Too Close to Home

Plots and subplots galore

What made the experience of listening to Too Close to Home the most enjoyable?

Lots of twists, multiple subplots, definitely must pay attention to story. Well written and narrated. Good story.

What about Christopher Lane’s performance did you like?

Christopher Lane did a great performance. Easy character differentiation with his tones and cadence.

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. With all the underlying plots and motives the ending was a total surprise. Worth the $ or credit.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

What Happened to the Family Next Door?

This is a good mystery and is easy to follow.
Linwood Barclay is an excellent story teller, and this one was enjoyable, interesting, and had a good amount of mystery. What happened to the family next door? The story had one glaring downside in that it took too long for the main characters to figure out that it's not about the family next door.... mistaken identity.

It started off somewhat slow, but once the pace picked up, the pace remained consistently at an entertaining level. There are lots of twists and turns, some predictable and others not so much. A few surprises and unexpected twists.

Christopher Lane is a top notch narrator ... one of audible's best. A good narrator bring life to the words telling the story, and helps elevate an average story to an above average story.

Recommend....

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Should really be 3 1/2 stars

There are plots and subplots which will hook you from the very beginning (with a very likable main character to boot), so for that it would give it four stars. However, when the mystery finally unravels, it falls a little flat on its face--so for that I would have to take at least a half star away. Still, I will recommend it as an entertaining mystery. Christopher Lane, as always, does an excellent job with the narration.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Very Enjoyable Book

I really wanted to give this book five stars. Barclay is an excellent story-teller, and the book was thoroughly enjoyable, interesting, and entertaining. The only drawback was that parts of it were pretty predictable, and I was wondering why the main characters took so long to catch on. Other than that, it was one of the most enjoyable books I've heard in a while.

I am so glad I caught this book, not only because it was entertaining, but also because I was told the story by Christopher Lane. I wasn't sure if I had heard him before, but I looked back at my library and saw that he has performed in some Dean Koontz books that I've *read*. I didn't take notice before, but in "Too Close to Home," and in Barclay's "No Time for Goodbye" (which I also just recently listened to), I really came to appreciate Lane as a narrator. He's really top notch--one of the best. A good narrator really brings a book to life, and does make a difference. Wonderful job, Mr. Lane.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Only So-So

As I started the book I thought, "What possessed me to buy this book?" Then it got a little better, then it didn't. This book is mostly back story and there is very little current story line. It moves slowly as all of the back story has to be told in order to conclude the plot. I found it very predictable and rather trite in many places. The characters are not very well developed. The narrator is only average. I had a difficult time separating one character speaking for another.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Twists, Turns, and a Likeable "Hero" Besides

This is the first Linwood Barclay I have read. I chose it because a co-worker recommended the author, and this was the highest-rated one available from Audible at the time.

I would categorize this as a thriller and mystery.

I liked the main character, Jim Cutter, because he's a straight-shooter, the type you find yourself liking even though he doesn't always do exactly the right thing. Though it started off a little slow, once the pace picked up, the story remained consistently entertaining. There are lots of twists and turns, some predictable and some not, which helped my commute go by more quickly.

All that said, the experience of reading this was just okay. When I read something I really like, I can't wait to go jump back in the car to hear the next segment of the story. That just didn't happen with this. For me, three stars = I liked it (whereas four stars = really liked it and five stars = it was amazing -- the Goodreads rating system).

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

F-Bomb Hurts a Good Story

I like the narrator, the author and the characters. The story is good, not great. But what surprised and bothered me was the completely gratuitous foul language.

I am not opposed to nor shocked by the F-bomb when it is used appropriately. But Mr. Barclay OVER-used it, and other words, in my opinion. This story centers on a fairly average suburban American family, and they can' talk for more than 10 minutes with cursing. It distracted me from the plot, and I think it was a mistake for the author.

Great narrator.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

it just keeps pulling you in

Like most of Barclay story lines--these people live in a community made up of normal, everyday, working for a living, back yard bbq neighborhoods. They are friendly people who don't expect anything unusual to change their lives in any dramatic way--but one day something happens. Life changes for one family in particular. Like domino's falling over, each action creates another action, and it seems like it will never stop.

Very good writing--and the narration is spot on. If you want to take your mind off of your own troubles for awhile, read one of his--and your life may seem to be pretty good after all. Things could be so much worse.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Probably my favorite Barclay book

Any additional comments?

What a great story! Your regular family, going about their business until tragedy strikes in their neighborhood and their son is a suspect. The mystery is good and you follow the family in an emotional and financial race to find out what happened to the family next door. If you haven't tried Barclay, this is a great one to start with. You will be hooked.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Gripping and suspensful . . . FANTASTIC!

I can't decide whether I like this one or "No Time For Goodbye" better by this author. Both are excellent and get my highest rating. Character development is so deep and complete. Narration is perfect. Some characters were so real that they had me wanting to reach through my mp3 player and strangle them! Kudos to this author for a great story and great character development.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful