The synopsis of No Time for Goodbye is simply irresistible (and I love Linwood Barclay). In short, a 14-year-old girl wakes up one day to find that her parents and older brother have vanished forever without saying good-bye.
In May 1983, 14-year-old Cynthia Bigge goes out with her boyfriend on a school night and gets super drunk. Her father tracks her down and makes her come home, and Cynthia passes out in her room.
The next morning, a confused Cynthia wakes up still feeling drunk and notices her family has disappeared without a trace. Not even a note is left behind. She then spends the next 25 years rebuilding a new life while also trying to figure out what happened to her family.
No Time for Goodbye is narrated by Terry, Cynthia’s husband. This in itself is unique. He genuinely has no idea what’s going on, and suspects his wife could be the culprit behind the family’s disappearance.
Terry is an English teacher at the small town’s local high school, and isn’t at all prepared to handle the mess his wife’s family was involved in. His sleuthing is comical and haphazard.
I also love Terry’s sarcastic wit, which had me laughing out loud several times. For instance, near the beginning of the book, Terry describes his life with his wife and young daughter. He says, “Like I’ve mentioned, I’m a high school English teacher…so we’re not exactly rolling in the dough…our cars are both 10 years old, our vacations low-key…we took a trip to Walt Disney World, staying outside the park in a cheap motel in Orlando where you could hear, at two in the morning, some guy in the next room telling his girl to be careful, to ease up on the teeth.”
Hilarious. Barclay works in lots of funny stuff like this throughout the book. It’s great.
I’ve also read and reviewed these other books by Linwood Barclay:
What are your favorite books by this author?
Last Updated on November 25, 2025 by Sarah Ann
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