Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Twenty-Three (Promise Falls, #3)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Twenty-Three

(Promise Falls #3)

Linwood Barclay (Goodreads Author)

4.03 · Rating details · 7,195 ratings · 799 reviews

From New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Linwood Barclay comes the jaw-dropping finale of the Promise Falls Trilogy.

It’s May 23, and small town Promise Falls finds itself in the midst of a full-blown catastrophe with dozens dead from a flu-like virus. Investigator Cal Weaver quickly zeros in on mass poisoning and a tainted water supply.

Meanwhile, a col ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 451 pages

Published November 1st 2016 by Berkley (first published September 22nd 2016)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Twenty-Three, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks

Popsugar 2020 - 20 in the Title

118 books — 122 voters

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare

Best books of November, 2016

31 books — 48 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.03 ·

Rating details

· 7,195 ratings · 799 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Twenty-Three (Promise Falls, #3)

Sep 22, 2016 Paromjit rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller, crime-fiction, netgalley, mystery

This is the explosive finale to the Promise Falls trilogy set in New York State. It is told from multiple points of view and all past events have been leading to this. Promise Falls and its residents are about to experience a catastrophic fallout from previous events that results in the deaths of hundreds amidst which are a number of murders. It all begins on the Saturday of the Memorial weekend, and people are suffering from extreme nausea, vomiting and other flu like symptoms. Many are dying a This is the explosive finale to the Promise Falls trilogy set in New York State. It is told from multiple points of view and all past events have been leading to this. Promise Falls and its residents are about to experience a catastrophic fallout from previous events that results in the deaths of hundreds amidst which are a number of murders. It all begins on the Saturday of the Memorial weekend, and people are suffering from extreme nausea, vomiting and other flu like symptoms. Many are dying and the emergency services are overwhelmed, they just cannot cope.

Trying to find out exactly what is happening is Detective Barry Duckworth and Angus Carlson. With so many unable to access medical help and a hungry media, the police investigation is operating under heavy stress. Slowly it begins to become clear that the water supply has been tampered with and compromised. It has been poisoned with sodium azide. Could it be terrorists? Who has a motive for such a heinous crime? Amidst all this, George Lyedecker is missing and at Thackeray College, a female student, Lorraine Plummer has been gruesomely murdered in exactly the same manner as the murders of Olivia Fisher and Rosemary Gaynor. This worries Duckworth as it seems previous suspects could not have committed Lorraine's killing. Who could it possibly be? The story is packed with a variety of twists. It emerges there are connections with the murders and the water poisoning. And it all revolves around the twenty-three.

Short chapters heighten the sense of tension and suspense right up to the final reveals. This is such a well written novel and the plotting is impressive. You get a real feel for the mayhem and the pressure which the police and the emergency services are operating in. Part of that is achieved with the myriad of characters, from a politically ambitious mayoral candidate, Randy, and Cal Weaver, a PI who has lost everything, yet trying to protect a little girl, Crystal, when her mother dies. Wonderful book. Highly recommended. Thanks to Orion for an ARC. ...more

flag 99 likes · Like · see review

Oct 22, 2016 Chelsea Humphrey rated it did not like it

Shelves: from-publisher

:( I know I'll be in the minority, and I'm a huge Linwood Barclay fan, so I hate to give this a less than glowing review, but I can't overlook the many issues I had with this one. This trilogy required a great deal of time and energy to have as much fluff and filler as it did and for it to end how it was left. ...more

flag 87 likes · Like · see review

Mar 27, 2017 Mary Beth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 250-up-to-date

I really do love this trilogy. and this is the third book in the Promise Falls Trilogy. I was surprised that there actually is a fourth book that comes out this November.
I really love this author too. I suggest that when you start to read this trilogy that you binge read it because if you don't I really think it would be hard to follow.

More mass mayhem awaits Barclay fans in the final installment of his Promise Falls trilogy, in which bodies stack up “in the morgue like firewood before the wint ...more

flag 64 likes · Like · see review

Sep 26, 2016 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it liked it

Shelves: author-pub-giveaways

I haven't read the first two books in this trilogy, but it didn't seem to bother this book as a stand alone. There were references and I would like to read the first two so I can know what all went on, but I was fine with what was going on here.

