John Parker is a Graduate-qualified English/Spanish Teacher, owner and director of CHAT ENGLISH, an English Language Centre in Avilés on the north coast of Spain . A voracious reader, he has particularly loved horror fiction for many years.
For those of you that are already fans of Linwood Barclay, there is a real treat awaiting you here, while newcomers should prepare to be hooked. So, what’s the story?
Family man Zack Walker, slightly well-known science-fiction writer, full-time geek and somewhat of an asshole is about to regret ever having moved out of the city. Expecting peace and tranquillity out in the suburbs with two disgruntled teenage kids was never going to be easy but when Zack comes across a dead body in a nearby creek, things go from bad to worse. And horrendous is just around the corner.
As Zack has a pretty good idea of who the killer is, and given that he has got himself into a position where he could be framed for murder, he decides that he is going to have to track down the killer on his own. Pretty soon he is going to need help. That may come from an unexpected place.
I really don’t want to say too much more for fear of spoiling what is a really very funny yet very dark novel. Zack is a complicated man, and is, by his own admission, a bit of an asshole. His paranoia and his over-active imagination plus his OCD-tendencies get him into all sorts of trouble, particularly with his family. I was filled with despair as Zack made one bad decision after another and yet I laughed and laughed. It is funny in a similar vein to that Joseph Wambaugh or Carl Hiassen style that I love so much. With memorable characters, great set-pieces and a cleverly-constructed story, this novel will leave you looking for more. Luckily, there are three other Zack Walker novels available as Barclay wrote four novels before No Time for Goodbye hit the bestseller list in 2008.
