A Tap on the Window

By: Linwood Barclay

Narrated by: Mark Zeisler

Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

International best-selling author Linwood Barclay delivers pulse-pounding suspense that puts him among the masters of the genre. A Tap on the Window finds private investigator Cal Weaver making an ill-advised decision to pick up a young female hitchhiker who reminds him of his dead son. But something is off about the girl, and Cal is soon drawn into a host of nightmarish secrets.

©2013 Barclay Perspectives, Inc. (P)2013 Recorded Books

5 Stars for Tap on the Window

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like the book but boy did I change my mind. Very good, a little sad at times but definitely hold on to your seat for a wild ride kind of story.

What about Mark Zeisler’s performance did you like?

Mark Zeisler did a very good performance. I don't know if it was the greatest but it certainly was not bad.

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

Yes. I listened to it all in one day.

Any additional comments?

There are so many twists in this book, just when you think you know "who done it" the story goes off in another direction and takes of running somewhere else. The final two chapters took me totally by surprise. The conclusion actually left me feeling kind of melancholy and I normally like a book with an ending on the upside but in a way it does that too. Sounds confusing right? Listen to this one and see if you don't agree. It is worth the $ or credit you spend on it.

mystery thriller that totally hooked me

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery thriller. The main character is a private detective dealing with grief over the recent death of his teenage son. The disappearance of a teenaged girl he gives a ride to draws him into mystery and intrigue in a small town in upstate New York. I found myself caring about the characters and mystery equally. This story is very well paced, and I could not stop listening. While I would characterize this as a light summer page-turner, I was totally drawn in. The plot moved at a good pace with a good amount of twists and turns. My only criticism is that the end had one plot turn too many, but I still recommend this novel. It was one of my favorites of the past year.

Pulse-Pounding Suspense..

This is a pulse-pounding, suspenseful story about Cal Weaver, a private detective living in a small town with corrupted officials. Everybody has secrets, and it's the exposure of individual secrets that kept the story moving at a good pace, and the people's tongue wagging and everybody's imagination running wild.

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery thriller. Cal Weaver makes a foolish decision based on the memory of his dead son. With that decision, Cal is drawn into a mystery of death and sadness. Secrets are revealed one by one with a few unexpected twists and turns. Ending was unexpected and very sad.

Narrator Mark Zeisler has a slightly husky mature voice. His performance is good but his limited range of voices/tones made it hard to distinguish who was speaking from time to time, but overall okay.

Recommend....

Deceit, Sadness, Anger … & World-Class Plotting

When I wrote, “World-Class Plotting,” I was referring to Linwood Barclay’s masterful story-telling; however, I could just as well have been describing his characters’ sneaky, deceitful shenanigans within the plot. Yikes! This audiobook has positively Deaver-esque twists, red herrings, and tangles-within-tangles. When you listen to any of Barclay’s novels, do not ever think that you have solved the mystery: I guarantee you — you have been cleverly misled.

I only recently discovered Mr. Barclay’s oeuvre. (I started with his 2012 novel, “Trust Your Eyes,” and I liked it so much that I back-tracked and purchased all of the Barclay audiobooks that I could get on Audible!) I have discovered a few dark themes that seem to penetrate all of his works: They all seem to tell us stories about families, with some sub-current of sadness, tragedy, deceit, loss, and anger running through their lives. Double that for “A Tap on the Window.” This darkness disturbs me a bit — because my audiobook listening always affects me emotionally — but Barclay’s magnificent plotting and excellent writing overcomes all of my emotional hesitation. (When I rate an audiobook, I always ask myself: Will I be listening to this book/series/author again? Well, I will definitely be listening to all of Barclay’s audiobooks again, plus all of his future offerings.)

Narrator Mark Zeisler has an attractive, slightly husky, mature voice, and he does a good job of narrating “A Tap on the Window.” However, he does not have the range of voices to distinguish the characters from one another adequately, in my opinion: Sometimes I felt a little confusion as to which character was speaking during the dialogues. For this reason — because I value the Performance as much as the Story in my audiobooks — I have docked Mr. Zeisler's narration one star in my rating. Nonetheless, I recommend “A Tap on the Window” to all mystery lovers — fans of Jeffery Deaver, especially, will like all of Barclay’s novels — as long as you can tolerate a bit (well … more than a bit, actually) of darkness and sadness in the story.

Frustrating and depressing

Life is hard enough without paying for the privilege of being brought down by a so-called “thriller”. There were decent enough moments in the book, but overall it just felt sad. For reference, I’m a huge Clive Cussler fan, and prefer happy endings. Not worth your time, in my personal opinion.

Looking forward to Linwoods next book!

If you could sum up A Tap on the Window in three words, what would they be?

Would listen to it again, love his books!

What did you like best about this story?

The whole book.

What about Mark Zeisler’s performance did you like?

His voice

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait for the next book.

Suspensefull thriller was engrossing

Would you consider the audio edition of A Tap on the Window to be better than the print version?

The reader was superb at evoking many different characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

The opening sequence is riveting and sets the stage for everything that follows.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Lost children, lost hope.

Any additional comments?

The ending went a bit off the rails and was a bit far-fetched, but I really enjoyed the book nonetheless.

Downer

Very depressing. A good who done it, but I won't read this kind of book if I know that there are no, repeat no, happy outcomes for any of the characters . Beware

Barclay fan since his Toronto Star days

What made the experience of listening to A Tap on the Window the most enjoyable?

Another page turner. Realistic, everyday characters in not so everyday situations. Very relatable. A person's true character comes out when tested and this is such a case.

A Disappointment

Several years ago I read The Accident........and really liked it. A few months ago I reread it and liked it so much that I began to read all of the author's books. I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them until I got to this one. It was slower than the others but I could live with that. But the ending was just totally beyond belief. In most of his books the final solution is at least reasonable..........this one not so!