I thought the blurb sounded really good but I misread it a little bit and some of it was from the first two books, so once again, I need to go back to those books.

All of these people drink the water, in coffee, plain, etc and many die before they can ge ...more

flag 49 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2016 Barbara rated it liked it

In this third book in the 'Promise Falls' trilogy, the water in Promise Falls gets poisoned, which causes havoc in the town. The books in the series can be read as standalones but it's best to read them in order for a full understanding of the story arc and the characters.

If you haven't read the first two books this review might contain some (minor) spoilers.

*****

The upstate New York town of Promise Falls has no end of troubles. An unknown perpetrator has been orchestrating all kinds of havoc r ...more

flag 43 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2017 Brenda rated it it was amazing

I just reviewed my reviews for the first two books of this trilogy, and I could basically say the same things for this book. Linwood Barclay has done an exceptional job of refreshing my memory of happenings from the first two books.

I highly recommend reading this trilogy from the beginning. I would even suggest binge reading these three books. Once again, there is a LOT of activity in Promise Falls! I suspect Mr. Barclay had a floor-to-ceiling flow chart on his wall for several years. If you hav ...more

flag 45 likes · Like · see review

Jun 22, 2017 Jackie Ullerich rated it it was amazing

I deeply appreciated Linwood's vivid, detailed writing. Small town politics, sex, murder. The dialogue made these characters come to life. There are a lot of them, so I would highly recommend that you read this series one book after another so that you can keep track of them. You will get information about each characters' personal lives. One of this series' strengths is how Linwood delves into the backgrounds of even minor characters—not to the same extent as the main characters, so it doesn't ...more

flag 45 likes · Like · see review

Oct 02, 2016 Gary rated it really liked it

This is the 3rd book in the 'Promise Falls Trilogy' by author Linwood Barclay.
I have read the previous books in this series and although I think it certainly helps make sense of everything I don't consider it essential and can be read as a stand alone.
In this 3rd instalment hundreds of people are taken to hospital suffering from flu like symptoms and many have died. It's the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd, and the small town of Promise Falls, New York, is in a state of panic. Investi ...more

flag 41 likes · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2016 Jody McGrath rated it it was amazing

As if things haven't been crazy enough in Promise Falls, the crazy is about to racked up to extreme. Somehow the town's water supply has been poisoned, killing hundreds and making hundreds more sick. On top of that another body is found with a smile cut abdomen, just like the others. With city resources stretched to their limits, police are in a hurry to figure out the water supply, but one detective starts putting the clues together. What does 23 mean? Are the serial killings and the rest of ev ...more

flag 33 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2016 Monnie rated it it was amazing

Wow! And when I add it to the other two books in the Promise Falls Trilogy, it's wow, Wow and WOW!

The title refers to the number 23, the number of a Ferris wheel car in which bloody mannequins were found, and on the back of a fiery bus (see Far From True, the first in the trilogy, and Broken Promise, the second. In this one, all hell breaks loose on May 23, when hundreds of Promise Falls residents are becoming violently ill - many dying - suspected to be a result of something nasty in the water. Wow! And when I add it to the other two books in the Promise Falls Trilogy, it's wow, Wow and WOW!

The title refers to the number 23, the number of a Ferris wheel car in which bloody mannequins were found, and on the back of a fiery bus (see Far From True, the first in the trilogy, and Broken Promise, the second. In this one, all hell breaks loose on May 23, when hundreds of Promise Falls residents are becoming violently ill - many dying - suspected to be a result of something nasty in the water. Test results are affirmative - someone who knew what he or she was doing definitely poisoned the city's water supply. A former mayor who's running for the office again owns a bottled water company and immediately offers free bottles to the residents (as long as someone from the media is present), making a couple of his opponents - including former journalist David Harwood, who now works for the ex-mayor - suspect he might have had a hand in the disaster.

