Whistle

Linwood Barclay

$39.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

HQ
26 August 2025

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Thriller & suspense; Horror & ghost stories; Fiction: special features

'Terrific' STEPHEN KING

Evil has a one track mind…

Celebrated children’s author and illustrator Annie Blunt has had a dreadful year. Her husband was killed in a tragic accident, then one of her children’s books ignited a major scandal. Desperate for a fresh start, she moves with her young son Charlie to a charming small town in upstate New York where they can begin to heal.

But Annie’s year is about to get worse.

Bored and lonely in their isolated new surroundings, Charlie is thrilled when he finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed in the grounds of their new house. While Annie is pleased to see Charlie happy, there’s something unsettling about his new toy. Strange sounds wake Annie in the night – she’s sure she can hear a train in the middle of the night, although there isn’t an active line for miles. And then bizarre things start happening in the neighbourhood. But even stranger, Annie can’t seem to stop drawing a disturbing new character that has no place in a children’s book…

Grief plays tricks on the mind, but Annie is beginning to think she’s walked out of one nightmare straight into another, only this one is far more terrifying…

Sunday Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay enters new territory with a fiendishly twisted supernatural chiller.

PRAISE FOR LINWOOD BARCLAY:

‘Linwood Barclay has crafted another perfect page-turner’ The Times

‘Pacy and tense, it’s a triumph from a master thriller writer. Every page makes your heart beat that little bit faster’ The Sun

‘You’ll be left speed-reading towards the end to discover answers expertly posed by the bestselling Toronto-based crime writer’ The Independent

‘Totally absorbing… brilliant stuff’ Neil Lancaster

‘A superior thriller’ Sunday Times

‘A suspense master’ Stephen King

Readers are jumping on the Linwood Barclay train!'Dark and thoroughly absorbing … A creepy and atmospheric book' (Five stars)

'Whistle is simply genius … my favourite book of [Linwood Barclay's] I've ever read' (Five stars)

'A twisty horror thriller with a Stephen King feel. Do yourself a favour and read this book' (Five stars)

'Bravo Mr Barclay – Whistle is a brilliant read, everything I want from a book was here and so much more! I enjoyed every twisted horrible brilliant minute of it' (Five stars)

'First class storytelling. I was hooked from the first page, I raced through the book in one sitting' (Five stars)

'This creepy atmospheric story does not disappoint. I absolutely loved this book' (Five stars)

By: Linwood Barclay
Imprint: HQ
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 159mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 660g
ISBN: 9780008735029
ISBN 10: 0008735026
Pages: 432
Publication Date: 26 August 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Linwood Barclay is an international bestselling crime and thriller author with over twenty critically acclaimed novels to his name, including the phenomenal number one bestseller No Time For Goodbye. Every Linwood Barclay book is a masterclass in characterisation, plot and the killer twist, and with sales of over 7 million copies globally, his books have been sold in more than 39 countries around the world and he can count Stephen King, Shari Lapena and Peter James among his many fans. Many of his books have been optioned for film and TV, and Linwood wrote the screenplay for the film based on his bestselling novel Never Saw It Coming. He is currently working with eOne to turn the Promise Falls trilogy into a series. Born in the US, his parents moved to Canada just as he was turning four, and he's lived there ever since. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Neetha. They have two grown children.

Reviews for Whistle

PRAISE FOR LINWOOD BARCLAY: ‘Devilishly good’ Shari Lapena ‘The novel speeds from first page to last… Bravo!’ Jeffery Deaver ‘A fast-moving, high-concept thriller from the talented Barclay’ Daily Mail ‘Linwood Barclay is in a class of his own’ T.M. Logan ‘One of the finest thriller writers in the world at the very top of his game’ Mark Billingham