Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of Whistle.

I have read a fair few books by Linwood Barclay and always enjoyed them. This was *far out* and by far the most unconventional book I have read by him. Definitely one to suspend belief!

After saying that, however, I must say I enjoyed it in a strange sort of way. It kept me occupied on the sunny afternoon balcony visits while on holiday. I would recommend this is labelled as science fiction as well as thriller, as it is not something that would happen in the real world… I will not be buying a toy train track ever again though!

A solid 4 stars and recommended if you are able to delve a little into the unbelievable.

I am a big fan of Barclay's and I was unsure what to expect from this new, darker book. This reminded me a lot of Stephen King books and I truly thought this was a sensational read.
Taking something mundane, like toy trains and making them terrifying is a brilliant move as it means the reader is scared more and can believe in the story more.
The plot of this is honestly grotesque and horrific but it is also incredibly gripping and I was obsessed, and unable to put this down.
Barclay's characters are brilliant too, Annie and Charlie are so likeable and a real team. The many other characters in this are also great and tell the story well.
There are many twists throughout the book which made it a real rollercoaster of a read. I really loved this and look forward to more dark reads from Barclay.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy.

Well I’m never having a toy train set in my house…ever.

I am a huge fan of Linwood Barclay and have read everything he has written. He is my top thriller author so I was very interested to find out his newest book leaned more towards horror than thriller.

We follow three main stories, a mother dealing with the grief of losing a husband, a sheriff who’s trying to solve a crime which increasingly seems impossible and a toy train store owner with an ulterior motive.

What I loved most about this book was the combination of the eerie horror aspects commingling with the classic twists of a Linwood Barclay thriller. I particularly enjoyed following Harry, a small town sheriff who was trying to solve the disappearance of men in the local area which spirals into something horrific and possibly paranormal.

Whistle does something most mixed timeline books can’t, which is make all perspectives as interesting as the others. I wanted to know what happened to each character and was just as excited to read current day as well as the past. Honestly, no surprise, Linwood smashed it out of the park again! The only small thing I would have liked was more of a backstory for Mr Choo! His character was so morbid and his backstory could have been so interesting.

I would recommend this book particularly to thriller lovers who want to dip their toes into something a bit more horroresque as it combines the genres so well!

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC copy of Whistle!

I enjoyed this one for the most part, it was interesting and held my attention. It just reminded me of a Stephen King book that I lobe which I found a little offputting. I liked the characters and the train twist was good....

Back in 2023 Linwood Barclay wrote Look Both Ways - something of a departure from his usual genre pieces, which had a more technology based feel to its self driving cars premise (ah, how times change quickly...)
With Whistle, he's gone all out horror and tells the reader in his acknowledgement at the end that this may be the end of his ventures into the genre.
He also thanks one Stephen King in those acknowledgements who he said was encouraging from his very first read of a draft. Anyone who's read either author will be aware of their mutual respect and it comes through not only in the thanks but elements of the plot too: the most obvious influence in this tale about a strange little shopkeeper turning up in a small town American village to sell his trainsets is Needful Things (Barclay even has one of his protagonists reading that book in the story), but for those of us who are King fans you'll get easter eggs of Christine, Pet Semetary, The Dark Tower and more if you look deep enough (or perhaps it's just me reading too much into some of that).
There is something of a nostalgic '80s horror feel to this book - and I mean that in a good way - and like some/ much of King's work at times I found myself thinking 'this would look so bad on screen' but due to the author's skill you go with it.
There's a clever turn towards the tail end of the book - I'm not sure you could even call it a 'twist', but at the least it's a turn that made me think, "Of course - that's why the book felt... ' well, I'll not go into spoilers, suffice to say it made a lot of things make a lot more sense for me.
The ending is fast paced to the point some readers might find it a little rushed as it draws a lot of strings together - if the author is intending to write more in this genre it'll be interesting to see if he returns to the bigger theme of evil that is left somewhat ambiguous/ unexplained in this novel.
I'm guessing a few Linwood Barclay fans will be disappointed with this genre switch if they're not horror fans and just auto order any new book by him, but I think a lot of people will get a kick out of this.

I thought I’d read something by this author before but I haven’t. This was giving me very Stephen King vibes reading this, and it was TENSE in the way ‘a haunted toy train’ just shouldn’t, if that makes sense ? I think this author mostly does crime books but his dalliance with horror has been successful!
This almost felt like a throwback to like 80s/early 90s style of horror which I loved! It had nods to Christine and Jaws which I was thrilled by!

This a dual POV story and it is done well , strong characters and good pacing throughout the novel! A high body count - not always human either! This was an original story told really well. I had great fun reading it, and whilst I personally didn’t find it scary it was pretty creepy!

