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A review by saareman
Find You First by Linwood Barclay
4.0
Progeny Hunt
Review of the HarperAudio audiobook (2021) released simultaneously with the William Morrow hardcover (2021)
Find You First was the Audible Daily Deal on September 25, 2021 and after checking reviews and seeing prolific GR reviewer MarilynW's 4-star review, I snapped it up immediately.
The author Linwood Barclay was a popular humour columnist in my hometown's Toronto Star newspaper for the early part of his career until 2008. After the breakthrough success of his 5th novel [b:No Time for Goodbye|1225261|No Time for Goodbye (No Time For Goodbye, #1)|Linwood Barclay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1182031065l/1225261._SY75_.jpg|2906898] (2007) he became a full time novelist. I read several of his books in my pre-Goodreads days and remember him as somewhat like [a:Harlan Coben|24689|Harlan Coben|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1552500006p2/24689.jpg], i.e. the books typically had an ordinary person protagonist who is thrust into the middle of a mysterious situation that they have to resolve. They were formulaic in that way, so although I enjoyed them, I wasn't compelled to read every single book.
Find You First still follows along those lines, although the lead protagonist isn't quite so ordinary. Tech billionaire Miles Cookson is leading a successful life until he discovers he has Huntington's Disease, an incurable neurological affliction that eventually causes death by paralysis. Huntington's is inheritable through a gene received through the parents and Cookson discovers that due to an early life donation to a fertility clinic he may be the biological father to 9 now grown-up children.
Cookson decides to will his estate to his biological progeny and sets out to find them in order to alert them to their possibly inherited genetic threat. Unfortunately someone else is also on the hunt and we are thrust into a cat and mouse game of Cookson & his allies versus a pair of cold-blooded contract killers. There are plenty of suspicious characters and actions along the way as Cookson's other family & in-laws and co-workers become suspects. You think you know what the motive is behind the killings but there is a major twist that comes along to change that.
Find You First was well constructed, even though the whole situation was quite unrealistic. The narration by George Newbern in all voices was excellent throughout.
Review of the HarperAudio audiobook (2021) released simultaneously with the William Morrow hardcover (2021)
Find You First was the Audible Daily Deal on September 25, 2021 and after checking reviews and seeing prolific GR reviewer MarilynW's 4-star review, I snapped it up immediately.
The author Linwood Barclay was a popular humour columnist in my hometown's Toronto Star newspaper for the early part of his career until 2008. After the breakthrough success of his 5th novel [b:No Time for Goodbye|1225261|No Time for Goodbye (No Time For Goodbye, #1)|Linwood Barclay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1182031065l/1225261._SY75_.jpg|2906898] (2007) he became a full time novelist. I read several of his books in my pre-Goodreads days and remember him as somewhat like [a:Harlan Coben|24689|Harlan Coben|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1552500006p2/24689.jpg], i.e. the books typically had an ordinary person protagonist who is thrust into the middle of a mysterious situation that they have to resolve. They were formulaic in that way, so although I enjoyed them, I wasn't compelled to read every single book.
Find You First still follows along those lines, although the lead protagonist isn't quite so ordinary. Tech billionaire Miles Cookson is leading a successful life until he discovers he has Huntington's Disease, an incurable neurological affliction that eventually causes death by paralysis. Huntington's is inheritable through a gene received through the parents and Cookson discovers that due to an early life donation to a fertility clinic he may be the biological father to 9 now grown-up children.
Cookson decides to will his estate to his biological progeny and sets out to find them in order to alert them to their possibly inherited genetic threat. Unfortunately someone else is also on the hunt and we are thrust into a cat and mouse game of Cookson & his allies versus a pair of cold-blooded contract killers. There are plenty of suspicious characters and actions along the way as Cookson's other family & in-laws and co-workers become suspects. You think you know what the motive is behind the killings but there is a major twist that comes along to change that.
Find You First was well constructed, even though the whole situation was quite unrealistic. The narration by George Newbern in all voices was excellent throughout.