Broken Promise

May 25, 2015
Promise Falls, N.Y., is a less salacious but deadlier version of Peyton Place in this engrossing smalltown thriller from Arthur Ellis Award–winner Barclay (No Safe House). Reporter David Harwood, recently returned to town, visits his emotionally fragile cousin Marla Pickens, who lost her baby girl during birth 10 months earlier. Harwood is startled to find her caring for a 10-month-old baby boy, brought to her, Marla claims, by an angel. Meanwhile, Det. Barry Duckworth of the Promise Falls PD has multiple (and strange) crimes to contend with, including an especially ugly murder. Marla’s newly acquired baby is at the heart of the mystery, but as Duckworth and Harwood pursue their separate investigations, secrets held by everyone from Harwood’s parents and Marla’s mother to hospital administrator Agnes Pickens and sleazy former mayor Randall Finley are exposed. Linwood’s adept characterizations and knack for unsettling twists make this a surefire bestseller. Author tour. Agent: Helen Heller, Helen Heller Agency (Canada).

July 1, 2015

David Harwood is a newspaperman without a newspaper. A reporter for many years at his hometown paper in Promise Falls, NY, he accepts a job in Boston after the death of his wife. But the late hours take their toll on him and his son, so David returns to his old job. Too bad his first day in the office is the last day for the paper. Making David's life even more difficult is cousin Marla's problems. Marla, having recently lost her baby, has the family worried. David's mother asks him to drop off some food and check up on her. When David arrives, he finds Marla with an infant boy whom she claims an angel dropped off. Following clues left in the stroller, David and Marla discover the dead body of Rosemary Gaynor at her home. Marla, having previously taken one child from the hospital, is the prime suspect. David sets out to uncover what really happened to Rosemary and to clear his cousin's name. VERDICT David is an appealing hero, flawed but dogged in his pursuit of the truth. Not all the mysteries are solved in this book, which offers an exciting start to a new series set in Promise Falls. [Seven-city tour.]--Lynnanne Pearson, Skokie P.L., IL

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Investigative reporter David Harwood (Never Look Away, 2010) is unemployed and living with his parents since Promise Falls' newspaper unexpectedly folded. So he's pretty much at his mother's mercy when she asks him to check in on his cousin Marla. David finds Marla snuggling an infant, which is disturbing because Marla's been fairly unhinged since her own baby's stillbirth. Marla claims that the baby was delivered to her by an angel, but blood stains on her door indicate otherwise. A discarded flier in the baby's stroller leads David to the mother, but his unease explodes into horror when he finds her brutally murdered. Marla is, of course, arrested. Unconvinced that Marla is capable of such brutal violence, David agrees to check out Marla's story. Barclay's Promise Falls, a deceptively quaint little town, again teems with dark secrets, and with this fast-paced and irresistibly tense outing, David Harwood has established himself as a fine series lead.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)