A Tap On The Window by Linwood Barclay - Book Review

       Two months ago, Cal Weaver’s son Scott, died in a tragic accident and since then, he and his wife are drifting apart.  Neither of them can’t get past their grief and now Cal’s judgment may be clouded.  Cal needs to have good judgement since he is a private detective.  

       One night, while driving home, Cal gets a tap on the window.  He sees a teenage girl that is the same age of Scott.  She even tells him that she knew his son and she needs a ride to a local restaurant.  Cal takes her there and he finds out that her name is Claire. 

        During a stop at the restaurant, something strange happens.  Claire switches places with another girl and suddenly, Cal is driving someone else home.  Once he realizes that he has been tricked, he lets the girl off at the next corner.  The problem after that is that the girl is murdered.   If that isn’t enough, Claire has disappeared and she is the mayor’s daughter.  The mayor would hire Cal to find her.

         Once again, Barclay is brilliant in bringing out his characters in a great story.  The characters again have flaws and that only add to the suspense.  There are times throughout the story where I wondered who Cal could trust.   In the end somehow, the story comes together with a lot of suspense and surprises.  It’s a hard book to put down and it’s a great, fast paced read as a result. 

          Fans like me can’t help but compare A Tap On The Window to Barclay’s other books like Trust Your Eyes and The Accident.  Some people thought that this was the weakest book that Barclay had done.  I would disagree and say that this book is just as good as the others, if not better.   

           I was also surprised that some people said that A Tap On The Window lacked humor in comparison to his other books.  I never saw anything funny in his other books so unless there are funny parts in other books besides Trust Your Eyes and The Accident, I can’t agree with those views either.  

            I think it’s great that Barclay can take ordinary people and put them in a novel that can be both a combination of contemporary literature and a thriller.  Barclay has a great gift and I have to say that A Tap On A Window is worth five stars to me and is just as good as Trust Your Eyes and The Accident.  

Ron Hummer