No Time for Goodbye

By: Linwood Barclay

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

The house was deathly quiet. That was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke that morning to find herself alone. Her family - mother, father, and brother - had vanished without a word, without a note, without a trace. Twenty-five years later, Cynthia is still looking for answers. Now she is about to learn the devastating truth.

Cynthia and Terry Archer still live in Milford, Connecticut, not far from the old Bigge house on Hickory Street. With a solid marriage and a young daughter, the Archers seem on track for a successful future. But the questions raised by Cynthia's past still haunt her, and her obsession with finding the answers threatens to destroy everything they've worked for. For Cynthia, there can be no closure until she finds out why her family disappeared - and how they could have left her behind.

Terry thinks the segment on the popular TV crime-stopper program Deadline is a mistake. But his wife hopes that someone watching will have a lead to her missing family. Sure enough, it's Cynthia who spots the strange car cruising the neighborhood, hears the untraceable phone calls, and discovers the ominous "gifts." And as Cynthia's nerves begin to unravel, no one's innocence is guaranteed, not even her own.

By the time the first body is found, it's clear that her past is more of a mystery than she ever imagined - or may ever survive. Someone has returned to this Connecticut town to finish what was started 25 years ago. And by the time Terry and Cynthia discover the killer's shocking identity, it will be too late even for goodbye.

©2007 Linwood Barclay (P)2007 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Skilled characterization and convincing dialogue." (Publishers Weekly)

"No Time for Goodbye just flies off the page. It's a one-sit thriller. You sit down with this book and you won't get up until you've turned the last page." (Michael Connelly)

"A mystery masterpiece is read by a master narrator.... [Narrator Christopher] Lane exploits Barclay’s breathtaking momentum, building to an edge-of-the-seat climax and superbly portraying every character - killers, detectives, friends, a memorable mobster, and his comical gang. Not to be missed!" (AudioFile)

Well worth the time.

No Time for Goodbye was a great listen. Suspenseful, well written with good plot twists, but not annoying plot twists. There were a few great secondary characters. I particularly enjoyed the student, Jane, and the thug. The narrator was good, my only criticism would be the Jimmy Stewart imitation for Clayton Bigg and the German accent for the psychiatrist. I found these two a bit distracting, fortunately, they didn't get a great deal of air time. Overall, I really enjoyed it and will definitely listen to another Linwood Barclay book.

Kinda Long; just OK story

Not what I was expecting. I thought it would be more suspenseful but it takes a good three quarters of the book to get there. Not one I would listen to again.

Intense and Suspenseful Ending

The intensity and suspense of the ending alone is awesome.

I knew immediately what was the overall mystery behind the missing family, but all the little pieces and backstory threw me for a loop.

The plans of certain people and the crimes they committed were just awful. How do you even believe it's okay and just live life as if you did nothing wrong?

NO SPOILERS as this is so twisted and convoluted, you NEED to read it. You may think it drags on in the beginning, but then it just gets bat sh*t crazy and you are freaking out in the end, hoping the ending isn't as insane as the entire story.

Good Book! Narration? 90 % good, 10% terrible.

What made the experience of listening to No Time for Goodbye the most enjoyable?

The basic story was pretty good, although it could have been shortened up somewhT.

Would you be willing to try another one of Christopher Lane’s performances?

For the most part, the narration was good, but certain characters voices were electronically changed, and they were bad. There was also the older man, who totally reminded me by his voice of the old actor, Jimmy Steward. I don't know if this was intentionally, but it grated on me everytime this character spoke.

Loved it!

I loved this book. It was my first by Linwood Barclay but will NOT be my last! It kept me interested and the narration was very good.

Great mystery!

So I actually started this book as a paperback then my dog destroyed it. However, I kept thinking about it because I was enjoying it so I got it here. I'm glad I did. I only figured out one small piece of the puzzle the rest was a surprise! I love when I can't figure out the ending. I really enjoyed it!

A very solid story...But awful narration

I really love Linwood's books, and this one has all the traits he weaves into his storytelling. Great character development, excellent plot, good pacing, and surprise after surprise are all there. However, the absolute monotone delivery is brutal. I got through it because of the story, but I will be avoiding this narrator in the future.

Still a great book..

Living overseas, in a land where English-language books were very difficult to come by, I found myself reading all kinds of books I probably wouldn't have picked, had there been more options. I remember picking this book up, having never heard of either it or the author, and not having high expectations. Boy, I was wrong.

I was captivated from the first page -- the story moves along at breakneck speed, and not for quite a while can you even begin to imagine how such a thing could have happened: a teenage girl wakes up after a late night with her boyfriend, and finds that the rest of her family has simply disappeared, gone, without a trace. In spite of all the investigations and publicity at the time, nothing is ever discovered. The family just disappeared.

At some point, Barclay allows us to see how the solution to the puzzle could have occurred -- only things are never quite that simple.

So back then, years ago, in a country far away, I remember finishing the book, putting it down with a "Huh! Didn't see THAT coming..." and after wiping a few tears off my face, thinking, 'Wow. What a book!'

It IS quite a book. Still is. It's not Great Literature, maybe, but in terms of genre, one of the best. As an Audible book, this one was especially good because of the narrator, Christopher Lane. He narrates with exactly the right intonation -- sort of a befuddled-but-tolerant father figure, which is exactly right. Perfect for Terry Archer, a mild mannered wry-humored English teacher, husband of Cynthia Bigge, who was the teenager who lost her family. Archer never experienced any of the mystery himself, but nevertheless, he's the one who has coped with Cynthia's lifelong struggle with her loss. When things start to happen, it falls to him to figure it out.

To say much of anything more could spoil it, so I won't. Just know that this is a really good listen.

I truy enjoyed this book!

I was engaged from the first soundbye. The author does a fine job of creating twists and turns that are entirely plausible. That doesn't happen as often as one might think in the realm of the mystery books. I know most will find this book a great escape.

Couldn't tear myself away

This was one of those books that grabs you from the start and keeps your interest. It starts with a 25 year old unsolved mystery of a family's disappearance. The lone survivor is suddenly more than ever being thrown back to those tragic memories, as new events plague her and her family. I started out listening to this one, then when I got tired of listening, I'd switch to reading for a while. I usually have two books going at once, but I just couldn't tear myself away until this one was finished. The secret keeps you guessing for the majority of the book, then the suspense takes over, as to how it will all play out in the end. My first listen from this author, but definitely not my last.