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    The Twenty-Three
    The Twenty-Three
    The Twenty-Three
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Twenty-Three

    Written by Linwood Barclay

    Narrated by Richard Poe and Brian O'Neill

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Linwood Barclay comes the third jaw-dropping thriller set in Promise Falls. It's May 23rd, and a contaminated water supply in the small town of Promise Falls, New York, has sent hundreds of people to the hospital with flu-like symptoms-and dozens have died. But the question for many, including private investigator Cal Weaver, remains: Who would benefit from poisoning this town? Meanwhile, Detective Barry Duckworth is faced with another problem. A college student has been murdered, and he's seen the killer's handiwork before-in the unsolved homicides of two other women in town. He begins to piece together the seemingly unrelated events and realizes that the motive for harming the people of Promise Falls points to the number 23-and working out why will bring him closer to death than he's ever been before.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateNov 1, 2016
    ISBN9781501934643
    The Twenty-Three
    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 The Twenty-Three

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      It was a great trilogy but I was a just a tad disappointed in the ending. It was such an incredible buildup over the 3 books that it just seemed that the ending should have not been quiet so flat. On spite of this it was an entertaining read with short chapters and plenty of twists and turns. Anyone of the three books could easily have stood well by itself...but you CAN NOT read these out of order.
    • 4/5
      Wenn es Linwood Barclay in den vorherigen Teilen der Promise-Falls-Trilogie nicht auf die Spitze getrieben hat, in „Lügenfalle“ macht er es, und zwar ohne Umschweife, ohne Vorgeplänkel, ohne langweiligem Prolog. Direkt im ersten Kapitel kippen reihenweise Leute um, und damit sind wir auch schon mitten in der Geschichte.Linwood Barclay hat in den ersten zwei Teilen der Trilogie einige Baustellen offen gelassen, wie etwa der Mord an Rosemary Gaynor, die dreiundzwanzig toten Eichhörnchen oder die Schaufensterpuppen im Waggon des Riesenrads aus „Lügennest“ – oder den brennenden Bus, den Mord an George Lydecker oder die umgefallene Leinwand aus „Lügennacht“. Aber Barclay hat offenbar noch nicht genug, denn wie man oben lesen kann, eröffnet er in „Lügenfalle“ eine Reihe neuer Baustellen.Nachdem „Lügennest“ aus der ersten Person von David Harwood erzählt wurde, „Lügennacht“ Cal Weaver die – mehr oder weniger – Hauptperson war, wird „Lügenfalle“ von einem Charakter aus der ersten Person erzählt, den ich schon in „Lügennest“ lieb gewonnen habe – nämlich den etwas übergewichtigen Detective Barry Duckworth, bei dem ich immer Chief Wiggum von den „Simpsons“ vor Augen hatte, der aber nicht mal ansatzweise so stupide wie sein Zeichentrick-Pendant agiert. Wir lernen ihn zwar wegen des Umstandes, dass wir seine Perspektive einnehmen, nicht unbedingt besser kennen, aber uns fällt doch sein Hang zur Selbstironie auf, der in den vorherigen zwei Teilen nicht manifest war. Zumindest nicht für mich.Die Medaille „Lieblingscharakter“ hänge ich – und zwar mit Abstand – aber einer Figur um, die in „Lügennacht“ erstmals in Erscheinung trat (zumindest soweit ich mich erinnere), aber in „Lügenfalle“ wesentlich mehr Raum bekommt; eine Figur, die jemanden innerhalb von zwei Seiten herzhaft zum Lachen und (weniger herzhaft) zum Weinen bringen kann; eine Figur, die so gut gezeichnet ist und trotz ihrer Eigenheiten die vermutlich authentischste im Promise-Falls-Kosmos ist – nämlich Crystal. Ich habe selten, vielleicht sogar noch nie, einen so herzzerreißenden Charakter kennengelernt wie ihren. Doch dem nicht genug, denn die Beziehung zwischen ihr und Cal Weaver, die in „Lügennacht“ ihren Ursprung nahm, hievt Barclay in „Lügenfalle“ auf die nächste Stufe und es ist wunderschön, mitzuverfolgen, wie die zwei miteinander agieren.Das, gepaart mit allem anderen, was in Promise Falls passierte und passiert, offenbart eine solche Tiefe und Vielschichtigkeit, die ich von Linwood Barclay noch nicht kannte. Er strickt ein so riesiges Netz mit so vielen Charakteren und Baustellen (siehe oben), dass man leicht den Überblick verlieren könnte. Aber selbst dafür hat Barclay vorgesorgt, denn er setzt den Leser stets ins Bild, wirft