No Time for Goodbye

By: Linwood Barclay

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

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)

Kept Me Wondering Almost To The End

I didn't figure this one out until almost to the end. That always marks a good book for me. I can't say it is a book I would read again, but I did enjoy the story.

fantastic

great story awesome narrator kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time plan to buy more of his audiobooks

Excellent listen, great narrator!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
It was one of the best mysteries I've listened to.

Who was your favorite character and why?
I can't pick just one. Each character was good, as this great author takes his time to introduce each one. One in particular, sounds just like Jimmy Stewart.

What does Christopher Lane bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Christopher brings each character to life. As the book continues, more characters are introduced, including two devious unknown people. Though I did figure a part of the story out, I am not sure if everyone would. The author also brings us humor throughout.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The very beginning was quite mysterious. Made me wonder what I would do if that happened to me as a teenager. Questions and mysterious events throughout, as well as humor.

✍🏻👏🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👏✍🏻

Any additional comments?
Highly recommended. Very interesting premise. I will be looking forward to more books by Barclay.

My First Linwood Barclay Audiobook

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

Christopher Lane's narration was excellent. Not too over the top - just the right amount of emotion when needed.

Any additional comments?

Linwood Barclay was highly recommended to me by several friends. I was told to start with this one as they felt it was one of his best. I was a bit disappointed in the fact that it was a bit predictable to me. But the story was still excellently crafted and spun. I will certainly be giving Mr. Barclay another read/listen.

Entertaining

This is my third read of a Barclay novel, and it was an entertaining page turner as always, although I think the author's gotten better over time and the later books are better. The plot still had enough twists to keep me guessing, although I did figure this one out a bit sooner than "A Tap On The Window" or my favorite, "Trust Your Eyes." Christopher Lane does a fine job, although his reading of one elderly character is a dead-on Jimmy Stewart impression which I found a bit distracting. If "Trust" was an A, I give this one a B.

MEDIOCRE

I disliked much of the narration. Many of the “voices” were irritating, especially most of the female characters. The voices used for Cynthia and Grace were highly grating; Cynthia’s too flat, Grace’s too whiny. I guess the accent used for the psychiatrist was modeled after Dr.Ruth, although I found it neither humorous nor believable. Clayton sounded like Jimmy Stewart, which made me think of him every time, and detracted from the story.
I think I would have liked the book better had I read it myself, although I felt there were major flaws in the way some of the characters were portrayed at times and the author had a tendency to repeat the storyline.

An Interesting Mystery.....

This mystery had a very interesting storyline which added to it's intensity. There were a couple of places in the story that was a little over the top and unbelievable, but that didn't diminish my interest in wanting to know what happened to the girl's family.

A fourteen year-old girl's parents and brother are missing and presumed dead. After twenty-five years, the plot behind their disappearance starts to crumble. There were twists and turns with such intensity that kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. Overall, the story ended well with all the strings pulled together into a logical bow. Again, this was an interesting mystery narrated by Christopher Lane who did a good job, not his best narration but good enough. Lane has a strong voice and he articulates nicely.

Great Mystery...

Wow. What an awesome story. Takes you on a Great Thrilling Mystery ride....
Awesome characters lead you through an unbelievable journey, from start to finish.
Great story, well written, by an Excellent Author. 👍

You won't want this one to end.

I Loved every second of this book. I willl start another one of his bookks. immediately. Thank you Stephen King for the recommendation through Twitter.

Great Listen

Would you listen to No Time for Goodbye again? Why?

No, but only because I hate repetition.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It's a good comfortable pace that lets you zone in and out concentration wise. The story is intriguing and you think you know where it's going - but then you get a surprise. I really liked that. After the surprise you keep wondering what really happened and it just gets better and better. I really enjoyed this read. And afterwards it kept me thinking about the duality of human nature, especially as stories based on behaviors explored in this one have happened in the media in recent years. Interesting.