Take Your Breath Away

Wow, wow, WOW! Oh man, did I need this book!

This latest standalone thriller from Linwood Barclay broke me out of bookish doldrums caused by a recent series of 'meh' reads. Simply put, Take Your Breath Away did what it promised not only to me but also to my bookish bestie and fellow book blogger Margaret (from Just One More Chapter). Together we buddy read this book over two days and the DMs were f-l-y-i-n-g as we dove deeper into this dark, twisty, and thoroughly entertaining who-the-hell-dunnit!?! thriller, sharing our regularly changing predictions.

The premise is simple -- sightings of a missing woman six years after her disappearance cause a ruckus - particularly with her husband who was the prime suspect but has since moved on with his life. The police are suspicious, the new girlfriend isn't pleased, and secrets are revealed. The use of multiple POVs gives readers a few viewpoints and culprits making it difficult to know who to trust and piquing readers' interest about what really happened six years before.

This is a gripping and compulsive suspense read that has great tension, short chapters, and a gaggle of sketchy characters with secrets to hide. Thriller readers, make sure you get your hands on a copy of this exciting, non-stop suspense read ASAP.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to William Morrow and Company for the advanced copy of this book that was provided in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 5 stars

Author: Linwood Barclay

Genre: Suspense, Canadian

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from publisher

Publisher: William Morrow and Co

First Published: May 17, 2022

Book Description from GoodReads: From the New York Times bestselling author of Find You First and Elevator Pitch comes a gripping psychological thriller about a formerly missing woman who has suddenly returned under mysterious circumstances.

One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace. Most everyone assumed Andy had got away with murder--it's always the husband, isn't it?--but the police could never build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom--he drank too much to numb the pain, was abandoned by all his friends save one, nearly lost his business, and became a pariah in the place he once called home.

Now, six years later, Andy has finally put his life back together. He sold the house he once shared with Brie and moved away. Truth to tell, he wasn't sad to hear that the old place was razed and a new house built on the site. He's settled down with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good.

But Andy's peaceful world is about to shatter. One day, a woman shows up at his old address, screaming, "Where's my house? What's happened to my house?" And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, the woman--who bears a striking resemblance to Brie--is gone. The police are notified and old questions--and dark suspicions--resurface.

Could Brie really be alive after all these years? If so, where has she been? It soon becomes clear that Andy's future, and the lives of those closest to him, depends on discovering what the hell is going on. The trick will be whether he can stay alive long enough to unearth the answers.