No Safe House

June 9, 2014
Seven years after barely surviving the terrors of No Time for Goodbye (2007), the Archer family of Milford, Conn., once again tempts fate in this darkly comic if decidedly creepy thriller from Arthur Ellis Award winner Barclay. History seems to be repeating itself as mom Cynthia fights to set limits on 14-year-old Grace, who defies her—much as the rebellious 14-year-old Cynthia herself did the night she got drunk with local hood Vince Fleming and her parents and brother disappeared. But Grace’s latest lapse in judgment—agreeing to joyride with pistol-packing bad boy Stuart Koch, whose father assists the now-grown Vince—plunges the entire clan into a deadly perfect storm of greed, violence, dog walkers, and ruthless rival crooks at cross-purposes. The twisty, craftily-plotted action accelerates along with the body count, providing plenty of suspense and a surprising number of laughs—for readers willing to tolerate very bad things befalling some pretty good people. Five-city author tour. Agent: Helen Heller, Helen Heller Agency (Canada).

August 1, 2014
In Barclay's 2008 thriller No Time for Goodbye, a woman discovers the truth about the disappearance of her family, a quarter of a century earlier, when she was a rebellious teenager. It's a gripping, haunting novel, and this new sequel, set seven years later, tries very hard to replicate it. Cynthia Archer is still attempting to deal with what she learned about her parents' disappearance and about herself, but she's not having much success: she's living apart from her husband and her daughter, Grace, unable to put her memories in the past. When Grace becomes caught up in a desperate situation, which could be connected to some recent home invasions, Cynthia's husband, Terry, realizes he is the only one who can save his familyagain. This is a solid, well-written thriller, but it doesn't quite hit the same dramatic heights as No Time for Goodbye, which is one of Barclay's best books. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Yes, Barclay is a veteran of best-seller lists, but here's another yardstick of his stature: when Stephen King joined Twitter, @Linwood_Barclay was one of the first 16 people he followed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)