Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“One good turn might cost his life…”

Linwood Barclay is a name all thriller lovers will know, but believe it or not, this is my first ever book by this author! And to be honest, I’m not sure what has kept me from reading his books all this time, because this one was absolutely brilliant. Completely filled with suspense, tightly plotted and had me racing through chapters like there was no tomorrow! I’m so happy to be sharing my review of I Will Ruin You!

About the book

Teacher Richard Boyle certainly never thought he would find himself talking down a former student intent on harming others, but when a former student shows up at school with a vest packed with explosives, he springs into action. Thanks to his quick thinking, Richard averts a major tragedy but his moment in the spotlight puts him in the sights of a deranged blackmailer with a score to settle…

As events rapidly spiral out of control, Richard is drawn into a tangled web of salacious accusations and deadly secrets. As he tries to uncover the truth, Richard discovers that there’s something dangerously wrong in the town. Everyone in his life seems to be hiding something, and trusting the wrong person could cost him everything he loves.

The beginning

Wow, what a tense opener! I love it when an opening chapter completely grabs me like this one did. Richard Boyle is a teacher at Lodge High School, and he encounters what is probably the nightmare of every teacher; a former student appears on the school grounds strapped with explosives, and he’s heading inside. Immediately, the book is filled with tension and the author had me hanging onto every word. You simply can’t help but put yourself in Richard’s shoes; what would you do in a situation like this? Would you confront the person and try to persuade him to leave, or barricade your students as well as you can and hope and pray everyone survives? It’s horrific to think about, and the author really captures the terror, the thoughts and feelings of everyone involved. I needed a short breather after that chapter, but soon got stuck into a story that I knew would never leave me. We meet so many interesting characters, see how Richard tries to overcome his anxiety, and also start to see the implications of being in the spotlight and hailed a hero…

“None of this was as simple as it looked. When it came to an allegation like this, it didn’t matter whether there was any truth to it. Once it was out there, once it was public, it could finish you.”

The book follows multiple character perspectives which I really liked. As well as Richard, we also follow his wife, Bonnie, and Herb Willow, another teacher at Lodge High School who doesn’t think Richard is being completely truthful about what happened the day the intruder came. We also follow Billy, another former student of the school. He works as a baggage handler at an airport and is involved with drug dealers, holding shipments and making a lot of money from it. All of these POVs worked so well to give the story depth, and reading from such varying people really makes you think how the events of the intruder affected people in different ways. Billy runs into trouble, and has a cunning plan to get out of his mess – and it involves a teacher from his old school. Richard. Billy’s plan is to blackmail Richard into giving him the money he needs to appease his drug dealer bosses. In return, he won’t spread his vicious lies about Richard sexually assaulting him on a school bus, to eliminate his hero status. I was completely horrified at Billy’s plan, but what could Richard do? Things were about to get wild.

The middle

We’re soon introduced to another character, Marta. She’s a police officer and sister to Bonnie, and she’s investigating the death of a woman who has a child at Bonnie’s school. This child’s story was so saddening, and it seemed this mother had some connection to Billy’s drug dealer friends. Everything slowly began to slot into place, creating a huge web of connections between all these characters. It felt great to visualise it all. But the author doesn’t stop there. Richard seems to be pelted with bad news after bad news. If the news of his blackmail wasn’t enough, he has to go through a lawsuit and a parent complaint about his teaching. It seemed the world was out to get him, and he really was only at the start of all this mess. There is something really special about the way Barclay writes; the layers to the story are written with such precision, we’re constantly feeling the pressures and the anxieties coursing through multiple characters, and I genuinely felt fearful about where things could go. It was exciting, unnerving and completely gripping, with no signs of slowing down.

“Maybe tonight we could sit down. Clear the air. I might even find the strength to tell her what I’d done.”

Yep, you guessed it, there are more character perspectives to follow along the way including Lucy, Billy’s wife. She’s a character who becomes a really important person throughout all of this. I have to say, even though there are so many POVs throughout the book, it wasn’t difficult to keep up with who everyone was and what they brought to the story. (Barclay is a genius!) She gets too involved, taking some of the shipment Billy is holding to sell on for herself. And this soon has fatal consequences. There are lies and secrets between characters, the cliff hangers at the end of each chapter having me desperate to read on and on and on. The pacing was excellent, the shorter chapters leaving me almost breathless in anticipation. Richard decides to tackle his own main problem head on, and what happens next was unexpected, the reader purposefully left in the dark. Different scenarios were whirring through my mind, and when it’s clear both Richard and Bonnie are keeping secrets from each other and us readers, I was desperate to find out where the ending would go!

The end

I tried my best to work everything out. To try and identify any plot twist that could occur. To work out the truth. But my god, I did not expect THAT twist! A masterpiece! It made me think back to everything I’d read up to that point, wondering what I’d missed. I wanted to start the book again there and then, to read extra carefully, to monitor every action, every conversation. Aside from the twist, I loved how the book focuses on the things you’d be willing to do to protect those you love, to keep those close to you safe. Your family. I was holding my breath through all the suspense. It was that impactful. There’s so much danger, there’s murder, there’s coming clean and admitting defeat. The way everything was weaved together was so impressive, there is literally no flaw in its entire execution. I just knew there’d be even more to this, and as each fabulous scene played out I was left more and more in awe of everything the author had created in this book. I just love the feeling of reading something this good!

“You can think of a lot of things in the split second before you’re going to die.”

I loved how there was a scene near the end that almost seemed to mirror the first chapter. It was phenomenal. Everything was so fast paced here, my eyes were doing that thing where they get too keen to read so they end up skipping paragraphs of text to find out what happens sooner! (Yes, I forced myself to back track, haha!) Of course, there’s another big reveal at the end and then another huge twist that made my jaw drop. How do authors do this?! And what a impactful ending! The layers to this story have been so perfectly explored and everything was tied up so neatly which was SO satisfying. I won’t forget this one in a hurry! If you’re a die hard thriller fan like me, especially when paired with crime, you will adore this book. I think Linwood Barclay will be another of my auto-buy authors after this one! How are we still in the first half of January and I’ve already found TWO of my five star reads?! It’s going to be a great reading year, I can just feel it!

Overall thoughts

I Will Ruin You is a suspenseful, pacy and unputdownable thriller that hooked me in from the start and had me speed-reading until that glorious, unexpected finale. It’s a completely flawless read, the plot so wonderfully layered, consistently exciting and always had me thinking. I loved the characters in this book; there are a decent amount to follow but it doesn’t feel difficult to do so, plus they’re all so crucial to how the story unfolds. It’s a book you’ll be constantly thinking about in every waking moment, and I’m pretty sure I won’t stop thinking about it for a while. The definition of a page turner! A must read for fans of crime thrillers!

Huge thanks to the author, Linwood Barclay, and the brilliant team at HQ Stories for my gifted copy! The paperback of I Will Ruin You is available to pre-order right now on Amazon (or wherever you buy your books), releasing 16th January, but the hardback and eBook is available right now! Make sure you’re following the author over on X/Twitter for more updates.

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