Take Your Breath Away, by Linwood Barclay {Book Review} ⋆ An Ordinary Gal

Another day, another book review….one that will hopefully Take Your Breath Away…….

What is Take Your Breath Away about?

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.

My Thoughts

Linwood Barclay knows how to write! His books and plots are always really interesting and original, and while I enjoyed his last 2 offerings, I think that Take Your Breath Away is my favourite of the 3 I’ve read from him so far.

After disappearing 6 years ago, people are reporting spotting Brie around town….. We never actually found out what happened to Brie 6 all those years ago. Did she run away with a lover, was she kidnapped, murdered, amnesia and lost somewhere? Andrew has lived for 6 years not knowing what happened to his wife. So when she is spotted, he needs to get to the bottom of it, especially seeing as he never lost the stench of being accused of whatever it is people think happened to his wife….

This was a real page turner in my opinion, full of twists and turns, that I didn’t see coming! It was so unpredictable, and with so many characters and sub plots, I never knew who to trust! I thought the characters were well fleshed out…..I really could get a sense of their personalities and I was invested in so many of them.

My Rating

Take Your Breath Away has a Goodreads rating of 4.18 stars and I’m in agreement. Definitely at least a 4 star read for me, if not 4.5 stars! This was a refreshing, well written psychological thriller, one that I could not put it down once I really dug in… Highly recommend if you’re looking for something thrilling to read!

Take Your Breath Away retails for around R340 (spotted on Loot currently for R235) and is available at all leading book retailers.