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Book Summary and Reviews of Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay

Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay

Broken Promise

A Thriller

by Linwood Barclay

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (28):
  • Published:
  • Jul 2015, 464 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of No Safe House comes an explosive novel about the disturbing secrets of a quiet small town.… 

After his wife's death and the collapse of his newspaper, David Harwood has no choice but to uproot his nine-year-old son and move back into his childhood home in Promise Falls, New York. David believes his life is in free fall, and he can't find a way to stop his descent.

Then he comes across a family secret of epic proportions. A year after a devastating miscarriage, David's cousin Marla has continued to struggle. But when David's mother asks him to check on her, he's horrified to discover that she's been secretly raising a child who is not her own - a baby she claims was a gift from an "angel" left on her porch.

When the baby's real mother is found murdered, David can't help wanting to piece together what happened - even if it means proving his own cousin's guilt. But as he uncovers each piece of evidence, David realizes that Marla's mysterious child is just the tip of the iceberg.

Other strange things are happening. Animals are found ritually slaughtered. An ominous abandoned Ferris wheel seems to stand as a warning that something dark has infected Promise Falls. And someone has decided that the entire town must pay for the sins of its past…in blood.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Linwood's adept characterizations and knack for unsettling twists make this a surefire bestseller." - Publishers Weekly

"David is an appealing hero, flawed but dogged in his pursuit of the truth. Not all the mysteries are solved in this book, which offers an exciting start to a new series set in Promise Falls." - Library Journal

This information about Broken Promise was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Linwood Barclay Author Biography

Photo: Bill Taylor

Linwood Barclay is a New York Times and #1 international bestselling author whose critically acclaimed novels have been optioned for film and TV

Link to Linwood Barclay's Website

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