Far from True

By: Linwood Barclay

Narrated by: Mark Zeisler, Brian O'Neil

Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times and number-one international best-selling author Linwood Barclay delivers the second spine-chilling thriller set in the troubled town of Promise Falls, following the electrifying cliffhanger ending of Broken Promise....

After the screen of a run-down drive-in movie theater collapses and kills four people, the daughter of one of the victims asks private investigator Cal Weaver to look into a recent break-in at her father's house. Cal discovers a hidden basement room where it's clear that salacious activities have taken place - as well as evidence of missing DVDs. But his investigation soon becomes more complicated when he realizes it may not be discs the thief was actually interested in....

Meanwhile, Detective Barry Duckworth is still trying to solve two murders - one of which is three years old - he believes are connected, since each featured a similar distinctive wound. As the lies begin to unravel, Cal is headed straight into the heart of a dark secret as his search uncovers more startling truths about Promise Falls. And when yet another murder happens, Cal and Barry are both driven to pursue their investigations, no matter where they lead. Evil deeds long thought buried are about to haunt the residents of this town - as the sins of the past and present collide with terrifying results.

©2016 NJSB Entertainment, Inc. (P)2016 Recorded Books

I would have given it a 5 , but.....

This was a 5 star listen for me right up to the last few words......and then it ended with no resolution to any but one "minor" murder. It's a complex story with a LOT of storylines and I like that but I do expect the story to tie it together at the end. I have not read the first in the series so I will now go back and read that one. I understand now that it also leaves you hanging. I'm not sure I like this style at all......I have a hard enough time remembering what I read last week, let alone a year or more later.

Be prepared to be left hanging

I was an hour and a half into the book and felt I was missing something. I reread the summary which said it was 2nd book in the series after reading the reviews of Broken Promises that complained of the abrupt cliffhanger I bought that and read it first. I am glad I did and would recommend anyone reading this read it first. It will be easier to understand it more. Both books take place over a short span of time. This picks up where first one leaves off. Each book resolves one mystery but continues the main mystery started in the first and ends abruptly. You are left with feeling what did I do forgot to download the rest of the book. The story line is interesting and you begin to feel you know some of the characters well but I wish I knew it will be months to a year before I know what happens to them next. This is a trilogy at the very least how long before the primary mystery is solved is anyone's guess. I am hoping that it is wrapped up in the next one but there is enough going on to keep us guessing through a few more. Good book but expect a big WHAT THE at the end.

Book Two of a Trilogy

Do NOT read this book if you haven't read Part 1 (Broken Promise). It won't make sense. This is the middle part of a 3 part story. In fact, this trilogy isn't the first time we've met the folks of Promise Falls - a number of the major characters in this book have been featured in previous books.Cal Weaver was the protagonist in A Tap on the Window; David Harwood was in Never Look Away; Derek Cutter was in Too Close to Home. Check the author's website. It makes a whole lot more sense to read his books in order.
I loved the voice and character of Randall Finley - it reminded me of a certain politician who I won't name. Totally hilarious!
Great story if you've been following the Promise Falls saga all along. Can't wait for the conclusion in part 3 (The Twenty-Three) this fall.

Great mystery but cliffhanger ending

I'm really glad I read Broken Promise and Final Assignment right before I started Far From True because I think I may have felt a little overwhelmed with the large cast of characters and their relationships and histories otherwise. But with the events and characters from those two previous installments fresh in my mind, I thoroughly enjoyed Far From True. But man, there was a lot going on! For a small town, Promise Falls certainly seemed to have an abundance of shady characters and exciting mysteries.
I'm particularly impressed by the way Linwood Barclay made all these characters seem so real. This isn't an edge-of-your-seat thriller, but with the awesome characterization, the carefully constructed layers of the mysteries and the twists that seemed to be thrown in almost leisurely I was really captivated. Of course, then I got furious when I reached that damn cliffhanger and found out, I'll have to wait till November to get the conclusion.
So, if I had thought about this reasonably beforehand, I would have preferred to do a marathon reading session of the entire trilogy come November. As it stands, I'm hoping I'll remember enough of what happened in Promise Falls by the time I can get my hands on the final book. In the meantime, I need to check out some of the author's other work. I just love his writing style.
Mark Zeisler narrated Cal Weaver's perspective while Brian O'Neil read the other chapters, which I thought worked very well. Excellent narration by both of them.

lazy writing

I have just discovered Barley's books. I have always enjoyed his books until I fell into the promise falls pit. they are enjoyable and the mysteries are great. I have to give the author two thumbs up for picking the mystery genre. it's extremely difficult to write good mystery. this last book was a failure because he spent almost half the book rehashing precious books in the trilogy instead of pushing the story along to a conclusion. if there are those of you out who haven't read the first three books, don't bother everything is covered in this book. the worse part is after three books we don't know who the culprit is to two of the mysteries. I am so worn down at this point I don't care.
barley always has two or three narrators for his books. I don't understand the reasoning behind this unless one of them is female. not the case here. one narrator was okay, and I could distinguish between characters, but other was dismal failure. he didn't add any drama to the story, and his voice was a bit annoying. it was torture when a female was talking.

Good, yes, but what an annoying ending!

Spoiler alert! The ending isn’t. I really like Linwood Barclay. I’ve read at least 6 of his novels. I didn’t read them “in order.” It finally dawned on my that the characters come back in other stories. I have enjoyed that aspect of Barclay’s novels. I am sure I will read more of his books, but right now I am mad!

Disappointing ending

It appears the first 2 books in the series are preparation for the 3rd book. No matter. They were each a good read. Mystery upon mystery . . . But are any actually solved?

No...

What could have been an interesting clever book was ruined with unnecessary foul language with a troublesome misuse of all things related to Christianity. So much vulgar sexual content made it impossible to finish. I won't recommend this book.

left unanswered question

good story, kept my interest but left me with unanswered questions at the very end

Not up to par with his other books

I really like Linwood Barclay. He's one of my favorite authors. This book however was terrible. It has too many characters and too much going on. It doesn't have the human element that Barclay goes deep into with his other books. The story was just blah, somewhat anti-climactic and a bit of a cliff-hanger.