No Time for Goodbye
Linwood Barclay
You've Been Warned
Howard Roughan and James Patterson
For me. when life gets hectic, mysteries and fantasy serve as retreats from the demands of the day. They must be easy to read -- I'm not looking to think too hard -- but well-written so my mind doesn't drift back to work between sentences.
I look for books with elegant writing and plots that unfold gracefully without ragged holes in the logic. I read a lot of non-fiction and facts that ring false take me out of the story altogether; likewise characters who dig themselves into a hole instead of asking obvious questions. But I'm not adverse to novels that introduce a hint of the surreal or supernatural, as long as these elements are wound tightly and consistently into the storyline. In fact, when I find a novel with a twist that's truly twisted, the escape is all the more complete. This month offered me 2 such books in paperback.
"No Time For Goodbye" by Linwood Barclay is about a girl whose family vanishes, leaving her behind. The characters are believable people in an unimaginable situation and as we read, the clues suggest many standard explanations. But in between chapters we encounter a dialog that hints at something altogether different.
Even more interesting is "You've Been Warned" by Howard Roughan and James Patterson. The events that unfold are bizarre and would confuse anyone who had to endure them. The solution is unusual but tidy in that you accept it without question as the only rational explanation.