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Linwood Barclay

Canada (b.1955)

Linwood Barclay is an international bestselling crime and thriller author with over twenty critically acclaimed novels to his name, including the phenomenal number one bestseller No Time For Goodbye. Every Linwood Barclay book is a masterclass in characterisation, plot and the killer twist, and with sales of over 7 million copies globally, his books have been sold in more than 39 countries around the world and he can count Stephen King, Shari Lapena and Peter James among his many fans.

Genres: Mystery, Children's Fiction

New and upcoming books

June 2025

Whistle

Series

Zack Walker
   1. Bad Move (2004)
   2. Bad Guys (2005)
   3. Lone Wolf (2006)
   4. Stone Rain (2007)

No Time For Goodbye
1. No Time for Goodbye (2007)
2. No Safe House (2014)

Promise Falls
   Too Close to Home (2008)
   Never Look Away (2010)
   1. Broken Promise (2015)
   1.5. Final Assignment (2015)
   2. Far From True (2016)
   3. The Twenty-Three (2016)
   4. Parting Shot (2017)

Chase
1. Chase (2017)
2. Escape (2018)

Novels

   Mike Harris Made Me Eat My Dog (1998)
   Fear the Worst (2009)
   The Accident (2011)
   Never Saw it Coming (2012)
   Trust Your Eyes (2012)
   A Tap on the Window (2013)
   A Noise Downstairs (2018)
   Elevator Pitch (2019)
   Find You First (2021)
   Take Your Breath Away (2022)
   Look Both Ways (2022)
   The Lie Maker (2023)
   I Will Ruin You (2024)
   Whistle (2025)

Collections

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight (2020) (with others)

Novellas and Short Stories

Pit Stop (2015) (with Raymond Khoury)
Jacket Man (2016)

Series contributed to

Quick Reads 2011
Clouded Vision (2011)

Non fiction show

Omnibus editions show

Books containing stories by Linwood Barclay

FaceOff (2014)
edited by
David Baldacci

Suspense Magazine September 2012 (2012)
(Suspense Magazine)
edited by
John Raab

Dead in the Water (2006)
An Anthology of Canadian Mystery Fiction
edited by
Therese Greenwood and Violette Malan

More books

Award nominations

	2024 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (longlist) : The Lie Maker
	2023 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (shortlist) : Take Your Breath Away
	2022 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (shortlist) : Find You First
	2017 CrimeFest: eDunnit Award (nominee) : The Twenty-Three
	2016 CrimeFest: eDunnit Award (nominee) : Broken Promise
	2015 CrimeFest: eDunnit Award (nominee) : No Safe House
	2014 Barry Award for Best Novel (nominee) : A Tap on the Window
	2013 Barry Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Trust Your Eyes
	2012 CrimeFest: eDunnit Award (nominee) : The Accident
	2012 Barry Award for Best Novel (nominee) : The Accident
	2011 CrimeFest: Sounds of Crime Award (nominee) : Fear the Worst
	2010 ITW Award for Best Hardcover Novel (nominee) : Fear the Worst
	2008 Shamus Award for Best Original PI Paperback (nominee) : Stone Rain
	2008 ITW Award for Best Novel (nominee) : No Time for Goodbye
	2008 Barry Award for Best Thriller (nominee) : No Time for Goodbye

Linwood Barclay recommends

Nightwatching (2024)
Tracy Sierra
"I am trying to think of a book that has grabbed me by the throat more quickly. None comes to mind."

The Fury (2024)
Alex Michaelides
"You'll think you know where it's going and you couldn't be more wrong."

Perfect Shot (2023)
(Special Agent Alexandra Martel, book 1)
Steve Urszenyi
"Opening this book is like trying to jump onto a fast-moving train. Urszenyi is the real deal."

Calico (2023)
Lee Goldberg
"A mind-bending thriller unlike anything I have read before. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough."

Huge (2023)
Brent Butt
"Butt kills with a darkly comic thriller that could only be written by someone who knows there are worse things than dying on stage."

Gull Island (2023)
Anna Porter
"A deep dive into a darkly troubled family that is overflowing, with razor sharp characterizations."

Holly (2023)
Stephen King
"A tour de force. Creepy as hell but full of heart, too."