But that's not all that's going down. A female student at Thackeray College is found murdered in a pattern similar to that of two other women (see previous books). Is there a serial killer in their midst? Could the murders somehow be related to the poisoned water? That's an answer Detective Barry Duckworth (and concerned readers) want to know. He's been working on solving the first two murders since Book One, and the latest prompts him to step up the investigation before someone else bites the dust.

As the end of this book approached, most of the loose ends were tied and cliffhangers resolved from the first two books. Great, I said, nodding my head vigorously - and then in the final couple of chapters came big surprise after big surprise, making my mouth drop as well. The ending left a bit of the future of Promise Falls and at least one major character to the imagination, but since this is the third book in the trilogy, I made an educated guess that there won't be any more and came to my own conclusions.

A word to the wise on that score: I advise (make that strongly advise) reading all three books in order - and timewise, as close together as possible. I read the first two in succession, and when I was offered an advance copy in exchange for an honest review by the author and publisher (via NetGalley), I was elated. But as soon as I started it, I realized I'd forgotten a ton in the nearly nine months between it and the second one. Granted, I'm old and have to consult my computer to be sure what day it is, but I really struggled to remember what happened and who did it from the other two books even though the author does a pretty good job of providing background.

Bottom line? This is a don't-miss trilogy that, IMHO, ranks right up there with Stephen King's Bill Hodges Trilogy that got rolling with Mr. Mercedes back in 2014. ...more

flag 30 likes · Like · see review

Nov 19, 2016 Jan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, mystery, netgalley, paranormal

3.5 stars

A really good ending to the Promise Falls Trilogy.

I rated the first 2 books a solid 4 stars each. While the series ending did provide satisfactory closure, I rated this one lower because about a quarter of the way through, I realized I was over all the cray cray going on in this small messed up town.

With so many characters and sub plots, it took me awhile to remember who was who and who did what. I think this took some of the fun out of this long awaited finale. I think I would have en ...more

flag 31 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2016 Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016, netgalley-arc

Wow Mr Barclay - you have me hooked!

The Promise Falls Trilogy is an exceptional read, the weak link being the middle book, Far from True, where there was quite a bit more back story than was required.

I couldn't put The Twenty-Three down. I literally walked around with it in front of my face. Mr Barclay writes twisted plots. I gave up trying to second guess him in the end and just enjoyed the read. Every time I thought I knew where he was heading, he would do an about face and throw another red h ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Nov 02, 2019 Jonetta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: publisher-review-request, 2019-beat-the-backlist-challenge, nc-br-digital-library, 2019-audiobook-challenge, 2019-in-2019, 5000-2019, mystery-suspense-thriller, audiobook

The mystery of all the strange events in Promise Falls involving the number 23 culminates in this story...the 23 bloody mannequins discovered in the abandoned Ferris wheel, the out-of-control bus #23, the 23 dead squirrels, etc. It’s the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend, May 23, and the worst of all these phenomena occurs. Both Detective Barry Duckworth and private investigator Cal Weaver know the number has some significance and think they’ve figured it out. Now all they have to do is find ...more

flag 34 likes · Like · see review

Jun 07, 2016 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-release, thriller, suspense, own-read, 5000-books

The holiday weekend started with a bang! Emergency services were being called until they weren’t answering – the emergency department at the hospital was overrun with sick and dying people. What was happening? Why were the residents of Promise Falls becoming sick and dying where they stood?

Detective Barry Duckworth was already run off his feet investigating murders and explosions in his town – now with this latest horror, the department couldn’t work out what was happening – or why? Calling in ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Mar 24, 2017 Mary Beth rated it really liked it

Review to be done shortly, behind in reviews.

flag 22 likes · Like · see review

Sep 19, 2016 Matt rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Linwood Barclay, and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book, which allows me to provide you with this review.

In the finale of his Promise Falls trilogy, Barclay ties everything together while impressing the reader with a fast-paced novel that is sure to leave as many questions lingering as it supplies answers. Still smarting from the recent drive-in bombing, Promise Falls must face another life-altering event. The wa First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Linwood Barclay, and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book, which allows me to provide you with this review.

