rating for the many twists and turns and for being such an engaging read.

I am a huge fan of Linwood Barclay and this one is up with his best! I say this with every review I do of his books but he was the author who first started me on psychological thrillers.
This book was excellent, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The author writes in such accurate detail about domesticity and family life, his characterisation is brilliant and you always feel involved in the story. One slight criticism I have is that he sometimes includes too many characters who turn out not to be relevant to the story but that doesn't happen in this book so I didn't need to get the notebook out to write down who was who!
Some real surprises here and I was definitely surprised at the outcome.
All I can say is that Linwood Barclay is the king of the thriller and I love all of his books.