The Close (2023)
(Maeve Kerrigan, book 10)
Jane Casey
"Casey excels at showing how a detective's stresses and anxieties are rooted in more than just their work."

The Drift (2023)
C J Tudor
"The wildest thriller of the year is three thrillers in one. Buckle up."

The Last Party (2022)
(DC Morgan, book 1)
Clare Mackintosh
"Whipsmart dialogue, droll observation, great characters and some very nasty business make this another standout for Mackintosh."

No Place to Run (2022)
Mark Edwards
"Like a Reacher, but with a hero like the rest of us."

Aurora (2022)
David Koepp
"Forget a good night's sleep. Aurora is epic, but personal and poignant, horrifying and darkly funny, and flat-out suspenseful."

When it was Cold (2021)
Howard Shrier
"A pleasure to read."

The Apollo Murders (2021)
(Apollo Murders, book 1)
Chris Hadfield
"Exciting, authentic."

Chasing the Boogeyman (2021)
(Boogeyman, book 1)
Richard Chizmar
"Richard Chizmar, with Chasing the Boogeyman, presents himself as a print version of Norman Rockwell, if the artist had devoted himself to the creepy things that hide under the bed."

1979 (2021)
(Allie Burns, book 1)
Val McDermid
"A brilliant thriller, as well as a perfect snapshot of the social and political issues of the time."

Her Last Breath (2021)
Hilary Davidson
"Before you start Her Last Breath, be sure to take a deep one. Davidson starts her tale at full speed and rarely comes up for air."

The End of Her (2020)
Shari Lapena
"The queen of the one-sit read."

No Bad Deed (2020)
Heather Chavez
"Chavez's breathless page-turner will have every aspiring Good Samaritan thinking maybe they should let the NEXT guy help."

The End of the Line (2019)
(Black Market Magic, book 1)
Gray Williams
"An original world of wonder and menace."

Their Little Secret (2019)
(Tom Thorne, book 16)
Mark Billingham
"You think Billingham can't get better, and then along comes Their Little Secret, a twisted, and twisty psychological thriller, rich with character, insight and procedural detail. He is at the top of his game."

Bring Her Home (2017)
David Bell
"David Bell writes spellbinding and gripping thrillers that get under your skin."

The Castle (2017)
(Ripped-from-the-Headlines, book 1)
Jason Pinter
"An exciting and fast-paced thriller...One would like to think the events in The Castle are too incredible to be real. Frighteningly, they are not."

Ragdoll (2017)
(Ragdoll, book 1)
Daniel Cole
"An exciting thriller."

The Lost Ones (2017)
(Nora Watts, book 1)
Sheena Kamal
"Sheena Kamal's writing is as fearless as her protagonist, Nora Watts. It has a dynamite premise that reminded me of Michael Connelly's Blood Work, in which the hero is asked to solve the murder of the woman whose heart ended up in his chest. Kamal has an equally devious starting point . . . Kamal uses the conventions of the crime novel to cast a critical eye on Vancouver's societal dysfunction, racism and poverty."

The Sleepless Ones (2016)
(Guillermo Downes, book 2)
James Marrison
"Dark, gripping and unexpected."

The Killing Lessons (2015)
(Valerie Hart, book 1)
Saul Black (Glen Duncan)
"Do not read this. No reader deserves to be terrified like this."

Everything to Lose (2014)
Andrew Gross
"Starts at full throttle and stays there till the end."

Rage Against the Dying (2013)
(Brigid Quinn, book 1)
Becky Masterman
"Blown away. What else can I tell you? Brigid Quinn is a heroine to cheer for, and Masterman writes like an angel who has seen far too many ungodly things."

The Water Rat of Wanchai (2011)
(Ava Lee, book 1)
Ian Hamilton
"Ava Lee is tough, fearless, quirky and resourceful... a true original."

Damaged (2010)
(Kate Lange, book 1)
Pamela Callow
"A taut, edge-of-the-seat thriller with strong characters and a driving plot."

Bleed for Me (2010)
(Joseph O'Loughlin, book 4)
Michael Robotham
"Michael Robotham doesn't just make me scared for his characters, he makes my heart ache for them."

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