In the finale of his Promise Falls trilogy, Barclay ties everything together while impressing the reader with a fast-paced novel that is sure to leave as many questions lingering as it supplies answers. Still smarting from the recent drive-in bombing, Promise Falls must face another life-altering event. The water supply appears to be causing scores of residents to become ill, some showing flu-like symptoms while others die from the severity of their exposure. As the hospitals fill up, mayoral candidate and local businessman, Randall Finley, is on hand to provide bottled water as he shows his compassionate side, while trying to win over the electorate and regain his place as mayor. However, the authorities remain baffled by events, especially Detective Barry Duckworth, who traces the contamination back to the water treatment facility. Even after he learns what's gone into the water supply, Duckworth is no closer to learning who might be responsible. Across town, on the campus of Thackeray College, a student in the middle of intercession classes is found murdered in her dorm room. What makes this all the more disturbing is that her body is found with the same wounds as two other Promise Falls women over the past few years. These women played a prominent role in the community (as well as in the past Barclay novels) and with the killer still on the loose, Duckworth and the rest of the limited police force must juggle this case as the city teeters on the edge. The further Duckworth probes, the stronger the connection to past events that have baffled the authorities, all tied to the number twenty-three. Two cases, hundreds of bodies, and a city on the verge of collapse. Barclay has laid the groundwork for an explosive final novel in this series and he lives up to all expectations. A stellar piece of work that forces the reader to remain attentive to the final sentence.

Barclay's writing abilities have never been in doubt, but this collection, three novels and one short story, proves to be some of his best work in years. Parachuting the reader into small-town New York State is one thing, but his ability to present a powerful set of storylines that all come together so effortlessly makes this reading experience one that surpasses many novels on the market together. While some authors are able to sustain great characters throughout a series, Barclay not only offers up a collection of unique and interesting individuals to push the story along, but utilises them all in some form or another. The reader will rarely come across a character whose importance is not highlighted at some point in the series. While the novels have been spaced out over time to allow the author and publisher to develop them for their timed release, the narrative pulls past events into the present, giving the reader a brief recollection of what has happened to keep them from becoming too lost. Additionally, that the three novels take place in the span of a short period of time makes the intricate nature of the narrative all the more powerful. Barclay is able to literally pick up where the previous story left off and keeps the reader as enthralled as if they had put down one book to begin the next. This is surely the sign of a talented wordsmith and one who has honed his craft over many years. Few readers will leave this series feeling let down or underwhelmed. Quite the opposite, as they are sure to beg for more, even though it's quite apparent all good things must come to an end.

Kudos, Mr. Barclay for this wonderful novel and the larger trilogy. I am highly impressed with this and cannot wait to read more of what you have to offer.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/ ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Feb 16, 2017 Pat (not getting friend updates currently) rated it it was amazing

Phew that was pretty full on. This instalment starts with a bang. People in Promise Falls are dropping like flies, many are dying. Is it something in the water or a deadly airborne virus?

Sheriff (I think) Duckworth is still obsessed by the number 23 and in solving what is now three similar murders. The sex club members are being killed off. Suspects for everything (remember the drive in bombing?) are being identified and discarded and re-considered. And as many more townsfolk die of the mysterio ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2016 Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2016

Finally! That's how I felt when I started to read this book. The last book had a terrible cliffhanger and I've been waiting months to get to continue with the story. So, did this book live up to my expectations? Yes, and no. Don't take me wrong, it's a fantastic book, a page-turner. I loved that everything was starting to come together. However, not everything felt completely resolved, and right now I checked to see so it really is a trilogy and that no more books are planned in the series becau ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2019 Emma rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller, contemporary

A good finish to the trilogy! I can’t remember from the previous books, but this time I found Duckworth’s 1st person narrative quite annoying. This wasn’t one that would have been possible to solve as there were multiple explanations going on, which can be pretty annoying if you spend the whole book looking for the one ‘culprit’.

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Mar 31, 2016 Judy D Collins rated it it was amazing

Shelves: psychological-thriller, netgalley-arc, thriller, books-read-in-2016, 2016-releases, cop-procedural, linwood-barclay, promise-falls

International bestselling author, Linwood Barclay takes readers back to the beginning Broken Promise Promise Falls Trilogy, #1 (2015).

