Andrea reviews FIND YOU FIRST by Linwood Barclay, NJSB Entertainment Inc, 2021, 438 pages. Lots of times people will say “Money is the root of all evil,” when in actuality, the quote/ scripture is “The love of money is root of all kinds of evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10)
In Linwood Barclay’s latest thriller we are introduced to Miles Cookson. For the most of his life, he was a self-indulged, self-involved multimillionaire who recently found out money cannot buy happiness or even save his life. Miles never married or even had a serious relationship so when he received the death sentence from his doctor he has Huntington’s Disease, the squirrel in his brain went into overdrive. After he did his own research, with the help of multiple assistants, he realized he was the father of nine children, thanks to his visits to a fertility clinic when he was much younger. The realization that he was actually dying caused Miles to want to grasp his own mortality. He decided to travel the nation to introduce himself to the now-adult children, explain his sickness, and then promise each of them a sizable inheritance when the time comes. Seems altruistic enough, right?
Unfortunately, Miles was not the only one who has accessed their 9 identities. At first, it seems coincidental a couple of the nine disappeared. But as they say, there is never a coincidence. No longer just suspicious but rather proactive, Miles and his team, obviously, wanted avenge these deaths.
In an eerie plot twist, Miles wondered if all of his altruism was all for naught.
This is a sensational story with plenty of well developed- characters and action-driven subplots. I am looking forward to reading other titles by Linwood Barclay.