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Fear the Worst
Unavailable
Fear the Worst
Unavailable
Fear the Worst
Audiobook12 hours

Fear the Worst

Written by Linwood Barclay

Narrated by Buck Schirner

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Tim is an average guy. He sells cars. He has an ex-wife who's moved in with a man whose moody son spends more time online than he should. Tim's girlfriend is turning out to be a bit of a flake. It's not a life without hassles, but nothing will prepare him for the nightmare that's about to begin.
His daughter, Sydney, has vanished 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. Now, as the days pass without word, Tim must face the fact that not only is Sydney missing, but that he may not have known his daughter as well as he thought.
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.
But they're not planning a welcome-home party.
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.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 11, 2009
ISBN9781423398424
Unavailable
Fear the Worst
Author

Linwood Barclay

Linwood Barclay is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous previous novels and two thrillers for children. His books have been translated into more than two dozen languages. He wrote the screenplay adaptation for his novel Never Saw it Coming and his book The Accident has been made into a TV series in France. His novel No Time for Goodbye was a global bestseller. A native of Connecticut, he now lives in Toronto with his wife, Neetha.

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Reviews for Fear the Worst

Rating: 3.761613689486553 out of 5 stars
4/5

409 ratings60 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Linwood Barclay is becoming an author that I can count on for a good read. This is only the second book that I have read by him, but I see great potential. Both books (No Time for Goodbye as the other) had good mysteries and continually kept me interested. Linwood Barclay's style reminds me a lot of James Patterson.In Fear the Worst, I didn't find the action to be heart-pounding or it to have edge-of-your-seat type scenes, but there was plenty of action and twists to keep the book moving along at a fairly fast pace. There was a scene or two that I thought was pushing it a bit, but overall I always looked forward to picking the book up again, because I thoroughly enjoyed being on the hunt with Tim.In general, I liked the characters - they all served a purpose, but what I liked most was how the expressive words and interactions clearly defined the connection or lack thereof between them. It was nice to not have a relationship explained to the nth degree. Ultimately - another good book for Barclay! (4/5)Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..."
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Maybe it was the insomnia or maybe it was this book, both were equally possible but I read this book 12 hours. The majority of which I should have been sleeping but since I wasn't doing that this book and my little flashlight kept me very entertained throughout the night. And I am not one of those people who read a book a day. I'm usually happy with one a week. This story was non-stop action as Tim Blake searches for his missing 16 year old daughter. Once pieces start falling into place the pages don't stop turning. And you will either stay awake to see what happens next or be glad that you can't sleep anyway.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The one thing I like about Linwood Barclay's books is that they're just so readable. I always get pulled in and could easily finish one of his books in a single sitting. This one was about used-car salesman Tim Blake. His 17-year old daughter Sydney is living with him for the summer and is working at a nearby hotel. But one night Sydney doesn't come home, and according to the workers at the hotel Sydney never worked there. Tim tirelessly investigates to find out just what Sydney was into, and where she's gone. When Tim won't give up, someone starts setting him up to look guilty to the local police.

