BROKEN PROMISE, the debut novel in Linwood Barclay’s now well-known PROMISE FALLS trilogy is best described as lying in the center of a triangle bounded by suspense thriller, psychological thriller and horror! Best of all Finley has offered David a job running his media and campaign (we are in for a treat with this one). When he finally admits to himself that his unsociable working hours aren’t fair on his young son or himself, he takes a job on a local newspaper in his home town, Promise Falls. The constant plot twists or whodunnit scenarios help ensure a thrilling roller coaster ride for readers. Barclay is back with another of his psychological thrillers that keeps the reader engaged and wondering until the bitter end.

The baby was stillborn 10 mos earlier, and Marla has not recovered, and afterwards caught stealing another baby from the hospital. Broken promise wasn’t a bad read, quite the opposite, with multiple plot lines it was intricate and well written. I’ve read a couple of Linwood Barclay novels and have loved the gripping suspense, ruthless killers and unexpected twists.But as he uncovers each piece of evidence, David realizes that Marla’s mysterious child is just the tip of the iceberg. He engages his investigative reporter’s skill set to uncover the true mother’s identity, but when he discovers her dead body at her home, things look quite bad for Marla. An explosive novel about the disturbing evil secrets of a quiet mysterious small town (turns out, not so quiet).

David was working for the Boston Globe, when he became a single parent, and decided to move back to Promise Falls so that his parents can help him with his son, Ethan. I took it out from the library on a whim and I finished the book in two days and I have the second book of this trilogy and will start it ASAP. It still held lots of mystery and a bad ass antagonist who would stop at nothing to cover his tracks.

This is the perfect excuse to start taking a closer look at the everyday folk that you nod to when passing on the street. His two novels for children – Chase and Escape – star a computer-enhanced dog named Chipper who’s on the run from the evil organization that turned him into a super-pup. By and large the characters are cleverly portrayed, but perhaps a little too transparent, from Detective Barry Duckworth the long serving well-intentioned and ultimate Mr Nice Guy cop to the deposed mayor Randall Finlay who oozes slime!