I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I thought it started as a predictable story. The signs were obvious; the switching narrators gave you the plot points you needed to draw conclusions.

Just one issue.

You draw all the wrong conclusions.

Find You First is a gripping read. A man driven by duty to do what’s right for the children he never knew uncovers how far people are willing to go to protect their own secrets. When a string of disappearances starts occurring, wiping out these offspring before he can make contact, we end up in a mystery that isn’t as straight forward as you first believe.

Multiple narrators weave a picture of danger, deceit, and desperation. You think you’re presented with all the jigsaw pieces as you follow all the action, but there’s constantly a piece that just doesn’t match. How does this story fit in? Is it what you think?

The narrators are a mix of honest, desperate, and cold. Depends whether you’re a businessman, a waitress or a hit man.

Miles has just been diagnosed with Huntingdon’s, and wants to make sure any children are forewarned. Chloe has always wanted to know who her biological father is: Travis is more interested in a new girlfriend. Nicky is in over her head in a situation she can’t get out of.

Very different stories. All brought together by the common thread of family, even if not in the way you are expected.

Chloe was the favourite. She doesn’t care about inheritance or illness; she just wants to get to know the man. She’s got fire and isn’t scared off when things start to go south. Even when things go too far, Chloe problem solves her way out of it – even in a rather dramatic inside car-chase sequences. Yes, you read that right.

I thought I knew what was happening. That the book somehow missed any tension because the answers were obvious. In fact, the opposite was happening: there was some effective misdirection and once you realise that it doesn’t add up, you’re completely gripped: if it’s not them, then who? And, more importantly, why?

Find You First is well-written. The characters are well-rounded and despite the multiple narrations, you get to know them: what drives them, what they’re afraid of, how far they’ll go. Although the story also takes some of the characters across the country, it avoided the cliché that often occurs with any sort of road trip – the author showing off they’ve done their research and naming every place they stop at and what they eat etc.

It's not the longest read, but a fast-paced and gripping one. I didn’t want to put it down until I’d found out how all of this came together. If you’re looking for a mystery/thriller that will keep you page-turning, I recommend Find You First to anyone interested in this genre.

I enjoyed this story. It was a fast paced thriller and had an interesting premise. I was fooled with the twists and turns along the way.

Another fast paced, gripping thriller from a favourite author.
After finding out about his fatal disease, Miles wants to find his siblings and share his fortune with them. Unfortunately not all plans go as expected and there’s a twist at every corner.
Pulse racing adrenaline and high spikes of blood rushed for me in this amazing story.
Everyone Must read it!

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Well what can I say, another smasher from Linwood Barclay! I fell straight in from the start, great story, great characters, full of twists and turns,
Thank you so much for letting me read this, another hit from one of my favourite authors.

Love Linwood Barclay’s writing. Loved this book! Immersive and clever. Fast-paced and energetic.

I read this over a weekend and enjoyed being immersed!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When Miles is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he's determined to make amends with the children he may have fathered many years ago. Why is it that when he gets access to the list of children he fathered through a fertility clinic, are they disappearing? It's a race against time for Miles to get to them before they are gone forever.
Linwood Barclay is a great writer, he's taken a unique situation and written it very well with plenty of characters to create the plot. Despite lots of different characters, they each had their important place and it was all easy to follow.

A fast-paced thriller with interesting twists and turns, maybe not always believable but certainly keeps you gripped. 4* rating.

As always Linwood Barclay doesn’t disappoint! I really enjoyed this one and found myself picking it up to read a few extra pages at every given chance.

This was an absolute blast from start to finish. With the intrepid Chloe as the protagonist along with the help of “new father” Miles it’s a race against time for them to find their biological relatives before a pair of hitmen or should I say hit persons find them first.

This has fantastic characters on both sides of the spectrum. From good guys Chloe, Miles and Travis to my personal favourites the hired hitmen, who really reminded me of the pair in The Umbrella Academy, the seedy Jeremy and the supremely entitled Caroline.


