โ Scribed by Linwood Barclay
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Barclay (_Bad Guys_) tugs hard on the heartstrings with the tragic tale of Cynthia Bigge, whose parents and brother vanished without a trace the day after she had a tempestuous teenage argument with her father. Twenty-five years later, raising a daughter with her husband, Terrence Archer, in Milford, Conn., but still haunted by her family's disappearance, Cynthia goes on TV to talk about what happened and plead for clues. A mysterious phone call leads her to believe her father, at least, may still be alive, but as her excitement grows, so do Terrence's worries. It soon appears that someone is playing a unexpectedly vicious game with Cynthia's emotions, and that her family held secrets she never suspected. Though some plot twists require significant suspension of disbelief, skilled characterization and convincing dialogue more than compensate. (Oct.)
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Afterturning out fourmystery novels featuring science-fiction author Zack Walker (the most recent isStone Rain, 2007), Toronto Star columnist Barclaypens a stand-alone thriller that carrieshis signature blend of humor and suspense. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge wakes up one morning to find her entire family gone. Twenty-five years later, their unexplained disappearance still haunts her. She agrees to appear on thereenactment showDeadline, hoping the TV exposuremight provide her with some answers, although her husband, English teacher Terry Archer, is considerably more skeptical. Indeed, not long after the show airs, thetwo areshaken down by a psychic, receive a series of bizarre phone calls, andbecome the victims ofa break-in, although nothing is taken; instead, something is lefta hat that Cynthia is convinced belonged to her father. As Cynthia's paranoia escalates, Terry's patience wears thin, and the two decide to hire a private detective. That's when the mayhem starts. Despite a few implausible plot turns,thisfast-paced readis bound to please, offering an especially intriguing premise andplenty of irreverenthumor. Wilkinson, Joanne
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SUMMARY: The house was deathly quiet. That was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke that morning to find herself alone. Her familymother, father, and brotherhad vanished without a word, without a note, without a trace. Twenty-five years later, Cynt
SUMMARY: The house was deathly quiet. That was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke that morning to find herself alone. Her familymother, father, and brotherhad vanished without a word, without a note, without a trace. Twenty-five years later, Cynt
### From Publishers Weekly Barclay (*Bad Guys*) tugs hard on the heartstrings with the tragic tale of Cynthia Bigge, whose parents and brother vanished without a trace the day after she had a tempestuous teenage argument with her father. Twenty-five years later, raising a daughter with her husband,
SUMMARY: The house was deathly quiet. That was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke that morning to find herself alone. Her familymother, father, and brotherhad vanished without a word, without a note, without a trace. Twenty-five years later, Cynt
The house was deathly quiet. That was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke that morning to find herself alone. Her family - mother, father, and brother - had vanished without a word, without a note, without a trace. Twenty-five years later, Cynthia i
On the morning she will never forget, suburban teenager Cynthia Archer awakes with a nasty hangover and a feeling she is going to have an even nastier confrontation with her mom and dad. But when she leaves her bedroom, she discovers the house is empty, with no sign of her parents or younger brother