#BookReview of #Whistle by Linwood Barclay

‘A woman and her young son move to a small town looking for a fresh start, only to be haunted by disturbing events and strange visions when they find a mysterious train set in a storage shed.‘
– Whistle

[ About Whistle ]

Celebrated children’s author and illustrator Annie Blunt has had a dreadful year. Her husband was killed in a tragic accident, then one of her children’s books ignited a major scandal. Desperate for a fresh start, she moves with her young son Charlie to a charming small town in upstate New York where they can begin to heal.

But Annie’s year is about to get worse.

Bored and lonely in their isolated new surroundings, Charlie is thrilled when he finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed in the grounds of their new house. While Annie is pleased to see Charlie happy, there’s something unsettling about his new toy. Strange sounds wake Annie in the night – she’s sure she can hear a train in the middle of the night, although there isn’t an active line for miles. And then bizarre things start happening in the neighbourhood. But even stranger, Annie can’t seem to stop drawing a disturbing new character that has no place in a children’s book…

Grief plays tricks on the mind, but Annie is beginning to think she’s walked out of one nightmare straight into another, only this one is far more terrifying…

[ My Review ]

Whistle by Linwood Barclay published June 5th with HQ and is described as ‘a fiendishly twisted supernatural chiller‘. Not the normal genre for this author of psychological thrillers, Barclay decided to try his hand at horror, inspired by his own passion for toy train sets. With the encouragement of a rather distinguished early reader, Mr Stephen King, he decided to step out of his comfort zone and write this very sinister and disconcerting novel.

I don’t read much horror so I’m not in a position to compare it to other well known writers of the genre but what I can say is that Whistle kept me well engaged from the very beginning. The prologue is fast to unsettle, giving every reader a clear indication of what’s to come but how the story develops from there is quite intriguing and all too malevolent. With a book of this genre one can expect the fantastical, with otherworldly forces at play as evil seeps in through the cracks, so I did expect my mind to be stretched a little.

As Annie’s life is fracturing at the seams she needs to do something fast. A successful children’s author Annie Blunt is now a widow following the recent tragic death of her husband, John. Living with her son, Charlie, Annie struggles through each day. Before John’s accident, Annie had been in a media storm that had played havoc with her creativity. But now, with just Charlie to get her up every morning, she is rudderless. She decides that she needs to leave the noise of New York for awhile so when her publisher suggests an alternative she grabs the opportunity. This might just be the catalyst she needs to re-engage with life again.

Their new home brings many benefits for Annie but she can see that Charlie is quite down, bored without his friends for company. After a trip to the local town, Charlie insists on purchasing an old rusted bike and Annie acquiesces, knowing that the roads are quieter here in this part of the world. After the initial novelty of the bike wears off, Charlie casts his eye on an old locked shed. With persistence and determination he gains access and discovers an old train set.

Thrilled with his new find, he sets up base camp in Annie’s office, and, with great attention, starts to assemble his new toy. Annie is delighted to see Charlie so absorbed with something, allowing her to reacquaint herself with her art tools and thoughts. As the days pass, Annie notices that Charlie has become quite obsessed with the trains and all the associated paraphernalia. Distracted by her own desire to draw something a lot darker than she normally would, Annie dismisses her thoughts as the overly active imagination of a creative mind, a grief-sodden mind. But then she starts to hear some unusual noises during the night…

As Annie questions her sanity, the malevolence slowly seeps into their world. Annie starts to investigate what she can hardly admit to herself, the possibility that there is something sinister at play. As she starts to gather her thoughts, a parallel story unfolds from decades earlier introducing the reader to the town of Lucknow and it’s inhabitants.

Weaving in and out of the past and the present, Barclay takes the reader on a chilling ride as the story unfolds. Lots of strange occurrences, unexplained disappearances and a town overshadowed by tragedy provide the perfect backdrop for this creepy story that really gets under your skin. I loved how Barclay cradles us for awhile, protecting us from the horrors ahead by keeping Annie the focus of our attention. Her warmth and caring nature, her witty personality, her creative spirit are all the perfect cosy blanket before the terror slowly creeps in.

Highly addictive and oppressive, with characters all very well cast, Barclay plays around with the elements of this story never pushing too far into the darker realms of gory horror. Foreboding and dark, with a leaning toward psychological horror, Whistle will leave every reader with a lingering sense of dread and discomfort (and a very different perspective on train sets!)

[Thank you to Harper Collins Ireland for a copy of Whistle in exchange for my honest review ]

[ Bio ]

Linwood Barclay is an international bestselling crime and thriller author with over twenty critically acclaimed novels to his name, including the phenomenal number one bestseller No Time For Goodbye.

Every Linwood Barclay book is a masterclass in characterisation, plot and the killer twist, and with sales of over seven million copies globally, his books have been sold in more than 39 countries around the world and he can count Stephen King, Shari Lapena and Peter James among his many fans.