    I liked this book but it wasn't quite on par to some others I've read of Barclay. The resolution to the mystery was okay but a little disappointing to me. I would have liked the story extended to cover the completion of the investigation, including a final discussion with the police investigator.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I wonder why I don't enjoy his books...he is quite popular. Read half of this book...skimmed the rest
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    As Fear the Worst opens divorced dad Tim Blake is having a minor domestic spat with his teen-age daughter. Just pages later she is missing, and a whole sequence of thriller cliches is ratcheted into place. Sydney, the daughter, is unknown by her supposed co-workers at the seedy hotel she's told her dad she'd been working in all summer. Tim, unable to handle the pressure of events, alienates his boss, his co-workers, his ex-wife, his girlfriend. Bigger and nastier goings-on are uncovered. None of it is believable (forget plausible).Genre fiction--even great genre fiction--is frequently based on cliche, and the events in them are often unbelievable. However, in the hands of a master writer--or, at least, of one with a diligent editor--there are still thrills and fun to be had. Not here, I'm afraid. And this is a major disappointment, as Linwood Barclay's last two novels have been both original and exciting.Maybe next time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Right up front I have to say I enjoy Linwood Barclay's storytelling and his "normal" characters. In this novel, the focus is on a divorced dad and car salesman whose teenage daughter disappears -- and whose life seems to be a lie. Where did she work? Why did she leave? Telling more would open up a can of worms and too much of the plot -- but to say the circumstances snowball into something beyond crazy is not to exaggerate. Enjoyable read, if a bit unrealistic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Enjoyed listening. Discovered Linwood about 3 months ago and enjoying catching up on all his works.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Finding the novels of Linwood Barclay in 2013 was such a great find! This is the 2nd novel by this author that I have read and it is indeed a thriller and a page-turner. It sometimes worries me when I find captivating phrases of reviews on the front cover of a novel. I like to read the book, write my own review, and then pursue reading the back cover or first pages in a novel where reviews are often located to discover other opinions. One of the quotes on the front cover of "Fear the Worst" says, "Pushes the envelope of suspense to the edge and beyond." - Steve Berry. I must agree. What a roller coaster ride of emotions for Tim Blake as he searches for his missing daughter. Pick up a copy and start reading but be careful - some of the discoveries are actual blind alleys.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tim Blake is an average guy, sells cars and has an ex-wife who's moved in with a man whose moody son spends more time online than he should. Tim's girlfriend, Kate Wood is turning out to be a bit of a flake, but nothing will prepare him for the nightmare that's about to begin. His daughter, Sydney, has vanished into thin air. At the hotel where she supposedly worked, no one has ever heard of her. He may not have known his daughter as well as he thought, there are others who want to find Sydney as much as Tim does.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is an ok book. I have read several other Linwood Barclay novels. Starts off really well Tim Blake is looking for his teenage daughter he cant find her anywere. She isnt at the hotel she works at. Tim doesnt get much help from the police. The bad guys are closing in. Tim eventually tracks his daugher Sydney down. This book got silly towards the end but overall it was an ok book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    That was a very gripping reading. It tells the story how a father is looking for his teenage daughter who didn't turn up after work and everybody, he is asking about her whereabouts, turns him down. He fears the worst case and on his searching path there are more dead people than he wishes to have them. The police isn't much of a help and he is mostly on his own. Only his ex-wife and her new lover are helping him. During his investigation he stumbles across human trafficking and he gets nearly shot several times. It let me guess until the very last page how the outcome would be.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kept you on the edge of your seat. Unexpected outcome. A mans teenage daughter dissappears suddenly, it is unclear whether she is a runaway or abducted. In his search to find her what he learns makes you think about how well you really know the people you surround yourself with.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There is nothing better than a Linwood Barclay novel to grab you right from the very beginning. In "Fear the Worst" Tim Blake discovers his teenage daughter has gone missing, a parents worst nightmare. Has she been abducted or run away. In an attempt to find her he must first find out who she really was. Everything he thought he knew about his daughter was a lie. Who is Sydney? Where is Sydney? Is she alive? Find a nice comfy chair and settle in with this one, its hard to put down.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This has been my favorite read for some time now. I found this book to keep wanting to read more to find out what was going to happen next. I can't wait to read more from this author.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Well crafted story with plenty of interesting twists. Believable characters and interesting because slightly out of the ordinary (used car salesmen, marginally deadbeat teens, small time criminals). Suffered from slow pacing. Lots of time spent on getting to know characters that seemed pretty well drawn in their first few appearances in the story. Much seemed extraneous and could have been tightened by 10-20%.