I firmly believe that there is nothing Linwood Barclay cannot do when it comes to writing psychological thrillers. His latest release, I WILL RUIN YOU, is strong proof of this.

Being a teacher in such a complicated world is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, to which I can personally attest. On the one hand, you have the ability to enrich a young mind and have a lasting, positive impact on them. But there exists the possibility that it all can be taken from you in a heartbeat by a bad student, an unreasonable parent or a clueless school administrator. It is clear that Barclay knows this all too well as I WILL RUIN YOU features a teacher who goes from hero to pariah in a heartbeat and in such a way that will have readers shouting at the pages as they turn.

"I WILL RUIN YOU is filled with so many plot twists that rooting for Richard will become a perilous task with so much stacked against him. It’s a must-read for those who love psychological thrillers, and Barclay shows once again why he is a master of the genre."

Richard Boyle is teaching high school English in the suburbs of Connecticut. In the face of so much book banning, he has assigned his students a book to read that is not part of the curriculum: Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD. Most of them love it, while some are turned off by the dark themes of massive death and light cannibalism. They are having a lively discussion about it when Richard looks out the window. A young man dressed in heavy camo gear and carrying what appears to be sticks of dynamite is crossing the yard from the teacher’s lot to the front of the school. Richard goes into immediate lockdown mode, telling his students to lower the blinds and take cover, while one of them calls 911.

Richard heads into the hallway, screams the active shooter alert to all who will listen, and gets the attention of the principal on his way to the front door. It turns out that the school handyman never fixed that faulty door lock, allowing the perp to walk right into the building. Richard immediately recognizes him as former student Mark LeDrew, a troubled underachiever with whom he never had an issue. He proceeds to guide Mark out of the building and is in the process of calling the bomb squad when Mark trips, setting off the explosives. Thankfully, no one at the school is hurt, but Mark is blown to smithereens. While most people involved are ready to kiss the ground that Richard walks on for all the potential lives he saved, Mark’s family sees the situation much differently and brings a lawsuit against Richard and the school.

As if that is not enough for Richard and his family to deal with, he is confronted by another former student, Billy Finster, who levels some shocking accusations against him. Richard vociferously proclaims his innocence, but Billy is persistent. You see, Billy is in need of some fast cash as a result of a drug deal gone bad and sees Richard, the local hero, as his meal ticket to get out from under that.

Barclay handles this premise so expertly that readers will have no clue what is coming next. The tragic part is just how relevant and on-the-money this story is --- especially since we live in age where the line between hero and pariah is as slim as a whisker, where what you can prove is not nearly as important as what the court of public opinion can do to you, especially on social media.

I WILL RUIN YOU is filled with so many plot twists that rooting for Richard will become a perilous task with so much stacked against him. It’s a must-read for those who love psychological thrillers, and Barclay shows once again why he is a master of the genre.