A heroic act brings unwanted attention for a high school teacher! 

3.5. 

When a former student, Mark LeDrew, enters Lodge High where Richard Boyle works, wearing explosives, Richard manages to talk him down. But while retreating Mark accidentally removes his finger from the trigger, detonating the bomb, killing only himself in the blast. Richard is unwittingly a hero – praised by his family, school and community for his actions and bravery. 

But his moment in the spotlight brings enemies out of the woodwork, all of whom hold grievances against Richard. To protect his reputation, Richard attempts to resolve the matters himself. It's his first of many mistakes, because Richard has much more to lose than just his reputation. 

I Will Ruin You (love the title) was an exhilarating, fast-moving, exciting, quick read. Honestly, Linwood Barclay has always reminded me of Harlan Coben, and vice versa – not enough for me to mix up the two authors – but their writing styles and types of plots share commonalities. There were some rollercoaster chapters cliffhangers, but unfortunately the final reveal was kind of obvious. Also, there were several sub-plots that were either resolved too easily or fizzled out which made me wonder if they were only included to distract from the perpetrator and add more suspects. There sure was a lot going on in this novel. Even though drug-dealing isn’t my preferred plot in a domestic thriller there were some great twists in that storyline. 

Edited: 8 October 2024. After reading the e-book, I was fortunate enough to be approved for the audiobook. Having now sampled several chapters I have no hesitation in recommending this performance. Narrators George Newburn and Johnathan McClain elevated the source material to a whole new level. Applause!

All in all, an above average read which kept me entertained and glued to its pages. 

I’d like to thank Netgalley UK, Harper Collins UK Audio, and Linwood Barclay for the e-ARC.

The audiobook is available now!