Not a Word

Not a Word

Linwood Barclay

5.3 / 10
3 expectations
Publication
August 25, 2026

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About the Book

Every family has secrets, but when Reece visits his parents’ home he’s shocked to find his father and a woman he assumes is his mother in bed. Dead. At first glance it looks like a murder-suicide perpetrated by his father, but on closer inspection there’s clearly more to the story. For starters, inconsistencies in the crime scene suggest his dad may not have shot himself.

As Reece, shaken by his horrifying discovery, awaits questioning from the police, his phone lights up. It’s a call from his mom—his real mom. The dead woman in that bed is clearly not the person Reece believed her to be.

His mom is at a lunch date with friends, she says, and can’t raise her husband on the phone. Could Reece drop by and see if everything’s okay? At a loss for how to tell his mother her husband is dead in bed with another woman, Reece simply tells her: “Come home now.”

But instead of rushing home, she disappears. Could she have been involved? Was she seeking revenge on her husband and a mistress? Or, just as frightening, did someone kill Reece’s father and that woman, thinking wrongly that Reece’s mother had been dispatched?

And what might this grisly scene have to do with the unscrupulous pharma company Reece’s father worked for years ago?

Soon Reece finds himself questioning how well he really knew his parents—who they were, what they did, and who they hurt. Most importantly, he needs to figure out who might want to hurt him and his own family now.

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About the author

Linwood Barclay

BIOGRAPHY Linwood Barclay, a New York Timesbestselling author with twenty novels to his credit, spent three decades in newspapers before turning full time to writing thrillers. His books have been translated into more than two dozen languages, sold millions of copies, and he counts Stephen King among his fans. Many of…

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