Linwood Barclay does it again...

Admittedly I am not the biggest mystery fan in the store - I leave that department to David. However, a few years ago we hosted Linwood Barclay after his book, No Time for Goodbye, was released, and since then I've been hooked on anything he writes. 
What I enjoy most about Linwood's style is his ability to take what looks like an ordinary accident (in this novel's case) and pokes holes into it, creating domestic suspense. His pacing is superb and you can't help but keeping turning the pages to find out what happens next. I also love how he takes common everyday dilema's along with the poltics of the times to build his stories. 
In The Accident, it is the new normal of tough economic times in small town USA suberbia. Glen Garber, a local blue collar contracter, is watching his business falter and shake with the earthquake of the housing crisis. His wife Sheila is taking a night course to better her chances of getting a higher-paying job. The book opens when she is late coming home from her course. Glen is waiting for her, while their eight-year-old daughter is sleeping. Turns out Sheila parked her car on an off ramp and killed not only herself, but two other people. The police say she was drunk but Glen KNOWS that she would never do something like this. As their daughter is bullied by her classmates about her mother being a drunk driver, Glen discovers that his wife (and many of their neighbors) may have been involved in more creative measures to help make ends meet. 
As the twists and turns build, Glen must question everyone he has known in his community to find the truth. The surprise ending left me shocked at who was really responsible for his wife's demise. (Just be aware of knock-off designer goods!) Linwood has written another nail-biting page-turner again!
- Bronwyn