I Will Ruin You

A Novel

By: Linwood Barclay

Narrated by: George Newbern, Johnathan McClain

"Linwood Barclay's I Will Ruin You is a page-turner that also has important things to say. You'll get your money's worth out of this one."–Stephen King

In the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay, a teacher’s act of heroism inadvertently makes him the target of a dangerous blackmailer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

How would you react in a life-or-death situation?

It’s a question everyone asks themselves, but few have to face in real life. English teacher Richard Boyle certainly never thought he would find himself talking down a former student intent on harming others, but when Mark LeDrew shows up at Richard’s school with a bomb strapped to his chest, Richard immediately jumps into action. Thanks to some quick thinking, he averts a major tragedy and is hailed as a hero, but not all the attention focused on him is positive.

Richard’s brief moment in the spotlight puts him in the sights of a deranged blackmailer with a score to settle. The situation rapidly spirals out of control, drawing Richard into a fraught web of salacious accusations and deadly secrets. As he tries to uncover the truth he discovers that there’s something deeply wrong in the town—something that ties together Mark, the blackmailer, and a gang of ruthless drug dealers, and Richard has landed smack in the middle of it. He’s desperate to find a way out, but everyone in his life seems to be hiding something, and trusting the wrong person could cost him everything he loves.

What price will he pay for one good deed?

©2024 Linwood Barclay (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

It could have been me

Linwood Barclay can’t write his novels of suspense fast enough to please me. I eagerly devour each one and that includes I Will Ruin You.
What I like about his stories is that I can easily imagine me in place of one of the characters or as an amalgamation of characters. Part of me could be Richard, a dedicated English teacher, who wants to expose his students to something outside of the boring required reading list. In my case I assigned Blindness by Jose Saramago to a middle schooler I was mentoring. Aside from the fascinating story itself the entire novel has no punctuation. It could have been me who on an ordinary day spots something curious out of the corner of my eye as my gazed flashed across the school room window during my class. It could have been any teacher that acted on their protective instinct to stop what threatened to cause great harm to the entire school. It could have been any teacher who found themselves labeled as hero in those circumstances while at the same time blamed for something innocent like giving a comforting hug to a grieving student that was misinterpreted as molestation. The mere suggestion followed up by an insinuating photo circulated on Facebook could permanently ruin my reputation as well as that of my family members.

I like it that Barclay sprinkles his stories with references to real events and books by other authors I’ve read, kind of like the arcane references slipped into a Law and Order episode.

The narrator of the audiobook version did a splendid job.

I can’t wait for his next book.

There were lots of twists and turns

This was a good listen. I enjoyed the various turns in plot. It is a major nod to what can go wrong when you don’t tell the truth.

First from author

First time listening to this author and not disappointed, didn’t expect the ending, came quick and never guessed.

Excellent

I had to idea "who did it". Could have been anyone. Very surprised and satisfied with the ending.

Narrator

I didn’t like the narrator so read a copy borrowed from the library instead. Reading it was better than listening to

Twist,twist, twist, typical Linwood Barclay style. He's a master.

The back story was a little too "timely " for lack of a better word. He hit all the topics in the news, book banning, same-sex relationships, sexual predators, school attacks, drugs, and cartels. An exhausting list. I almost stopped listening more than once. I only hung in there because of my past experience with Mr Barclay's writing. I knew it had to get better and the narration was very good. Once the twisting started I was hooked.

Entertaining Story

This story fits right in with the happenings in some schools today. Our hero teacher saves the day, glad he did so, but has cause to worry for his family in the aftermath.

Really good

A very enjoyable story. A who done it and how did they do it. As usual with Linwood Barclay books there is a very complex and well developed group of characters. I love that

Mr Barclay never disappoints

Twisty tale that kept me guessing who done it. At first I questioned the need for a gay character but came to understand why. Too many authors use them to be inclusive or politically correct, an insult to the lgbtq+ community.

believable without weird twist

this was good. very twisty but not so twisty that you could t follow the bread crumbs