If the career of an author were a storyline, Linwood Barclay has thrown down a bit of a plot twist with his latest novel. What we’re used to is pacy thrillers with themes pulled from the headlines. Private detectives. Investigative journalists. Cops. However, with Whistle, the Canadian author steps into world of horror. Creepy things that whistle in the night…
The story begins with Annie Blunt, a children’s illustrator who moves to a small town in upstate New York with her young son Charlie. She’s getting way and grieving the loss of her husband. When Charlie finds an old model railroad set, it seems like something that will bring joy back into his life. However, strange things start to happen as he slots the sections of rail into place and runs the little locomotives down the line.
Next stop: TERROR!
Perhaps it’s a sign of the times. What we see in the news these days is strong stuff on its own and maybe for some readers crime fiction isn’t enough of an escape. We’re definitely seeing a lot more horror submissions here at CFL Towers. We decided to ask Linwood about the thinking behind Whistle, and a few other things too. It’s great to welcome him to the site.
What are crime fiction lovers going to love about Whistle?
Whistle has plenty of the elements readers have come to like in my other thrillers. Strong characters, plenty of twists, and a pretty nasty serial killer. But this time, I’ve tossed some new ingredients into the stew. A dash of horror and a pinch of the supernatural.
Who is Annie Blunt? What inspired the character and how have you developed her?
Annie is an accomplished writer and illustrator of children’s books. I was thinking of the great, and late, Ian Falconer, who did the books about the charming piglet Olivia, when I created her.
Who or what is she up against in Whistle?
Annie will eventually find herself coming face to face with Edwin Nabler, who presents as a whimsical toy train shop proprietor, but is actually an evil force of nature.
Where did the inspiration for Whistle come from?
More than 20 years ago I had an idea about an model railway-obsessed individual who expands his miniature empire into an adjoining residence when his neighbours are away, and has to kill them when they return when they demand he dismantle his creation. And while I never developed it, I couldn’t get out of my head the image of this bizarre, Tim Burton-esque model railway, filling a room with suspended tracks like the vines that overtake a house in Jumanji.
What’s made you decide to shift to horror?
‘Shift’ makes it sound like a permanent change. Maybe it’s a diversion, something like that. But why not? In my teens, I was writing stories that were inspired by Ray Bradbury or The Twilight Zone. It didn’t feel like a huge shift. In many ways, it was liberating. In a regular thriller, everything has to fit, to make sense, but in writing Whistle, if I wanted to do something a bit out there I could just do it and not have to explain myself.
How much of a departure is it from thrillers like the Falls or the Chase novels?
As previously stated, the real departure is the supernatural element. And there are scenes in Whistle that are darker and more graphic than in my other books, especially the two Chase books, which were aimed at a younger audience. I want Whistle to do for toy trains what Chucky did for dolls.
What are some of the bigger themes you wanted to explore in the book, and why?
I don’t want to sound all pretentious, that I was aiming for some larger truths here. I wanted to entertain. But grief and how to deal with it figures largely in Whistle, as does the sense of balance in the universe, in that without tragedy, can we really appreciate the joys in life?
Is it a strange time to be a Canadian author setting novels in the US? Tell us a little about how you view the situation.
When I started writing thrillers, I could not get a Canadian publisher, but Bantam in New York was quite happy to take me on. So I set my novels in the US. It was kind of a case of “you dance with the one what brung ya.” But moving forward, given what has happened south of the Canadian border politically, it’s my intention to set my books where I live. As an aside, Hollywood is going to have a hard time producing thrillers that present the US as the world’s defender when the country’s president doesn’t give a damn about any other country, or even his own. Just himself.
Who are some of the crime authors that have influenced you, and who are some of the horror authors that have influenced you, and what are you reading at the moment.
Right now I am reading King Sorrow, the latest Joe Hill novel that will be released in the fall, and it’s epic. In my teens and 30s, no writer influenced me more than Ross Macdonald, author of the Lew Archer detective novels. The authors I read these days don’t influence me so much, but they fill me with admiration. Writers ranging from Stephen King to Ann Patchett to Colm Toibin to James Lee Burke. I read people I think are way better at this than I am, which provides me plenty of choice.
What’s next for Linwood Barclay and Annie?
The next book will be more in line with what people have come to expect from me. Whether I do more books like Whistle will be determined by how the book is received. But I’d like to do more books like it.
From Never Saw it Coming in 2013 to I Will Ruin You in 2024, check out the Linwood Barclay books we’ve reviewed on Crime Fiction Lover. You can order a copy of Whistle using the Amazon buttons below.
