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I Will Ruin You  By  cover art

I Will Ruin You

By: Linwood Barclay
Narrated by: George Newbern, Johnathan McClain
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Publisher's summary

"Linwood Barclay's I Will Ruin You is a page-turner that also has important things to say. You'll get your money's worth out of this one."–Stephen King

In the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay, a teacher’s act of heroism inadvertently makes him the target of a dangerous blackmailer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

How would you react in a life-or-death situation?

It’s a question everyone asks themselves, but few have to face in real life. English teacher Richard Boyle certainly never thought he would find himself talking down a former student intent on harming others, but when Mark LeDrew shows up at Richard’s school with a bomb strapped to his chest, Richard immediately jumps into action. Thanks to some quick thinking, he averts a major tragedy and is hailed as a hero, but not all the attention focused on him is positive.

Richard’s brief moment in the spotlight puts him in the sights of a deranged blackmailer with a score to settle. The situation rapidly spirals out of control, drawing Richard into a fraught web of salacious accusations and deadly secrets. As he tries to uncover the truth he discovers that there’s something deeply wrong in the town—something that ties together Mark, the blackmailer, and a gang of ruthless drug dealers, and Richard has landed smack in the middle of it. He’s desperate to find a way out, but everyone in his life seems to be hiding something, and trusting the wrong person could cost him everything he loves.

What price will he pay for one good deed?

©2024 Linwood Barclay (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about I Will Ruin You

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It could have been me

Linwood Barclay can’t write his novels of suspense fast enough to please me. I eagerly devour each one and that includes I Will Ruin You.
What I like about his stories is that I can easily imagine me in place of one of the characters or as an amalgamation of characters. Part of me could be Richard, a dedicated English teacher, who wants to expose his students to something outside of the boring required reading list. In my case I assigned Blindness by Jose Saramago to a middle schooler I was mentoring. Aside from the fascinating story itself the entire novel has no punctuation. It could have been me who on an ordinary day spots something curious out of the corner of my eye as my gazed flashed across the school room window during my class. It could have been any teacher that acted on their protective instinct to stop what threatened to cause great harm to the entire school. It could have been any teacher who found themselves labeled as hero in those circumstances while at the same time blamed for something innocent like giving a comforting hug to a grieving student that was misinterpreted as molestation. The mere suggestion followed up by an insinuating photo circulated on Facebook could permanently ruin my reputation as well as that of my family members.

I like it that Barclay sprinkles his stories with references to real events and books by other authors I’ve read, kind of like the arcane references slipped into a Law and Order episode.

The narrator of the audiobook version did a splendid job.

I can’t wait for his next book.

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Good, but not Barclay's best

Although I can't put my finger on it, I found Barclay's latest less compelling and more formulaic than most of his other novels. perhaps because some of the choices made by the main characters seemed more designed to move the story along than to reflect the actions of a reasonably rational person.

Even so, the story came together and was entertaining. The reader was excellent. He gave the different characters distinguishably different voices and added nuance to the story telling.

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Red Herrings Anyone?

Soooo good… false leads, unexpected twists, and delightfully intricate reversals, not to mention the adeptly done social underpinnings… this was some superior ear and mind candy…

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Twist,twist, twist, typical Linwood Barclay style. He's a master.

The back story was a little too "timely " for lack of a better word. He hit all the topics in the news, book banning, same-sex relationships, sexual predators, school attacks, drugs, and cartels. An exhausting list. I almost stopped listening more than once. I only hung in there because of my past experience with Mr Barclay's writing. I knew it had to get better and the narration was very good. Once the twisting started I was hooked.

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So twisty

this book was amazing, literally no idea who the suspect really is until the end. definitely screenplay worthy

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Really good

A very enjoyable story. A who done it and how did they do it. As usual with Linwood Barclay books there is a very complex and well developed group of characters. I love that

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Mr Barclay never disappoints

Twisty tale that kept me guessing who done it. At first I questioned the need for a gay character but came to understand why. Too many authors use them to be inclusive or politically correct, an insult to the lgbtq+ community.

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Another intricate web of plots

Every time I start one of Linwood Barclays novels I am introduced to numerous characters who usually have no connection whatsoever and I wonder how they're all going to join up to make the main plot .
As the story unfolds I become more and more fascinated by the events until I am totally emersed.
If you are willing to allow a book to captivate your life until you finish it - then go ahead and read yet another mind-blowing "who done it" despite the fact that some details are unrealistic and far fetched - one doesn't really care!
The narrative is brilliant and the narration is superb.

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stupid protagonist, so unlikable

I can't handle the unlikeable and totally stupid main character. He thinks he is so smart, lone ranger, always coming up with the dumbest lies. My 8 year old nephew is a more convincing liar. Normally it's dumb women in these books. It's predictable and boring.

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What makes seemingly intelligent characters do stupid things?

Lots of twists and turns, similar to the many other Linwood Barclay books that I’ve listened to and the narrator is excellent as always. However, I had to stop listening a few times due to the many stupid decisions that were being made by a number of reasonably intelligent characters. I will continue to listen to this author’s books, but this one stretched common sense a bit too far.

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