Whistle - Linwood Barclay - Top Book Pick!

Horror

Rating: 9/10

Celebrated children’s author Annie has had a dreadful year. One of her beloved books ignited a scandal, then her husband was killed in a tragic accident. Desperate for a fresh start, she moves with her young son Charlie to a charming small town.

But small towns always have secrets. Secrets that seep into everything and everyone one. Secrets that might play tricks with your mind and make you act in unusual ways.

When Charlie finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed, Annie believes he has found a new hobby that will help him get through his grief. And then the strange things start to happen.

Soon enough the reader finds that Annie has walked out of one nightmare right into another. And this one is much, much worse.

Masterfully weaving back and forth in dueling timelines, we are introduced to a Sheriff with a bad feeling about the towns newest shop keeper, a proprietor of a toy train shop that is suddenly doing some very good business.

There is a kind of spectral creepiness to this book. The way in which the author has teased out the tale is pitch perfect. Combining spine tingling and chilling elements with just a hint of shock factor. Not too shabby for this bestselling author’s first foray into this particular genre. It came as no surprise to me that his earliest reader, Stephen King, encouraged him to see it through.

Should the author choose to take another trip down a dark path, this reader will follow.

Book Pairing(s): Needful Things by Stephne King, Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano, Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill