Fear the Worst

By: Linwood Barclay

Narrated by: Buck Schirner

“An uncomfortably plausible tale . . . Barclay's pacing is impeccable. . . . A page-turner that keeps the reader guessing until the end.” --Denver Post

Tim Blake is an average guy. He sells cars. He has an ex-wife who’s moved in with another man. It’s not a life without hassles, but nothing will prepare him for when his daughter, Sydney, vanishes into thin air.

At the hotel where she supposedly worked, no one has ever heard of her. Even her closest friends seem to be at a loss. As he retraces Sydney’s steps, Tim discovers that the suburban Connecticut town he always thought of as idyllic is anything but. What he doesn’t know is that his every move is being watched. There are others who want to find Sydney as much as Tim does. And the closer Tim comes to the truth, the closer he comes to every parent’s worst nightmare - and the kind of evil only a parent’s love has a chance in hell of stopping.

©2009 Linwood Barclay (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Readers will find themselves desperate to finish just one more page before putting the book down . . . a page-turning thriller that’s intense, compelling, and for the most part, expertly paced.” --Kirkus

“Barclay earns a solid A for his page-turning plot.“ --Publishers Weekly

“Gripping…Unfold[s] with mounting tension and suspense…believable and scary for being rooted in human-sized characters and laced with saving humor.”
--Wall Street Journal

Favorite of all time so far!! GREAT Author!!!

What made the experience of listening to Fear the Worst the most enjoyable?

I have to say sometimes when you listen to these the narration is so bad...this is one of the best I have heard. Had me laughing at parts with the voices. LAUGH OUT LOUD! Great story, I could hardly stop listening!!

What other book might you compare Fear the Worst to and why?

All of Barclay's books have been FANTASTIC!!

Have you listened to any of Buck Schirner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have never heard him before but he is the best or at least in the top 5 of all I have heard before.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed at several parts. The back and forth between Sid's Dad and "Bob" were so funny at times.

Any additional comments?

Great book....great story....great narration.....for sure a DOUBLE THUMBS UP!!

Another Barclays winner

Exciting , interesting story! I always enjoy Barclay’s books so this was no exception. Believable characters and a main guy that you can identify with. The main character’s daughter has gone missing and no one seems to want to help. Once he starts looking for her, bad things start to happen and the cops aren’t any help at all. The ensuing story is the pursuit in finding his daughter no matter the cost. Well written and engaging story.
The narrator of this story was great too. Expertly done with different character voices and pacing.

Another Great Read from Linwood Barclay

Linwood Barclay books are simply awesome! ALL of them, and Fear the Worst is no exception. I was glued to my device. The characters are well developed, and relatable. They could be your neighbors. If you've enjoyed his other books, you will not be disappointed with this one. If you haven’t read Linwood Barclay yet, now’s the time!

Over the top, but still ok

I found this story a little too over the top, but still ok overall. In a way it reminded me of the Taken movies where a father does ‘whatever it takes’ to find his missing daughter and bring her home.

I am not a fan of bang-em-up-shoot-em-up action in books, I think stuff like that works better in a visual medium and therefore I found all the action scenes very tedious.

I also think there was one twist too many, it went one plot twist too far… I suppose the idea was to keep readers intrigued and surprised but it missed the mark for me - it just made me roll my eyes.

Fun and Exciting But Slow Start

Fun and exciting book... in the second half. The first half was slow and a bit boring. I almost stopped listening because I like a thriller with more action and enjoyable characters. That all changes by the second half if you can wait that long which is why I gave it four stars. Great reader.

loved everything until the last minute

Linwood Barclay has a good knack for creating characters, and his writing (and Buck Schirner's narration) do bring them to life. It's a good story, complicated enough to be interesting but straightforward enough to be understandable and I loved it all......until the final sentence in the last minute. Still, in spite of the ending, it was an enjoyable listen adn well worth the time and money. I'm sure it won't be my last book of his.

slow start abrupt ending

it was very slow to grap mYuny attention and then the story just ended. An epilog would have been good.

One of his best

The summary of this book kept me from getting it sooner. It didn’t sound at all exciting but exciting it was. Stories within stories within stories.
It had so many twists but was easy to follow. (As in most of his novels)
Narration was great too. It’s hard trying to find my next book after listening to one this good. I highly recommend this book.

Goofy narration, over-the-top story

Linwood Barclay's books are always a bit over-the-top, but that's definitely OK, considering it's fiction. However, by the end of this one, there were almost *too* many twists and turns and complications...and I was losing interest in the resolution.

I also began losing interest and sympathy for the characters after awhile. The father made a lot of bad moves that were difficult to get behind, and he oftentimes seemed pretty clueless. The daughter character wasn't established enough to get deeply invested in her as a person, although I did sympathize with the frantic worry that the parents must have faced.

The biggest thing that took away from this story was the narrator. His voice sounded a bit mature for the main character of the dad, but the inflections he put into the other characters' voices was what was really ridiculous. The female characters' voices were bad enough, but when he would personify other male characters, whether it be a middle-aged, yet virile adult, or a rebellious teenage boy, he would use some kind of goofy walrus voice, or that of an elderly cartoon horse. It was vaguely amusing, but highly distracting. I just couldn't get over those voices enough to take the story seriously.

Too Long

Previous Linwood Barclay’s novels were riveting. Of the nine that I devoured this was the most disappointing. A divorced father finally gets custody of his daughter to spend the summer with him. While having breakfast they have a minor dust up over a watch. Afterwards she huffs out of the house to go to her job but never returns. Her father moves heaven and earth to find her.
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