Review: A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay

Title:  A Noise Downstairs 

Author:  Linwood Barclay
Publisher: William Morrow
Publishing Date:  July 12th, 2018

Pages: 357
Genre: Adult Psychological Thriller

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

College professor Paul Davis is a normal guy with a normal life. Until, driving along a deserted road late one night, he surprises a murderer disposing of a couple of bodies. That’s when Paul’s "normal" existence is turned upside down. After nearly losing his own life in that encounter, he finds himself battling PTSD, depression, and severe problems at work. His wife, Charlotte, desperate to cheer him up, brings home a vintage typewriter—complete with ink ribbons and heavy round keys—to encourage him to get started on that novel he’s always intended to write.

However, the typewriter itself is a problem. Paul swears it’s possessed and types by itself at night. But only Paul can hear the noise coming from downstairs; Charlotte doesn’t hear a thing. And she worries he’s going off the rails.

Paul believes the typewriter is somehow connected to the murderer he discovered nearly a year ago. The killer had made his victims type apologies to him before ending their lives. Has another sick twist of fate entwined his life with the killer—could this be the same machine? Increasingly tormented but determined to discover the truth and confront his nightmare, Paul begins investigating the deaths himself.

But that may not be the best thing to do. Maybe Paul should just take the typewriter back to where his wife found it. Maybe he should stop asking questions and simply walk away while he can. . . .

Psychological Thrillers are my favorite of all genres. A great one can really get into my head, make me question everything and leave me empty inside when its over. This one was a pretty good one. I can't say that it left me empty at the end but it did have me questioning everything. I was sure I was the one losing it. Very slow burn. Written well.  Pretty creepy. 


Paul has been through a lot in the past year. He happened upon a crime and was almost killed. He is now on leave from his job trying to get it together. He seems to be doing quite well until his wife buys him and old vintage typewriter. This typewriter has a mind of its own and is out get Paul, or maybe help him move on. Not really sure at first. But its enough to make Paul believe he is either going crazy or being haunted. 

I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book by this author I have read. I have seen his name around before but never picked up one of his books. I am sure I will be reading more from him in the future. There were a few things that kept this from being a 5 heart read for me but for the most part it was a well done book that I really enjoyed. 

So here is what I enjoyed.... The slow burn. There was so much build up and character development at the beginning. It didn't make the book feel slow either. It was well done. I love slow burn books. They just make it all worth it in the end. 

The creep factor. The creep factor was good. I was pretty freaked out for most of the read. There was a ton of suspense. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. 

The characters. I can't say I liked them all, but they were all well written and well developed. They had their flaws and they had their strengths. I feel they were written so well, I couldn't figure out it Paul truly was crazy or if there was a guilty party in his life.

The story was interesting and had me totally pulled in. It was well written, well paced, and well loved. I really was totally into it. There was plenty of suspense and mystery and intrigue. Everything I need in a psychological thriller. 

So all that worked very well together. 

What I didn't like.... There were a few things that were  just too unbelievable and I had to roll my eyes. This really isn't a big deal to me usually, but this one had a few too many. It didn't ruin the read or take away much from the read... but yes there was eye rolling going on. 

Also the ending was not as climatic as I would have hoped. It was a good ending, dont' get me wrong. It made sense and I was like OH yea didn't see that coming... just there wasn't a big bang of an ending that had me gasping. Still so worth the read but would have been a 5 heart read if there had been a gasp. 


I would recommend this for all readers who love a creeptastic psychological thriller! 

Linwood Barclay, a New York Times bestselling author and with nearly twenty novels to his credit, spent three decades in newspapers before turning full time to writing thrillers. His books have been translated into more than two dozen language, sold millions of copies, and he counts Stephen King among his fans. Many of his books have been optioned for film and TV, a series has been made in France, and he wrote the screenplay for the film based on his novel Never Saw it Coming. Born in the US, his parents moved to Canada just as he was turning four, and he’s lived there ever since. He lives near Toronto with his wife, Neetha. They have two grown children.