May 2024

I am a longtime fan of Linwood Barclay’s books, and I think I have read them all. I especially love the characters he delivers, all of whom are well drawn and relatable. Then he puts them in circumstances that upend their lives. Often I think, What would *I* do? And yes, I am happy that these are his characters’ problems, not mine.

In I WILL RUIN YOU, we start with a sadly familiar situation. A teacher is confronted by a former student armed with dynamite who is ready to blow up the school building and himself. Just as Richard has talked Mark into walking away, fate intervenes, and the young man trips. Bang! That is on page 11.

From there, as no good deed goes unpunished, our hero instead finds himself in the crosshairs of someone threatening to ruin him for something he allegedly did, which makes no sense to him. Blackmail is the name of the game here, and Richard cannot figure out why this person is targeting HIM.

Mark’s parents also come after Richard, leaving him and his wife (who is a school principal) in a major fight for their lives, but they are on their own paths. So as not to worry his wife, Richard does not confide in her. Who knows what? Who is terribly wrong?

When I finished I WILL RUIN YOU, I had the same thought that I had reading many of Linwood's novels: These people are going to need therapy! Also, their young daughter, who spends much of the book with babysitters, has to be thrilled that dinner is back on schedule at home. The good guys always prevail!