There was a period in the eighties and nineties when horror was at its peak, and writers in the genre were going unapologetically mad premises that they somehow made (mostly) work. In this sense, Barclay's latest novel feels like a throwback to a more innocent time in horror fiction when Stephen King's influence on small town horror and that mix of the mundane and the profane were all the rage.

Yes, Whistle really is about a cursed set of toy trains. And yet it leans this premise with utter seriousness, which means that because the writer takes it seriously, so do we (once our suspension of disbelief settles down).

Annie Blunt is recently widowed and still coming to terms with the notion that one of her bestselling children's books accidentally convinced a young boy he could fly, leading to his death. Trying to restart her imagination and help her son deal with his own feelings, she moves to a holiday let in upstate New York, thinking that time away from the city will help.

But in the nearby town of Lucknow, an evil from the past has returned. A seemingly innocent toy train enthusiast who runs his own store and whose connections to the local area go back further than anyone could imagine. What is his connection to Annie, and why are the recent spate of deaths proceeded by the sound of a train whistling....?

Everything about the novel -- including its structure of using the middle to expand the story into the lives of the local townsfolk -- feels retro horror, but in the best possible way. There's a genuine joy in reading this that reminded me of when I first found the horror genre with its lurid covers and tales of America's small towns held captive by forces beyond their imagination. As well as King, there's clear influence from the likes of John Saul and early Bentley Little in the sheer "what the hell!" attitude of the story contrasted with the easy-going, always in control voice that assures you no matter how mad things get, the book won't (pardon the pun) go off the rails.

I had a ball with Whistle, even though some of the story felt a little baggy in places and its retro charm meant I was kind of of aware where it was going. Barclay's having a ball here, and if you love good old-fashioned tale of supernatural corruption in small-town America, and ordinary people facing up to extraordinary events, then I think you're going to have a great time with this one, too.

I enjoy Linwood Barclays conventional thrillers and this is a first venture into horror. The writing is excellent but the story was creepy and not really enjoyable. The denouement was slightly rushed.

Something completely different from Linwood Barclay, whose thriller books I really love,this is a supernatural horror thriller, so not normally what I'd read, but I went in with an open mind.
A story told in multiple POV and 2 timelines.
I didn't find this scary at all and was disappointed.Having found his previous books so good that the chance in genre for me just didn't work.

This book will be like marmite for readers. You'll either love it or not.
I'm still a fan and hope to enjoy Linwoods next book as long as it's a thriller as for me its what he does best.
Hope others enjoy more.
Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the Arc.

I've been a fan of Linwood Barclay for many years and to receive my first Linwood Barclay ARC, I was absolutely chuffed to bits.. No pun intended!!

The move from writing his usual crime/thriller genre to his first horror genre Whistle is simply genius and is in my opinion my favourite book of his I've ever read.

The book had me hooked at the prologue and I loved the time line element to the story, although it isn't really like reading a timelines. The story intermingles so seamlessly. I loved each character, each very much having having their own place in Whistle culminating in the highly anticipated ending. Which was so satisfyingly brilliant!

Excellent book from one of my favourite authors and I honestly hope he takes a ride down the horror genre again in the near future.. Preferably not by train!

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of Whistle by Linwood Barclay. 5star, I highly recommend this book

Woooowwweeeeee.

Firstly, I've read some of Barclay's books before when I was younger, so I was eager to dive into this one.
We're greeted on Christmas morning to a young boy who gets gifted a train set... Booooring, where's the Playstation? Soon, he discovers he loves it, until somehow, his sister gets hurt?!

Fast forward a few years, we meet Annie, an author who has a lot of bad luck surrounding her. As well as the chief of police at a backwater town in Vermont. (I love a good multiple POV) Strange things start happening to everyone who has these adorable trains bought from a delightfully quirky Mr.Choo! Strange, horrific, puzzling...

The timeline jumps around, which you have to be prepared for, but boy howdy are you gripping your seat with the suspense, tensions rising as you are rushing to find out what's happening to who and why?!

With an incredible twist, story and a very satisfying end, I can safely say this is a 4.5/5 star read. I could not put this down at all. It's dark, with horror sprinkled in the right places, just a touch of the paranormal and an ending that just puts the cherry on top.

If you're a thriller/horror fan, absolutely pick this up.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC, I have left this review of my own free will!

My favorite writer tried scary stories. I was excited! Lots of writers switch genres, and Stephen King liked it, so I thought it would be great.

But, it wasn't scary. The writer is good, but this book didn't make me scared. Scary books need to make you imagine bad things. This book had good characters and a good story, but it wasn't scary.

I was sad, but I still like the writer. He should stick to his old kind of books!

Thanks for the free book.