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    “All the pressure of the last few weeks had come to a boil…I was a goddamn car salesman, for f***’s sake. Nothing in my life had even remotely prepared me for dealing with the things that were going on around me now.” – From Fear the WorstHang on to the bar in front of you. Buckled in? Great. You’ll need it.Ready for one of the most heart pounding, believable, and keep-you-all-night thrillers ever written? Then go to Fear the Worst at Amazon.com, click “add to cart”, and buy it. Now. Or run to the nearest bookstore and hope-to-God they have this amazing book by Linwood Barclay in stock to quell your jonesin’ for suspense laced with well-drawn characters, super-deft plotting, and “oh my God!” surprises that careen towards you chapter after chapter.Do I sound like I’m gushing? Guilty as charged.This book is one of the rare gems that have me saying to people (like my husband) “You *have* to read this! It’s amazing!” And if you knew me, you’d know that I’m only a gusher when a book is over-the-top excellent. In the case of Fear the Worst, I can only say great things about this 400-page masterpiece by Linwood who-is-this-author-and-where-did-he-come-from?! Barclay. It’s an incredible thing to read a thriller with unforeseen twists and turns that don’t elicit groans of “Oh, *c’mon”!” at its implausibility.Equally, to have an author juggle over a dozen characters—each memorable, authentic, and crucial to the plot—while keeping a galloping pace when it matters most, and orchestrating a quicksand slowdown for delicious anticipatory torment…it just boggles my mind, not only as a seasoned reviewer, but also as a published author.I have found a new favorite author, and if you try Fear the Worst, I bet you will, too. The plot is compelling enough—a daughter goes missing after work, car gone, and those at her supposed place of employment for the last two weeks say they’ve never seen her before. And neither has anyone employed at the neighboring businesses, for that matter.Where is Sydney “Syd” Blake? Why did she leave? Was she mad about a confrontation at breakfast with her Dad? Why hasn’t she been in touch, at least with her Mother? Her best friend, Patty? Is Syd OK? Was she everything she seemed to be…?Find out the shocking truth in Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Fear The WorstBy Linwood BarclayPublisher: Bantam BooksPub. Date: August 11, 2009ISBN-13: 9780553807165416ppThe blurb from the publisher:Your daughter doesn’t come home one night from her summer job.You go there looking for her. No one’s seen here. But it’s worse than that. No one’s ever seen her. So where has she been going every day? And where is she now?In Linwood Barclay’s riveting new thriller, an ordinary man’s desperate search for his daughter leads him into a dark world of corruption, exploitation, and murder. Tim Blake is about to learn that the people you think you know best are the ones harboring the biggest secrets.The Short of It:This is truly a roller coaster ride!! Super fast pace—a real page turner.My Thoughts:Once in awhile I like to read a good thriller. I saw this one on Shelf Awareness and it immediately caught my eye. I really enjoyed the main character, Tim. He's not a perfect dad (who is?) but he clearly loves his daughter Sydney even though they don't always get along. When she goes missing, his frustration and concern rang true for me.The pace of this novel is unreal! Every chapter ends with a startling discovery. Okay, not every discovery was completely unexpected but what I really liked is that even though the chapter ends with a discovery, it's immediately picked up again at the beginning of the next chapter. It's told from Tim's point of view so we are never left hanging for long.I found the ending to be very abrupt. Like slamming on your brakes. It came out of nowhere and simply ended. Perhaps the frenetic pace of the rest of the novel made the ending seem abrupt, but I could have used a few more pages to ease into it a bit.Overall, this is the perfect book for summer. It's quick and entertaining and although I have never read any of Barclay's other books (and he has several), I would definitely pick up another one.This book was sent to me by Random House via Shelf Awareness and officially comes out on August 11, 2009. If you'd like to learn more about Linwood Barclay's other books, check out website.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a real page turner and I didn't want to put it down, just feel the ending was a touch rushed.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Finding the novels of Linwood Barclay in 2013 was such a great find! This is the 2nd novel by this author that I have read and it is indeed a thriller and a page-turner. It sometimes worries me when I find captivating phrases of reviews on the front cover of a novel. I like to read the book, write my own review, and then pursue reading the back cover or first pages in a novel where reviews are often located to discover other opinions. One of the quotes on the front cover of "Fear the Worst" says, "Pushes the envelope of suspense to the edge and beyond." - Steve Berry. I must agree. What a roller coaster ride of emotions for Tim Blake as he searches for his missing daughter. Pick up a copy and start reading but be careful - some of the discoveries are actual blind alleys.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a light read for when you don't want your brain to be too taxed. Not too obvious, but not unsolvable and not un-put-down-able.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I found this book very gripping and entertaining. His work is very similar to the works of Harlen Coben in that their books both contain plenty of plot twists that present themselves in unexpected ways. If you like Harlen Coben, I recommend Linwood Barclay.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Exciting unpredictable storyline about a man's relentless search for his missing daughter. Fast moving and entertaining - highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Tim Blake goes to pick up his daughter after work only to find everyone denies she ever worked there. He then spends the rest of the book desperately searching for her and trying to unravel the mystery of where she is and why, whilst others try to stop him at every turn.As usual a high quality plot and characters which reminded me of Harlen Coben's plotting, high praise indeed!