Not a Word

By: Linwood Barclay

Narrated by: to be announced

'Terrific' Stephen King on Linwood Barclay

International and Sunday Times bestseller Linwood Barclay returns with a white-knuckle thriller of an everyday man who’s life takes an extraordinary turn…

* * * * *

Wrong time. Wrong place. Wrong person?

Every family has secrets, but when Reece visits his parents’ house, he’s shocked to find them in bed, dead. At first glance it looks like a murder-suicide perpetrated by his father, but on closer inspection there’s clearly more to the story. For starters, inconsistencies in the crime scene suggest his dad may not have shot himself.

As Reece, shaken by his horrifying discovery, awaits questioning from the police, his phone lights up with a call. It’s the last person he ever would have expected to hear from.

Reeling from the day’s events, Reece finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew about his parents – and whether he and his own family are in danger now. While the authorities work to untangle the baffling crime scene, Reece is pulled into a web of secrets linked to the unscrupulous pharma company his father worked for years ago.

In order to protect the people he loves most, he’ll have to dig deep into his own past to understand who his parents were, what they did, and who they hurt – before he ends up paying for their sins.

In the latest chilling thriller from Number One bestseller Linwood Barclay, a man’s world is upended after he stumbles upon a grisly crime scene in the family home.

*****

PRAISE FOR LINWOOD BARCLAY:

‘Linwood Barclay has crafted another perfect page-turner’ The Times

‘Pacy and tense, it’s a triumph from a master thriller writer. Every page makes your heart beat that little bit faster’ The Sun

‘You’ll be left speed-reading towards the end to discover answers expertly posed by the bestselling Toronto-based crime writer’ The Independent

‘Totally absorbing… brilliant stuff’ Neil Lancaster

‘A superior thriller’ Sunday Times

©2026 Linwood Barclay

Critic reviews

PRAISE FOR LINWOOD BARCLAY:

‘Devilishly good’ Shari Lapena

‘The novel speeds from first page to last… Bravo!’ Jeffery Deaver

‘A fast-moving, high-concept thriller from the talented Barclay’ Daily Mail

‘Linwood Barclay is in a class of his own’ T.M. Logan

‘One of the finest thriller writers in the world at the very top of his game’ Mark Billingham