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Never Look Away  By  cover art

Never Look Away

By: Linwood Barclay
Narrated by: Jeffrey Cummings
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Publisher's summary

A warm summer Saturday. An amusement park. David Harwood is glad to be spending some quality time with his wife, Jan, and their four-year-old son. But what begins as a pleasant family outing turns into a nightmare after an inexplicable disappearance. A frantic search only leads to an even more shocking and harrowing turn of events.

Until this terrifying moment, David Harwood is just a small-town reporter in need of a break. Then he gets a lead that just might be the answer to his prayers: a potential scandal involving a controversial development project for the outskirts of this picturesque upstate New York town. It’s a hot-button issue, but strangely, David’s editors keep shooting it down. Why?

That's a question no longer at the top of David’s list. Now the only thing he cares about is restoring his family. Desperate for any clue, David dives into his own investigation—and into a web of lies and deceit. For with every new piece of evidence he uncovers, David finds more questions—and moves ever closer to a shattering truth.

©2010 Linwood Barclay (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A terrifically fast-paced suspense story." ( The Washington Post)

What listeners say about Never Look Away

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    112
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Performance
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Story
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  • 4 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good listen.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes - it is great for a lazy listen or a beach read, as are most of Barclay's books.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would not.

What about Jeffrey Cummings’s performance did you like?

He was perfectly cast for this story and did a great job with his characterizations.

Was Never Look Away worth the listening time?

Yes - it is loaded with twists and turns (some a bit predicable perhaps) that keep you interested and is great light reading or listening.

Any additional comments?

Very satisfied with this audio book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • LJ
  • 07-26-23

Horrible Narrator!!!

The overall story was great, especially towards the end. But the narrator was horrible. He made female voices for male characters, he made the 4 year old son sound like a toddler. One character voice he did sounded like Frosty the Snowman. If they redid this book with a new narrator, it would be a lot better.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Mr. Snuffleupagus meets Linwood Barclay!

The book is good but I wanted to quit listening at least 10x's. The narrator was the worst at voices except his own which was nice. The narrator's voices ranged from Mr. Snuffleupagus, Barney, & a limited range for females. My 7 yr old has better voices for his Marvel books.

The storyline was decent and I actually do like the author's writing style. The characters are believable and make you laugh out loud.

I have listened to other books by this author and the narrators of those books are better by far.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another great one!

Great story and performance. It won't disappoint! Linwood Barclay is my new favorite author! Can't wait for another one.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Ah The Married Life For Me

Another great thriller from Barclay. Good action and a really good plot. As always, his characters are well developed. I really like these characters and that always makes me want to finish the book.

However, I did notice a pattern in Barclay’s books that I’ve read so far. Some of the married women have extreme defects, bitch too much, are somewhat cruel, etc. And the men seem to put up with it for far too long. And the men seem to acquiesce and re-express their love instead of trying to solve underlying issues. It’s the behavior/plot that keeps on giving.

Narration was ok on this with some of the women’s voices performed poorly. Some of the children’s voices are creepy as well.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story but could have been shorter

The story picks up at a fast pace in the last few chapters but frankly, the story dragged on too long with mundane dialog in the middle. It could have been about 4 chapters shorter without losing any detail or suspense.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Predictable, but entertaining

Would you listen to Never Look Away again? Why?

Nope.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The hero of the story was well drawn, and believable, even though the story line required listeners to suspend their belief once in a while. Having your wife set you up to take the fall for her murder is a bit fanciful, but the reader does a good job portraying what it would be like.

What three words best describe Jeffrey Cummings’s performance?

Balanced and belivable.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Any additional comments?

Not a bad book, we actually were looking for another book with a similar title, but ended up downloading this one. The weakest character was the hero's wife, but that may have been due to the book, not so much the reader. Some of the supporting characters such as the detective and the crooked prison boss were very well acted and entertaining. Worth the time and overall enjoyable.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Voice actor not a good fit

I actually wish I was reading this story as opposed to listening to it. The narrator has a nice enough voice but he makes the characters sound cartoonish and ridiculous. His interpretation kind of ruins the story. Bummer!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

The horrible narrator really spoiled this story for me. He kept trying on different voices that did not work at all. He also read in a manner that made it obvious he was reading. You know how some narrators do not do that? It is hard to describe, but overall, I almost sent it back because of him.
I kept going and am not finished yet but it is not one of those I cannot wait to get in the car and turn it on. If I never finished it, I would be ok but I am pretty far into the book so I will force myself to keep going.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Ok

The narrator did a good job. The story was interesting but to many holes. Detective never checks victims drivers license to confirm husbands story, etc…

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1 person found this helpful