Not only is this a cat and mouse chase it is also thought provoking around sperm donation, the nature vs nurture debate, dna and playing god using human beings as test subjects.

While I had worked out most of the reveals there was a nice shocker that I didn’t suspect at all. None of it detracted from my enjoyment and it was perfectly wrapped up at the end in a fun and action packed finale.

This was my first book by this author and judging by this it will be the first of many.

🌟Brimming with suspense and intrigue.
🌟The short chapters help ensure it stays fast-paced and only helps to rack up the tension, as you try a work out who this ruthless killer is, as the death toll increases.
🌟Packed with twists and turns that finale is breathtakingly shocking.
🌟If you are looking for an intense thrill, look no further you have found it!
✩You definitely have to suspend belief to enjoy it.

This was a slow starter but once it got going it was helter skelter right to the end. Lots of twists and turns and a very large cast of characters. Totally absorbing read.

If this was the first Linwood Barclay book I had read I would probably have scored it higher but I don't think it was up to his usual standard. It was a clever story but lacked the climbing tension that is usually a dominant feature in his books. Sorry but I was disappointed.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Had me hooked from the first page. Its a fast paced thriller with a great storyline. Have enjoyed the others from Linwood Barclay and this does not disappoint.

Highly recommended.

Thank you HQ and Netgalley.

A definite dilemma poser! An intriguing cocktail of murder and medical ethics.
Barclay doesn’t hang about with the action in this. His criminal at the outset is despicable enough for the reader to want him stopped but his come-uppance is nevertheless a little surprising - and this is only the start of the string of events.
I yo-yoed between agreeing with the main character’s decision following his life-changing news and despairing with the consequences of his actions.
I have always enjoyed Barclay’s writing and ‘Find You First’ certainly didn’t disappoint.
Thank you to HQ (Harper Collins) and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

A pacy thriller from an ever reliable writer. Nice twists and turns keep you guessing and an exciting conclusion. Textbook thriller.

Linwood Barclay is a new author to me but what a find. I was unable to put it down it was so full of twists and turns. I loved it and look forward to reading more from this author.

I'm a huge fan of Linwood Barclay and Find You First was no exception.
Fast paced, thrilling, and just what I love about his books.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read and review.

Miles Cookson, a tech billionaire has just discovered he has a debilitating and terminal illness, one he could pass onto his children. As far as the rest of the world is concerned he has no children but he knows a visit to a clinic over twenty years ago means he may have quite a few offspring out there. So now he decides to look for them, to warn them and hopefully help them with his vast fortune, whether or not they have the illness or not. But as he finds and connects with the first, Chloe, it becomes apparent someone else is looking for his children...and their intentions are far more sinister.

I first read Linwood Barclay around 2008. My librarian friend excitedly foisted No Time For Goodbye on me, telling me I would love it. And boy was she right. And for the next few years I devoured his books. And then I don't know what happened, I stopped reading his books. When I saw this and loved the synopsis I tried to work out what happened. Was there a book I didn't like? I don't think so. Did I change the type of books I read....a little maybe but even though I love a British police procedural I read other genres. I can only assume I just forgot his books. And now I'm full of regret, how the hell did I forget these brilliant stories? This novel is filled with twists, action, double crossing and everything you could desire in a great thriller. There's loads of great characters, plus it's fast paced with great dialogue. A great read which reminded me what a great storyteller Linwood Barclay is.

Miles is a millionaire who years before as a struggling student donated his sperm to a fertility clinic.
20 years later he discovers he has a terminal illness which he could have passed on
As Miles has no family other than his brother he decides that he will try and find out if he has any children as a result from the donation and leave them his vast fortune to make their lives better and easier if they have inherited the disease , Once Miles has the list he starts to track them down but then they start to disappear without a trace
This started off well and I was hooked but then it started to loose the plot and reality I finished the book but to me it was a farcical ending and it spoilt the book for me