November 2016

THE TWENTY-THREE is the final book in Linwood Barclay’s Promise Falls trilogy, following BROKEN PROMISE and FAR FROM TRUE. I love that this is a contained series where you can binge the three books and grab a very satisfying and complete story. I recommend reading them in order to allow the story to build for you, so you can pick up on the nuances of the many characters, each of whom is fully fleshed out and has a great back story.

At the start of the book, people are becoming ill, and it’s quickly traced to the Promise Falls water supply. It was mysteriously poisoned on May 23rd. Yes, the 23rd, and Linwood is dropping tons of other “23” clues to keep readers engaged. People are dropping like flies, and the clock is ticking to find out what’s in the water. Your thoughts zig, then zag, as the plotting throws you curve balls that you never saw coming. Bottled water or tap water? What you drink determines your fate.

I think this is the strongest of the three books probably because all were written at the same time, allowing Linwood a chance to drop red herrings throughout, and then allowing time to ramp this story up more as the first two were sent off to production.

If I passed a road sign for Promise Falls, based on what I now know, I would keep on driving. Actually, I probably would floor it and hightail my way up the highway fast. That said, I loved the opportunity to drop in there for a while on these pages and immerse myself in the story.

One quick note: One storyline is not wrapped up at the end; I will leave you to discover which one that is. But I did not feel one bit cheated. In fact, I loved being able to write my own ending for that character. If you want to see what our readers had to say about THE TWENTY-THREE, click here.