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No Time For Goodbye | 
| Author: Linwood Barclay
Publisher: Orion
Category: Book
New (29) Used (22) Collectible (2) from £0.98
Rating:  143 reviews
Sales Rank: 16027
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 7.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.5
ISBN: 0752888609
EAN: 9780752888606
ASIN: 0752888609
Publication Date: January 3, 2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 138 more reviews...
 No, It's Not Magic! November 27, 2008
Mrs. C. Calisgil (Turkey)
'Gone without a trace' says the blurb on the front cover, but believe me, this novel is by no means magic! Didn't read any reviews before buying or reading, so started with an open mind. Good start and enjoyed it until around half way, then I started to pick holes in it. A 14-year-old (Cynthia)has a run-in with her parents one evening and goes to bed - drunk; she wakes next morning in an empty house. It transpires that her parents and brother have disappeared and 25 years later the mystery remains unsolved. Cynthia is now married to Terry and they have a young daughter, but the effects of the events all those years ago live on. Then strange things start happening and even Terry starts to have doubts about what really happened that night. I was thinking what a very good tale this was, but as the story unfolds it starts to lose its feasibility and there's a lot of unneccessary 'simple' narrative that made me impatient. I quite liked the way the author interspersed the chapters with dialogue from a source outside the family, by way of introducing the reader to the villains. Having worked out the possible plot before these dialogues started, I was still left with the question: 'Why was Cynthia left behind?', so that gave me the impetus to continue reading, plus the hope that perhaps I was entirely wrong! So to sum up: no surprises - just an OK novel.
 Poor plot and not very well written November 26, 2008
John M (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book had the feel of a B-film throughout. The writing created very little tension and the plot, when all was revealed, was disappointing bordering on the ridiculous. There was considerable reliance on coincidence (such as the meeting in the shopping mall, two characters of almost identical appearance in a photo, boxes of momentoes which acted as clues, the school girl who just happened to be linked to the gangster ex-boyfriend, and the head who happened to be a family friend for 25 years etc, etc...), and characters acting in a rather contrived and unlikely manner, eg the homicidal headteacher and the ex-boyfriend turned gangster. All together a rather contrived plot requiring some rather unbelievable behaviour to make it all fit together. The writing style spun it all out into something of a shaggy dog story. It took some time to engage me, but I did manage to finish it just to see what the mystery was all about. As you can see the journey wasn't worth it!
Just Ghastly... November 21, 2008
D. Purcell
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm surprised this was ever published, it's just that bad. The characters are paper thin, this could be forgiven if the story was compelling or the writing was good. Lets face it from the synopsis you would be led to thinking it has some potential. Do not be fooled.
I really struggled to pick it up and read, and gave up half way through. I could no longer tollerate the way it was written. The author frequently repeats himself, for instance "Coming back into the harbour I saw a short black woman in a pair of jeans and a leather jacket standing at the end of the dock as we came back into the harbour" ... come on, would you even have passed GCSE english writing like that?
Before you part with your cash ask yourself if you could put up with something so poor.
Better start than finish November 14, 2008
Mrs. Gail Radka
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Really got into this book quickly, good starting suspense. Found the last third of the book a little lacking.
Lazy writing November 9, 2008
pjl102 (UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The book starts with a decent premise but the conclusion is steeped in cliche and the whole plot becomes lazy - you want there to be a really clever, suitable ending but the actual end leaves you feeling disappointed and cheated. Seen it all before in bad novels and TV movies. Read Harlem Coben instead - clever writing and innovative twists and turns.
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