in Halbsätzen einen Rückblick auf die vorherigen Teile, so dass sich der Leser wieder auskennt, warum gerade was passiert. Allzu viel Zeit sollte man zwischen den drei Teilen dennoch nicht ins Land ziehen lassen.Barclay lässt den Leser mitraten, welcher Charakter wofür verantwortlich ist und formuliert so, dass man nahezu jeden verdächtigt. Sobald einer der Täter dem Leser offiziell enthüllt wird, schlägt das Buch eine Richtung ein, die etwas Psychothrillerhaftes hat. Hier spielt Barclay mit typischen Thriller-Stereotypen, die so gar nicht Barclay-typisch, aber durchaus stimmig sind. Alle Fragen klärt Barclay am Ende allerdings nicht, weshalb ich vermute, dass diese in einem anderen Buch – wahrscheinlich außerhalb der Promise-Falls-Reihe – beantwortet oder weitergesponnen werden.Fazit: Linwood Barclay holt in „Lügenfalle“ nochmal einen richtig großen Hammer heraus, packt ihn gekonnt in knapp fünfhundert Seiten ein und liefert uns einen spannungsgeladenen und facettenreichen Thriller mit massenhaft Emotionen.Mehr Rezensionen gibt's auf Krimisofa.com
    • 5/5
      I had read the first volume of this trilogy but not the second. I had no trouble jumping right into this third and concluding installment. This is a very real scenario. The town's water supply is poisoned overnight and folks who are exposed to it are either very sick or dying. There is no antidote. Emergency workers are overwhelmed and the detectives have their work cut out for them. Meanwhile, the long cold case of a serial killer reignites. Who is at the bottom of all this? The reader has suspense and non-stop action. My thanks the the author and the Penguin First to Read program for a complimentary copy.
    • 5/5
      THROUGHOUT THE TRILOGY THE THEME OF 23 WAS EVIDENT, WITH THIS BOOK THE MYSTERY IS REVEALED. I AM SO GLAD I WAITED UNTIL ALL THREE WERE AVAILABLE. I HAD A HARD TIME PUTTING ANY OF THE THREE DOWN. VERY READABLE AND VERY WELL WRITTEN. THIS AUTHOR HAS NOT FAILED TO BRING GREAT READING TO THE PUBLIC.
    • 4/5
      The Twenty-Three is the concluding volume in the Promise Falls Trilogy by Linwood Barclay and it’s one of the best literary thriller trilogies of the last several years. Each of the earlier books in the series has a mystery which is solved by the end of the novel, while also furthering a larger mystery which comes to a head in this concluding volume.The Twenty-Three starts with the people of Promise Falls waking on a Saturday morning to find that their water supply has been contaminated with deadly consequences. Hundreds of victims overwhelm emergency services and hamper the investigation into discovering the perpetrator. Simultaneously, a homicide victim turns up that points to a serial killer in their midst. Clues from the first two novels center around the number “23”. Discovering the significance of that number as well as exploring who stands to benefit from the disasters lead inexorably to the unmasking of the killer, but how many more people will die along the way?Barclay creates a cast of interesting and well-drawn characters. One of his most impressive talents is in describing objectionable, even loathsome characters. The character of former and erstwhile future Mayor of Promise Falls, Randall Finley, is an incredible creation. He’s an immoral, opportunistic and manipulative person who you want to be guilty of something, even if you are never sure if he is. Other characters such as Detective Barry Duckworth, private investigator Cal Weaver, and former journalist David Harwood are all great characters in their own way as well. Each of them have stories that continue from earlier books and that come to conclusion in this story. The central mystery as well as the separate crime that takes place in this book are nicely wrapped up by the end of the book. The only criticism is that there are so many plot threads in play that not all of them are wrapped up with the same level of satisfaction. The plot involving Harwood in particular ends somewhat limply. Nevertheless, the book and the series builds to an exciting conclusion.The audio version of the book is narrated by Richard Poe and Brian O’Neill. Both do a great job with pacing the book and voicing strong and distinct characters. They convey character emotions convincingly and are a complement to the story.The Twenty-Three is a very good book and concludes an even better series. The series is best read in order. Highly recommended.I was fortunate to be provided a copy of the book by the publisher.