"Best Cliffhanger Mystery Thriller Suspense Series," landing on my Top 30 Books of 2015—with highly anticipated THE TWENTY-THREE a spine-chilling thriller conclusion Promise Falls Trilogy #3. (or is it)? Everything comes full circle.

Promise Falls is an explosive series about the disturbing evil secrets of a quiet yet mysterious small town (turns out, no ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Aug 02, 2019 Col rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: b, 2019

Synopsis/blurb......

The final book in the Promise Falls trilogy, The Twenty-Three is a pulse-pounding, race-against-time thriller.

The day begins like any other Saturday - a shower, coffee, breakfast. But suddenly, all hell breaks loose in the town of Promise Falls. People are dying in the street - the hospital and emergency services are overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Is it mass food poisoning, a virus, or something more sinister? Has someone, rather than something, caused this?

Detective Barry Duc ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Dec 27, 2016 CL rated it really liked it

People are all going to the hospital with flu like symptoms and many have died. The poisoning is traced to the water supply but who would do such a thing. Then there is a murder and it shows signs of being related to others murders that have occurred in town. Clues keep turning up, all with the number “23”. Can Det Barry Duckworth solve these crimes. Great read. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

Oct 22, 2016 Carole (Carole's Random Life in Books) rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, net-galley, 2016, reviewed

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.

I enjoyed this final installment in the Promise Falls trilogy. I was eager to finally get some answers when I picked up this book and I feel like I got them for the most part. Like the other two books in the trilogy, this novel did have its own focus but there was a lot of things that needed to be wrapped up from the previous books in the series. This was a really fast paced and exciting story.

This book starts with a bang. People in Promise F This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.

I enjoyed this final installment in the Promise Falls trilogy. I was eager to finally get some answers when I picked up this book and I feel like I got them for the most part. Like the other two books in the trilogy, this novel did have its own focus but there was a lot of things that needed to be wrapped up from the previous books in the series. This was a really fast paced and exciting story.

This book starts with a bang. People in Promise Falls are getting sick. Really sick. Many people are even dying. The town is trying to keep up and figure out what is going on but they are completely overwhelmed. In addition to the sickness, there is a new murder that needs to be solved and they are still trying to figure out previous unsolved murders.

All of the great characters are back from the previous book and they are all working to find out what is going on in this town. Duckworth has his hands full. Seriously, how is he in charge of every problem in this city? I liked Duckworth but realistically I don't think he could have possibly kept up with as much as he did. Cal and David are both dealing with issues that are a little closer to home for them.

I was pretty satisfied by how the book and trilogy wrapped up. There were a few surprises in the end but nothing that didn't make sense in the story. This trilogy really should be read in order and in quick succession if at all possible. Each book left so many unanswered questions that finally are addressed in this book. I think anyone trying to read this book as a stand alone novel will miss out on the larger story and will probably be somewhat unsatisfied.

I would recommend this book and trilogy and book to fans of mystery thrillers. This is a smartly plotted mystery that should appeal to a large number of readers. I have read and enjoyed Linwood Barclay's work many times in the past and I look forward to reading more in the future.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley.

Initial Thoughts
Pretty exciting. It was nice to finally get some resolution for everything that has been happening in Promise Falls. ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Nov 06, 2016 Susan Johnson rated it really liked it

Shelves: net-galley

This is the final book in the Promise Falls trilogy and it starts off with a bang. People start dying everywhere. They get violently ill, vomit and die. As the hospital fills beyond capacity and all service personnel are called in, people wander dazed and confused. What is going on?

