The Drowning Child

By: Alex Barclay

Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins

The heart-stopping new thriller in the Ren Bryce series by Alex Barclay, bestselling author of DARKHOUSE and KILLING WAYS.

When Special Agent Ren Bryce is called to Tate, Oregon to investigate the disappearance of twelve-year-old Caleb Veir, she finds a town already in mourning.

Two other young boys have died recently, although in very different circumstances. As Ren digs deeper, she discovers that all is not as it seems in the Veir household – and that while Tate is a small town, it guards some very big secrets…

Can Ren uncover the truth before more children are harmed?

©2016 Alex Barclay (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

‘Ren Bryce becomes a more compelling character with each successive novel … sharply observed’ Declan Hughes, Irish Times

A well-up-to-scratch Barclay keeps this small-town tale rattling along at an enjoyably breakneck speed to a most unexpected denouement’ Irish Examiner

Praise for Killing Ways:

‘The pace is fast, without feeling rushed; the twists never feel forced; and the denouement, when it comes, is almost unbearably intense and shocking’ Irish Independent

‘An intense, frightening read … gripping throughout’ Woman’s Way

Praise for Alex Barclay:

‘Snappy dialogue … a meaty read’ Irish Independent

‘Blood Loss is cleverly paced, with Barclay drawing out the suspense but giving you just enough information to keep you hooked’ Hot Press

‘Gripping, stylish, convincing’ Sunday Times (Ireland)

‘Tense, no-punches-pulled thriller that will have you on the edge of your deckchair.’ Woman and Home

‘Right now, she’s the rising star of the hard-boiled crime fiction world, combining wild characters, surprising plots and massive backdrops with a touch of dry humour’ Mirror

Pretty Good Book...

I never read anything by Alex Barclay before but will definitely be going back to
Read any previous books and watching out for future books from this author.
The protagonist in this series is Ren Bryce. She's a special agent with the FBI. She suffers some mental health issues dealing with the loss of her friends and her boyfriend from a previous case (I'll have to catch up on that one).
She's sent to Oregon where a 12 year old boy has disappeared. While there she finds that other children have recently died and a deeper investigation ensues. The medical examiner determined that one of the children drowned the other supposedly choked on a sandwich. It turns out she was wrong on both counts. This story gets a bit twisted and there are a few viable suspects. Meanwhile Ren is semi seeing the local sheriff, so there's a little romance and a lot of self incrimination. When the actual perpetrator is revealed I was quite surprised. The book kind of steers you towards one person right from the beginning with quite a few other possibilities but the one who actually did the crime was never a suspect. And Ren's reaction to him was really not what I expected.
I definitely recommend this book.
The narrator could have been better, she's a little slow and I had to listen at 1.5 speed.
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