Linwood Barclay (born 1955) is an American-born Canadian author, noted as a novelist, humorist, and (former) columnist. His popular detective novels are bestsellers in Canada and internationally, beginning with No Time for Goodbye in 2007.
Biography
Linwood Barclay was born in Darien, Connecticut, son of Muriel and Everett Barclay. His father was a professional illustrator who moved his family to Canada in 1959 where he had accepted a job with William R. Templeton Studios in Toronto. In 1966 the family purchased a vacation campground in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, which they ran for about five years until his father died from lung cancer when Barclay was sixteen.
Barclay recognized his interest in writing detective fiction at an early age, inspired by the works of Ross Macdonald, who had grown up in Kitchener, Ontario. After graduating from high school Barclay studied literature at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, where one of his teachers was the noted novelist Margaret Laurence. While attending university, he began a correspondence with Macdonald that proved inspirational for Barclay. They met once, at which time Macdonald inscribed one of his books to Barclay: "For Linwood, who will, I hope, someday outwrite me".
After graduation with an English literature degree from Trent, he could not sell any of his novels so he found work on a number of local newspapers beginning with the Peterborough Examiner. He subsequently moved to the Toronto Star in 1981. In 1993, following the death of Gary Lautens, he began to write a thrice-weekly humour column for the paper. He also released podcasts of his articles and published three collections: Mike Harris Made Me Eat My Dog, Father Knows Zilch: A Guide for Dumbfounded Dads, and This House Is Nuts!. Between 2004 and 2007, while still writing his column, he published four mystery/comedies, all featuring a sleuth named Zack Walker who works as a newspaper columnist by day. The books were published in the United Kingdom and were modestly successful.
His break came in 2007 when he published No Time for Goodbye. A runaway bestseller in the UK, it quickly sold a million copies there and elsewhere. He took a one-year sabbatical to promote his novel and he had planned to return to the Star in September 2008. On June 28, 2008, he wrote his last column, announcing his retirement from the newspaper. His 2012 novel Trust Your Eyes was a finalist for the Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read from the UK Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.ITV Press Centre (25 October 2013). "Winners unmasked at Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2013 on ITV3". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 19 February 2014 At the time of its publication, it was announced that Trust Your Eyes had been optioned by a Hollywood studio. Barclay made the cover of Variety Magazine because of the bidding war it had caused between Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Eric McCormack had planned a script for a film version of No Time For Goodbye, with himself starring. The project never came to fruition. A French TV adaptation titled That Night, was made in 2023. The series appeared on TF1 Television in France on April 23, 2025.
Barclay lives in Oakville, Ontario, with his wife of more than three decades, Neetha, with whom he has two children - Spencer and Paige.
Bibliography
Non-fiction Last Resort: A Memoir (2000, finalist for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour)
Humour Mike Harris Made Me Eat My Dog Father Knows Zilch: A Guide for Dumbfounded Dads This House Is Nuts!: Surviving the Absurdities of Everyday Life
Fiction Year Title Publisher Notes 2004 Bad Move Bantam 1st Zack Walker novel 2005 Bad Guys Bantam 2nd Zack Walker novel 2006 Lone Wolf Bantam 3rd Zack Walker novel 2007 Stone Rain Bantam 4th Zack Walker novel 2007 No Time for Goodbye Orion Featured on Richard & Judy's Summer reading list 2008 Too Close to Home Bantam Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel (2009),2009 Arthur Ellis Awards Winners Crime Writers of Canada, (retrieved 11/21/2012) part of the Promise Falls series 2009 Fear the Worst Bantam 2010 Never Look Away Delacorte Press Part of the Promise Falls series 2011 The Accident Orion 2011 Clouded Vision Orion Quick read 2012 Trust Your Eyes Doubleday Canada . Originally titled 360: A Novel . Part of the Promise Falls series 2013 Never Saw it Coming Orion Based on the novella Clouded Vision. Features characters that appeared in No Time For Goodbye 2013 A Tap on the Window New American Library 2014 No Safe House Doubleday Canada . Sequel to No Time for Goodbye 2007 2015 Broken Promise New American Library . First in the Promise Falls trilogy 2015 Final Assignment Orion A novella ebook 2016 Far From True New American Library . Second in the Promise Falls trilogy 2016 The Twenty Three New American Library . Third in the Promise Falls trilogy 2017 Parting Shot Orion Fourth in the Promise Falls series 2017 Chase Puffin Canada . First book in the Chase series, written for kids (ages 9+) 2018 Escape Puffin Canada . Second book in the Chase series, written for kids (ages 9+) 2018 A Noise Downstairs Doubleday Canada 2019 Elevator Pitch William Morrow 2021 Find You First William Morrow 2022 Take Your Breath Away William Morrow Shortlisted for 2023 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2022 Look Both Ways William Morrow 2023 The Lie Maker William Morrow 2024 I Will Ruin You William Morrow 2025 Whistle William Morrow 2026 Not a Word William Morrow
References
External links
Columns, Toronto Star