    • 4/5
      Following on from Far From True and Broken Promise, this was the final book in the Promise Falls Trilogy by Linwood Barclay. It's been a while since I read the second book, and I was worried whether I would remember enough about the plot and the characters (there are a large number), but Barclay rehashes so much of it that you could follow this even if you haven't read the previous ones. Nevertheless, I would suggest reading them in order.I'm not even going to attempt any kind of summary because this is a multi-layered, complex mystery. Suffice it to say, Mr. Barclay is a genius when it comes to plotting. Numerous subplots, a large cast of characters, several red herrings and crazy plot twists, and it still miraculously all comes together in the end. This was very enjoyable, but I was disappointed with the abrupt ending. I was listening to this and actually went back again to see whether I had missed something and then I compared it to the ebook, still thinking I must surely be missing something, but no, that was really how Barclay chose to end it all. So overall, great story but I didn't like the fact that several things were left open. Apparently, Cal Weaver and Barry Duckworth will return next year in a book that will deal with the fallout of what happened in Promise Falls, so I guess I will have to add that to my list.Jeff Harding's narration of the audiobook was excellent. In particular, I enjoyed how he delivered Barclay's subtle sense of humor. This refers to the UK version, as the US Audible version has two different narrators.I received an ARC via NetGalley and purchased the audiobook.
    • 5/5
      This series just gets better with each book. I love the people of Promise Falls. I don't know how this could get any better. This has a lot of twists and turns. The action just keeps coming. I received a copy of this book from Firsttoread for a fair and honest opinion.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this final installment in the Promise Falls trilogy. I was eager to finally get some answers when I picked up this book and I feel like I got them for the most part. Like the other two books in the trilogy, this novel did have its own focus but there was a lot of things that needed to be wrapped up from the previous books in the series. This was a really fast paced and exciting story.This book starts with a bang. People in Promise Falls are getting sick. Really sick. Many people are even dying. The town is trying to keep up and figure out what is going on but they are completely overwhelmed. In addition to the sickness, there is a new murder that needs to be solved and they are still trying to figure out previous unsolved murders.All of the great characters are back from the previous book and they are all working to find out what is going on in this town. Duckworth has his hands full. Seriously, how is he in charge of every problem in this city? I liked Duckworth but realistically I don't think he could have possibly kept up with as much as he did. Cal and David are both dealing with issues that are a little closer to home for them.I was pretty satisfied by how the book and trilogy wrapped up. There were a few surprises in the end but nothing that didn't make sense in the story. This trilogy really should be read in order and in quick succession if at all possible. Each book left so many unanswered questions that finally are addressed in this book. I think anyone trying to read this book as a stand alone novel will miss out on the larger story and will probably be somewhat unsatisfied.I would recommend this book and trilogy and book to fans of mystery thrillers. This is a smartly plotted mystery that should appeal to a large number of readers. I have read and enjoyed Linwood Barclay's work many times in the past and I look forward to reading more in the future.I received an advance reader edition of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley.
    • 5/5
      Another home run for Mr. Barclay! From the first page all the way until the last page, I am hooked. The problem with reading a book from Mr. Barclay is that I read them way too fast. Then I have to wait a long time until the next book. While this book is the third in this trilogy, it can be read as a stand alone novel. How do you know when you are in for a good story...when the book starts out with the following line"I know I won't be able to get them all. But I hope I'll be able to get enough". There was never a dull moment to be had while reading this book. There were two storylines happening but neither one over shadowed the other one. In fact, they both wrapped up nicely in the end. I am disappointed that I am doing the waiting game for the next book. This book will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat.
    • 4/5
      3.5 - 4 stars. I received an ARC of this book from First to Read. I had read the other two books in the trilogy and anxious to read the conclusion. You definitely have to have read the first two books to really understand all the storylines in this book. Like the other two, it was fast paced and hard to put down. There were definitely a couple of red herrings thrown in as the various stories reached their conclusions. I was able to figure out one of the perpetrators part way through the book but not the others. I liked that it provided conclusions to all the mysteries from the previous books as the third book in a trilogy should. However, I did not like that it left several new stories open at the very end - you don't know what happens with David and Samantha or Duckworth. Overall, this a good conclusion to a good trilogy - I recommend these books to anyone who likes a good mystery.
    • 5/5
      This is the final book in a trilogy involving the town of Promise Falls and events that occur over a few days; murder, vandalism, and possible terrorism. I loved the first book; the second pulled me in more that I couldn’t wait for the finale. And it was worth the wait. Yes, you need to read all the books and in order. It was suspenseful, and with all that is going on, never confusing. Detective Barry Duckworth is a fascinating character; real as he tries to deal with all that he has to. I also liked former reporter David Harwood and felt for him; up until the end. Like I mentioned, so much going on (various sub-plots) but it all makes sense and works. Loved the series.