I started this book but despite a couple of tries, I just couldn't get into it. I'm sure that for those who enjoy crime based sifi, it would be great but it just didn't suit me.

Well what can i say. This is one of my nightmares as my city us pushing tge self drive route. This is taken to the extreme and there were brilliant twists. I got so addicted and wasted to find out what happened so there went my Sunday.

The plot was reminiscent of Christine but on steroids
The narration really suited the story.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley but the review is entirely my own

The inhabitants on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts, called Garrett Island, have decided to give up their cars for a while to test out self driving cars. The car is named ‘Arrival’ and things seem to be going well with this experiment until the official launch day.
When the CEO gives a presentation of the car things go awry and within seconds their so called ‘safe cars’ turn against everyone and the most horrendous carnage takes place. Can the people of this island survive as the cars team up to kill everyone in sight? A really brilliant idea for a book. It’s scary, funny, tense and totally original.
The book is superbly narrated by Ako Mitchell. He creates a perfect atmosphere throughout the story and keeps the listener on edge until its dramatic ending.
Linwood Barclay is one of those authors no one should miss out on. He really is quite outstanding with everything he writes.

Thanks for the audiobook arc. I love Linwood Barclay books so was super excited to get this . Unfortunately it was a bit of a let down for me. I worked out who was the ‘inside man’ instantly mainly because he was a walking red flag! He is literally a creepy, obsessive man. Most females would spot him in an instant. Apart from that the premise was interesting and the character of Bruce was brilliant. Not for me unfortunately

Well, that was certainly different!

A fun, futuristic techno-thriller!

Are driverless cars popping up in your neck of the woods? Personally, they always give me a creepy vibe. And after reading this book my creep-o-meter is in the red zone. I will definitely be keeping my distance!

The Arrival Company has chosen a small island community off the coast of Massachusetts for the official launch of their driverless vehicles. And how unfortunate…their competition is out of the market after a few mishaps that shuttered their doors.😉

But the Arrival Company's CEO is less than pleased with how the press conference played-out. Guess what…that’s soon to be the least of her problems.

The cars have all aligned with one objective, ‘elimination’! Okay, it’s now officially creepy. Can anyone stop these, 'run-away' vehicles before they kill everyone in sight? And maybe even… TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!?

A wild plot right!? But WOW! Once I started I could not put this down! There are parts that at times were a bit hokey and OTT. But it was fun! What a great imagination Linwood Barclay has!

Though the narration of the audio wasn’t a favorite, the read itself is pure entertainment!

I also enjoyed the author’s note at the beginning describing his motivation behind writing this book. It really set the tone!

Thank you to NetGalley HarperCollins UK 🎧

4.5🌟

This was a very intriguing novel and one where I could imagine the events happening, scary though that thought is.

The premise is the experiment of using totally self driving cars on an island for a month. No manual cars were allowed and the car users had no need to even have a steering wheel. Everything was voice controlled and the cars were precision tuned to react to their surroundings. This was followed on from a rival car company which had failed after one of its cars was involved in an incident.

All well and good until it wasn't.

The storyline took a little getting into while the scene was set but then I could not stop listening. The main characters are a family who had lost the husband/father and their exploits.

Very interesting and thought provoking read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC audiobook.

A fabulous author so was excited to listen to this audiobook…… I’m so sad it's over. I could have read another sixty chapters . . . A fantastic read!
Cancel all plans while reading - I inhaled this amazing book over one weekend and resented everything that kept me away from it! The writing was top notch and the characters were very real.

I have been a fan of Linwood Barclay since No Time for Goodbye so was pleased to receive an audiobook edition of his latest novel, Look Both Ways. Thanks to Harper Collins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy.

At the beginning, there’s an introduction from Linwood about his inspiration for the book which is a nice touch. I did find the audio quality poor and rather echoey, which was a shame. The narrator for the novel is OK, but has quite a slow and dull voice. I had to speed it up to 2x to make it a normal speed.

The community on Garrett Island are part of a month long experiment trialling driverless cars, known as arrivals. Their own cars are on the mainland, effectively swapped for the driverless cars. It seems like a great idea, until a virus is embedded in the software, making all the cars intent on killing everyone on the island.

I found there were quite a lot of characters in the book, and I found it quite difficult to follow who was who when I was listening to the audiobook. I wonder if the book would have benefitted from more than one narrator to help differentiate the characters.
I didn’t really warm to any of the characters and found them all a bit flat, although there were some main characters, overall I felt there were too many of them.

