‘Not a Word’ by Linwood Barclay

Published by HQ
10 September 2026,
SBN: 978-0-00855680-1 

Reece Chartwell calls in to see his parents one afternoon and finds them dead in bed – a clear case of murder and suicide. Except the dead woman is not his mother, and his father may not have shot her – or even himself.

Little by little, constant shifts in narrator, plus the occasional flashback, reveal the secrets not just of the family but of Big Pharma – think the OxyContin scandal and the Sackler family. 

Not a Word is a masterclass in plotting, in herrings which may or not be red, in characterisation and pace. It’s outstanding and totally absorbing. A must read.
……….
Reviewer Judith Cutler

Linwood Barclay was born 1955 in Darien, Connecticut.  After graduating high school Barclay studied literature at Trent University in Peterborough. After graduation, he could not sell any of his novels so he found work on a number of local newspapers, starting his journalism career in 1977 at the Peterborough Examiner, moved on to a small Oakville paper in 1979, and then to the Toronto Star in 1981 where he was, successively, assistant city editor, news editor, chief copy editor and Life section editor. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Neetha and two children. 

www.linwoodbarclay.com

Judith Cutler was born in the Black Country, just outside Birmingham, later moving to the Birmingham suburb of Harborne. Judith started writing while she was at the then Oldbury Grammar School, winning the Critical Quarterly Short Story prize with the second story she wrote. She subsequently read English at university. She has written eight series. In all 43 books. Her most recent series is set in Victoria times featuring Matthew Rowsley and housekeeper Mrs Faulkner as an engaging detective duo 

http://www.judithcutler.com