The Accident by Linwood Barclay

In The Accident, Glen's wife, Sheila, is late getting home from her night class. When the news comes that she's been killed in an accident, Glen's in shock. The real shock comes, though, when the police tell him that she caused the accident and was drunk at the time of the crash. As he talks to friends, neighbours and family, he learns a little more about the woman he lived as well as others in her life. Slowly, but surely, he unravels the mystery, unveils the truth and works through the layers and layers of deceit.

Great book. No, make that sensational book! It's filled with twists and turns and a fantastic I-didn't-see-that-coming ending. While it's not action packed like some mysteries I've read, the intensity level is certainly there, albeit a little slow to build. That's not a bad thing. Setting the scene and getting just the right tone was essential. I was compelled to get to the end to see what exactly happened to Sheila and to see what she was up to. I kept telling my husband that I was reading this fantastic book and couldn't wait to get back to reading it.

The story itself wasn't particularly scary, but the premise/overall theme about deceiving those around you definitely was. It definitely got me thinking about how much I really know about the people in my life. It also got me wondering if I could pull something like this off. Not the dying part or criminal part, just the deceiving part. ;)

Barclay's characters are exceptional. I got a bad vibe from some of them right away; others seemed like angels who could do no wrong. It's a little weird because a few of them were both above reproach and suspicious at the same time!

I've only read one other book by this author, Never Look Away (my review). I loved it, too! It has a similar theme to this one. I'd definitely recommend it. My one complaint about Barclay's books is that they are over too soon. I don't necessarily want them to be longer, I just wish I could slow down and savour them more. They are so good that I read into the wee hours of the night just to see how it turns out.

Highly recommended. The last time I was at a used book sale, I scooped up all of the Barclay books I could find, so I have a few of his backlist books on my to-be-read bookshelf. Should definitely be some good reading there.

For more information about this book, please visit the Random House website.

For more information about the author and his other books, please visit Linwood Barclay's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Random House for this review copy.

The Accident by Linwood Barclay, Doubleday Canada (Random House), ©2011. ISBN 9780385670586(Trade paperback), 386p.