Usually I’m gripped by Linwood Barclay’s books but this one didn’t hold my interest the same. The plot was a bit silly for me, but I think it would make a good film.

I'm afraid I didn't get very far with this one. The story was just to light, too whimsical for me. I've enjoyed the author's work before but I just couldn't get into this tale at all. The narrator was fine and i'm sure the book will work well for some readers, but not me this time.

This is a really crazy thriller, which is fast paced, exciting, full of tension, suspense and twists and turns, which will leave you feeling shocked.

The story is about the people of Garrett Island, some of whom their cars get replaced by self-driving vehicles called Arrivals. These cars are run by computers and they take the people where they want to go. The cars get infected by a computer virus which turns them into death machines. They kill people and cause chaos and destruction wherever they go. Will the residents who are left be able to get the cars under control?

I really enjoyed this book, even though it was very far fetched and unbelievable. It was interesting to see what could happen if humans let cars be in control of their lives.

The audiobook narrator was amazing, and he had a voice which suited the story well. The book would make a great movie.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves science fiction books or thrillers with a story that's not normally part of our real life.

Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Well if you had even very minor qualms about self driving cars this book will re-enforce them massively.
I sometimes thought I was listening to a Steven King book rather than Linwood Barclay because it is quite a different style for him. When you take into account his introduction though it does all make sense and it is an homage to his dad who was a petrol head I’m sure.
Well narrated and a HUGE twist I did not see coming. Get ready to be thrilled but with laughs along the way bazarly.

3.5 stars

This book is just good fun.
I think its fairly obvious that a whole group of self driving cars is not going to end well.
I didnt expect such attitude from the cars though. A few times they had me smiling amongst the chaos and confusion.
A very enjoyable read, that had me eyeing up the cars at every zebra crossing on my walk VERY closely.

I requested this before I read what it was about & im so glad I did as I would not have requested by description. This was amazing, not my normal & I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fast paced, brilliant plot just amazing.

Look Both Ways is a novel by best-selling Canadian author, Linwood Barclay. The audio version is narrated by Ako Mitchell. Arrival Inc. has taken the innovative and expensive step of swapping all the vehicles on Garrett Island, Massachusetts, with their self-drive cars for a one-month trial. This also necessitates paying disgruntled car dealerships, gas stations and the police to cover their projected income lost.

At the end of the one-month trial, the residents can take their own vehicles back or get a special deal on an Arrival autonomous car. Just prior, there’s a huge media event on the island, with Arrival Inc CEO Lisa Carver there to spruik her product, emphasising the safety directive of her creation: “Everything in an Arrival is designed to protect not just people in the car but people outside the car.”

Of course, there is some scepticism, and one among the media throng knows exactly how dangerous self-driving vehicles can be if their software is corrupted: that might be someone who believes he was the victim of industrial sabotage, someone with revenge in mind. Lisa Carter’s demonstration of her red Arrival, named Rudolph, doesn’t go to plan…

Soon enough, “The cars have gone crazy. They’re killing people. It’s like there’s a hundred Christines on the island.” Murderous cars with a hivemind are rampaging the streets, inside the shopping mall, and the island’s population is panicking. The press certainly have a story!

Barclay’s latest offers characters that are appealing or despicable as required: narcissistic CEOs; a gutsy widow; a clever and resourceful twelve-year-old boy; a reclusive neighbour with a handy secret; and one who is not as nice or sweet as first appears. He gives them entertaining dialogue, and also manages to feature a 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a coat of meat, quite a lot of violence with copious ensuing blood spilt, and some gruesome deaths.

This one is deliciously dark speculative fiction that doesn’t require a whole lot of suspension of disbelief, where the high body count will likely have readers wary of self-drive vehicles for some time to come. Gripping, often blackly funny, and quite thought-provoking.

This is a very different genre from this author. A number of slasher/ horror film scenarios come to mind when reading this.
This will make you never want to use a self drive car…ever. This is like a Knight Rider’s Kit gone horrifically wrong…. And the fact it is based on an Island makes the whole
Scenario even more devious.
I enjoyed this ‘joyride’ of a fast paced novel. Again, like Linwood’s previous novel ‘Elevator Pitch’ it gives us a different dystopian future.
Audio review:- I like Ako Mitchell, while travelling I listened to a few books as an alternative to reading (can’t read on buses!) and his voice is great. I enjoy him reading thrillers like James Patterson and found his life suited this genre also.