I generrally like Linwood barclays books so was excited to read this one however i struggled the character swithching and swapping got me a bit lost and while the story is original and gripping in places i fealt there was something missing

Hmmmm.
I look forward to every novel from Linwood Barclay so was excited for this one.
However, I would never normally read a supernatural horror.
As usual the storytelling is humorous, well paced and exciting.
I felt the subject matter became darker and therefore more difficult to read as time went on and I'll be honest, for the first time, I was glad when I finished it.
However, I can't give this less than four stars. It's original, engaging and everything ties up so well. It's just me being a scaredy cat or I would have happily awarded 5 stars.
I look forward to his next thriller. Not sure I would read another from this genre..

Tell me you're a Stephen King fan, without telling me you're a Stephen King fan!
I have loved Stephen King's books since I was 8 years old, hiding under the duvet with a torch and scaring myself to the point where I couldn't get to sleep. It has been decades since I've felt that same sense of trepidation and exhilaration, and that sense of menace. Linwood Barclay gave me all of that with Whistle! There are beautiful little nods to Stephen King's novels peppered throughout this book but, despite the change of genre, it's still Linwood Barclay at its core - strong characters in whom I became immediately invested, interwoven plot lines and first class storytelling. I was hooked from the first page, I raced through the book in one sitting and only stopped to make cups of tea, I'm convinced I heard the whistle in my dreams that night!
I loved every single page, even the ending ;0)

When I saw one of my favourite authors was turning his hand to horror - I instantly wanted a copy!

Often I’ve seen horror writers become crime fiction sensations and crime writers become supernatural thrillers. So when an author of this calibre set his eyes on a new genre with the praise of the dark king himself - Stephen King… I was sold!!

The reality was that whilst Linwood imost definitely is a brilliant author. His style and flair for storytelling didn’t create the fear and impact I was so wishing for. The trick with horror of any style is to make it a pressure cooker of fear. You do t have to show the ‘horror’ but you do need to give the reader enough to let their own imagination run wild with terror. As said, Linwood creates good stories, writes excellent characters and can weave the tightest knot of a plot. But his style just fell short of the mark with this book.

Disappointed but still a fan. Stick with crime Linwood it suits you better!

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

𝖶𝗁𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗅𝖾

ARC Review - release date expected 5th June 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BLURB
Evil has a one track mind…
Celebrated children’s author and illustrator Annie Blunt has had a dreadful year. Her husband was killed in a tragic accident, then one of her children’s books ignited a major scandal. Desperate for a fresh start, she moves with her young son Charlie to a charming small town in upstate New York where they can begin to heal.
But Annie’s year is about to get worse.
Bored and lonely in their isolated new surroundings, Charlie is thrilled when he finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed in the grounds of their new house. While Annie is pleased to see Charlie happy, there’s something unsettling about his new toy. Strange sounds wake Annie in the night – she’s sure she can hear a train in the middle of the night, although there isn’t an active line for miles. And then bizarre things start happening in the neighbourhood. But even stranger, Annie can’t seem to stop drawing a disturbing new character that has no place in a children’s book…
Grief plays tricks on the mind, but Annie is beginning to think she’s walked out of one nightmare straight into another, only this one is far more terrifying…


This is my first read by Linwood Barclay and it did not disappoint … a very creepy supernatural horror/thriller … I am a sucker of toy possession horror movies so this was right up my street … two stories over past and present blended together with the common factor of these train sets was incredibly written I was hooked.

Strong pacing throughout which some times books of this genre lack.

I think fans of Stephen King and criminal minds are going to love this and I highly recommend it!

Thank you so much to @nrtgalley and @hq stories for my epub arc .. and to @linwood for writing a brilliant book! This isn’t one I’ll forget anytime soon!

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

This was my first Linwood Barclay book, and it did not disappoint! Whistle is a creepy, fast-paced horror story with a unique and eerie premise.

Annie Blunt moves to a small town with her son, Charlie, hoping for a fresh start. But when Charlie finds an old model train set in their new home, strange things start happening—phantom train whistles, disturbing drawings, and an unsettling history tied to their house. Meanwhile, in another timeline, police chief Harry Cook investigates a similar train set with terrifying consequences. As their stories connect, the true horror behind the train is revealed.

The book has a strong Stephen King vibe, with small-town secrets and supernatural chills. The pacing kept me hooked, and I loved the mix of mystery and horror. A great read for anyone who enjoys eerie, suspenseful stories. I’ll definitely be checking out more from Barclay!

I've read lots of books by Linwood Barclay and enjoyed them all but this a departure from his normal twisty thriller. It's a twisty horror thriller with a Stephen King feel. It's got all of the ingredients to keep you hooked. Do yourself a favour and read this book.

Annie and her young son Charlie rent a house in the country for the summer.
Strange things start to happen when her son finds an old train set in the shed.
This is a creepy story told in two different timelines.
A very different book from the previous books I have read by this author but I enjoyed reading it. A real page turner.
Thank you to NetGalley and for HQ my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.