Barclay certainly knows how to write a thriller. It keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the book just as the other two volumes did. This has been an amazing series keeping you hooked to the story and what ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Sep 03, 2018 Ammar rated it it was ok · review of another edition

That was a damp ending eh

The whole third book was just slightly over imaginative

I liked the first two books but Linwood in the conclusion of the trilogy just didn’t deliver in my opinion

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Mar 13, 2017 Rachel Hall rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

An absolutely grandstanding, high octane third and final instalment in the Promise Falls trilogy delivers maximum bang for your buck and will leave readers unwilling to see the back of this up against it town located in upstate New York. The sensational conclusion sees the long-game plotting prowess of Linwood Barclay culminate in a pulsating finale which is the most lethal and potent visit yet to Promise Falls. The Twenty-Three calls for readers to don hazmat suits over the course of an action
An absolutely grandstanding, high octane third and final instalment in the Promise Falls trilogy delivers maximum bang for your buck and will leave readers unwilling to see the back of this up against it town located in upstate New York. The sensational conclusion sees the long-game plotting prowess of Linwood Barclay culminate in a pulsating finale which is the most lethal and potent visit yet to Promise Falls. The Twenty-Three calls for readers to don hazmat suits over the course of an action packed Memorial Day weekend in the lives of the unlucky folk of Promise Falls. Cop of twenty-years, Detective Barry Duckworth, a man not in the best shape of his life and comfortably overweight already has an unenviable workload currently investigating two murders characterised by the signature style of a serial perpetrator and a number of increasingly macabre crimes, all linked by the number twenty-three. Having steadily escalated in seriousness, what could have started off as pranks have now become deadly and an explosion at the final night of a Constellation Drive-in is the latest incident to wreak havoc in the town. All linked to the number of twenty-three, strung up dead squirrels and an impromptu spin of the Ferris wheel at the mothballed theme park were just the start, but a burning bus through the town centre and a series of sexual assaults at the local college campus have brought a sinister reality. Former disgraced mayor and current candidate for a comeback, Randall Finley is aiming to make political capital from the misfortunes of the town, all with his reluctant employee David Harwood trailing in his wake.

The Saturday morning of the Memorial Falls weekend sees all hell breaking loose as a contamination in the towns water supply sees hospital's overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients falling by the wayside. Characterised by low blood pressure, blurred vision, continuous vomiting and dizziness the residents are dropping like flies but the discovery that intentional poisoning is the most likely cause sees Homeland security called in. Detective Barry Duckworth runs himself ragged between emergencies and a third return visit from a serial killer with a signature 'smile' wound marking their victims and leaves him in a race against time to identify a predator amongst the townspeople. Continuing the story of grieving PI Cal Weaver, autistic eleven-year-old Crystal with her idiosyncrasies, and the discovery that there is another side to mouthpiece Randall Finley bring a touching sincerity to proceedings.

Promise Falls and its much depleted cast have brought non-stop action and have real potential for a return visit. As a reader who has derived such pleasure from the trials and tribulations since former journalist David Harwood returned to his home town I feel that I have unfinished business with this town and Barclay leaves his readers hanging with several questions unresolved.. Linwood Barclay has managed to juggle continuous storylines and parallel events in the lives of his central cast alongside one another and short, sharp punchy chapters keep readers fixated. Admittedly the body count in the third novel is over and above all likely proportions but the delights of overblown catastrophes and distinctive characters make this thriller a winner! Essential reading for readers of the two previous instalments, the joy of this series is the opportunities to revisit a continuing cast and a satisfying conclusion to several long running mysteries. Potential to expand this series to a quartet hangs in the air as the action comes to a halt and feeling like a Promise Falls veteran myself, I am ready and waiting! A four-star instalment of a trilogy that has provided five-star action and entertainment. ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2019 Siobhan rated it liked it · review of another edition

The Twenty-Three is the third book in Linwood Barclay’s Promise Falls series, and it’s my favourite of the three. Although I’m a big fan of Linwood Barclay, I’m going to be honest and say this series has disappointed me. It’s not my favourite, but I remained curious to see how it played out.

With The Twenty-Three we have a three-point-five-star rating. At first, I thought it would be another book that I wasn’t crazy about. Once things started to move, I found myself hooked. Towards the end, howev ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Oct 17, 2016 Faith rated it it was ok

Shelves: dnf, publisher, reviewed

This is the third book in the Promise Falls series and unfortunately I didn't read the first two books. There were too many open threads from the prior books for The Twenty-Three to work as a standalone. There were a lot of characters and if I'd had any prior knowledge about them I might've found them more interesting, but without that knowledge I found it all very confusing. It just seemed like everyone in Promise Falls had had something bad happen to them in the first two books. I got a third ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2020 Veronica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-mystery

3.5 stars

Twenty-three people who, had they behaved with a greater sense of community, might have made the difference between life and death...