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Every parent's worst fear is that one day their daughter won't come home. And when that happens - that's what you do - fear the worst, that is.Publisher's blurbSydney Blake’s summer is shaping up to be typical for a teenager: she’s spending it with her father, and she has landed a part-time job at a local hotel. One night, Syd fails to come home from her shift, and her father Tim begins to panic after he visits the hotel and the manager claims that Syd has never worked there. Grilling his daughter’s friends for clues leads Tim nowhere — except to threats against his life — and as he frantically chases every lead, he can’t help but wonder if Syd is even still alive. Despite a growing list of unanswered questions, all Tim knows for certain is that he must continue searching for his daughter no matter how high the stakes become.If Sydney has run away, then there are some things that need explaining. She hasn't taken anything with her - no clothes, nor her bag, not her laptop, nor her iPod Shuffle. Everything is expecting her back. And then her car turns up in a car park in a nearby town. The steering wheel and the door handle have blood stains.Tim has a website set up with details about Syd's disappearance on it, and hope flares when someone in Seattle contacts him with a sighting. The journey to Seattle is worse than useless though - when he arrives back his house has been trashed. Tim comes to understand he is being watched, and that there is nothing simple about Syd's disappearance.As time goes on, the tension builds, the drama escalates, the police show they are not sure they believe Tim's version of the story.FEAR THE WORST makes you thankful that nothing like this has ever happened to you. I'm not sure that all of the story is entirely credible, but the events heighten the suspense and it is certainly a page-turner.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sydney Blake has gone to stay with he dad Tim for the summer. One morning she goes out to work and doesn't come back. Tim begins a frantic search to find his daughter. When he goes to the hotel where she was working nobody has heard of her. In his desperate attempt to find his daughter he stumbles on all sorts of secrets and cover ups and lots of dead ends. He loses his faith in the police so he is on his own.This was a very pacy thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat. Lots of twist and turns and I never really guessed who was involved. Just a minor pick, which stopped me from giving it five stars....warning spoiler.... Patty being his daughter too and her involvement of the vanishing I thought was unnecessary as the plot with the hotel was enough reasons for Sydney's disappearance. Apart from that another very good read from this author.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This was my first experience with the Author, Linwood Barclay, and quite possibly my last! I had high expectations starting the book. A few chapters in I started to become bored with the book and the main character, "Tim." It seemed that the first ten chapters or so were just fluff and fill and not much more. It was so slow paced I almost gave up on the book. In wasn't until around chapter 25 or so that it started to become somewhat interesting. This was also about the time I became irritated. I felt like I was reading, "Dick and Jane" from grade school all over again but the names replaced with Tim, Kip Jennings, Suze, Bob, etc. I grew extremely tired with reading, ".... Tim said," "...Jennings said," "I said..." It wore on my nerves and really distracted me to the point that I found myself skipping over these words. As far as the plot, I thought it was just okay. The idea was certainly plausible to a degree, but had I known how this book ended the way it did, I would have never read it. It was just plain boring to me and not worth the time of 399 pages, which quite a bit of it, in my opinion was unecessary. The book ends and there is no epilogue to help finish or polish off the book. The book was very rough and difficult to read and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was expecting a real page-turner but didn't really get that. I think maybe because you are never introduced to the character that goes missing you're not really that bothered? The concept of the parent missing a child and trying to piece together bits of their life to find them was quite interesting. I wasn't so impressed with the way some of the characters were drawn. The baddies were a bit cartoonish. If it were turned into a movie you could imagine the credits saying something like - "creepy thug #1, creepy thug #2" etc. - not really any difference between the bad guys. The twist at the end was alright but the way it resolved was a bit cheesy. Overall 3/5.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was very exciting and well-written. The characters were interesting and the plot development was interesting and realistic that kept me glued to the book. Highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read more from this author.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Suspenful drama about a divorced dad who din't really know his kids.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Car salesman Tim Blake has more troubles than he can deal with: his wife has left him for a car dealer rival; his boss who won't leave him alone; and, worst, his teenage daughter, Sydney, has disappeared from her summer job at the Just Inn Time motel. When Tim retraces Sydney's last few hours, he learns that motel owners insist that she never worked there. The more Tim searches, the more he learns that he didn't know his daughter as well as he thought he did. Reading Linwood Barclay can turn you into an adrenaline junkie. This book is hard to put down. Highly recommend.