This book brings the Promise Falls trilogy to a close and, like its predecessors, it has a lot going on. There are multiple plot threads in play and while they all get some sort of resolution, the author doesn’t necessarily tie everything up with a nice little bow. So if you like 100% clean and neat endings then just be prepared to walk away perhaps fe ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2016 Wendy rated it really liked it

Shelves: nov-16

I enjoyed this third book in the trilogy. However, there were alot of loose ends at the end. It seems there will now be another book in 2017.

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Play Book Tag: The Twenty-Three by Linwood Barclay - 4 stars	1	11	Feb 05, 2017 08:21PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Mystery

70 users

Thriller

66 users

Fiction

37 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

25 users

Mystery > Crime

26 users

Suspense

20 users

Cultural > Canada

9 users

Audiobook

5 users

Contemporary

4 users

Mystery > Detective

3 users

See top shelves…

About Linwood Barclay

Linwood Barclay

4,489 followers

Linwood Barclay is the #1 internationally bestselling author of seventeen novels for adults, including No Time for Goodbye, Trust Your Eyes and, most recently, A Noise Downstairs. He has also written two novels for children and screenplays.
Three of those seventeen novels comprise the epic Promise Falls trilogy: Broken Promise, Far From True, and The Twenty-Three. His two novels for children – Chas Linwood Barclay is the #1 internationally bestselling author of seventeen novels for adults, including No Time for Goodbye, Trust Your Eyes and, most recently, A Noise Downstairs. He has also written two novels for children and screenplays.
Three of those seventeen novels comprise the epic Promise Falls trilogy: Broken Promise, Far From True, and The Twenty-Three. His two novels for children – Chase and Escape – star a computer-enhanced dog named Chipper who’s on the run from the evil organization that turned him into a super-pup.
Barclay’s 2011 thriller, The Accident, has been turned into the six-part television series L’Accident in France, and he adapted his novel Never Saw it Coming for the movie, directed by Gail Harvey and starring Eric Roberts and Emily Hampshire. Several of his other books either have been, or still are, in development for TV and film.
After spending his formative years helping run a cottage resort and trailer park after his father died when he was 16, Barclay got his first newspaper job at the Peterborough Examiner, a small Ontario daily. In 1981, he joined the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper.
He held such positions as assistant city editor, chief copy editor, news editor, and Life section editor, before becoming the paper’s humour columnist in 1993. He was one of the paper’s most popular columnists before retiring from the position in 2008 to work exclusively on books.
In 2004, he launched his mystery series about an anxiety-ridden, know-it-all, pain-in-the-butt father by the name of Zack Walker. Bad Move, the first book, was followed by three more Zack Walker thrillers: Bad Guys, Lone Wolf, and Stone Rain. (The last two were published in the UK under the titles Bad Luck and Bad News.)
His first standalone thriller, No Time for Goodbye, was published in 2007 to critical acclaim and great international success. The following year, it was a Richard and Judy Summer Read selection in the UK, and did seven straight weeks at #1 on the UK bestseller list, and finished 2008 as the top selling novel of the year there. The book has since been sold around the world and been translated into nearly thirty languages.
Barclay was born in the United States but moved to Canada just before turning four years old when his father, a commercial artist whose illustrations of cars appeared in Life, Look and Saturday Evening Post (before photography took over), accepted a position with an advertising agency north of the border. Barclay, who graduated with an English literature degree from Trent University, in Peterborough, Ontario, was fortunate to have some very fine mentors; in particular, the celebrated Canadian author Margaret Laurence, whom Linwood first met when she served as writer-in-residence at Trent, and Kenneth Millar, who, under the name Ross Macdonald, wrote the acclaimed series of mystery novels featuring detective Lew Archer. It was at Trent that he met Neetha, the woman who would become his wife. They have two grown children, Spencer and Paige.
...more