Book Review
Find You First by Linwood Barclay
About Find You First:
(From the publisher) Tech millionaire Miles Cookson has more money than he can ever spend, and everything he could dream of—except time. He has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and there is a fifty percent chance that it can be passed on to the next generation. For Miles, this means taking a long hard look at his past . . .
Two decades ago, a young, struggling Miles was a sperm donor. Somewhere out there, he has kids—nine of them. And they might be about to inherit both the good and the bad from him—maybe his fortune, or maybe something much worse.
As Miles begins to search for the children he’s never known, aspiring film documentarian Chloe Swanson embarks on a quest to find her biological father, armed with the knowledge that twenty-two years ago, her mother used a New York sperm bank to become pregnant.
When Miles and Chloe eventually connect, their excitement at finding each other is overshadowed by a series of mysterious and terrifying events. One by one, Miles’s other potential heirs are vanishing—every trace of them wiped, like they never existed at all.
Who is the vicious killer—another heir methodically erasing rivals? Or is something even more sinister going on?
It’s a deadly race against time . . .
Post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you to the publisher, Harper Collins Canada, for this advance read in exchange for an honest review.
Reader’s Thoughts
The premise of this book had me hooked from the start! Nine potential heirs, all being picked off one by one? Who has motive? Who has opportunity?
I thought this was a fun spin on the usual inheritance-themed mysteries. The potential heirs are dying off and tech millionaire, Miles, is trying to track them down first. Along the way, he meets one of his nine DNA matches, Chloe. Her mother used a sperm bank to become pregnant and she’s been searching for her biological family members.
The interaction between Miles and Chloe is really strong. There’s sass and humor and the awkwardness of trying to get to know a family member you’ve never met before. Chloe’s dialogue in particular was entertaining and her character was fun. While I thought that the strength of the friendship between Miles and Chloe developed overly quickly, it did make sense given the plot.
The story itself felt easy to read and had me quickly turning pages to uncover the truth. While there is quite a bit of bouncing back and forth between multiple characters, I did enjoy how it all tied together at the end. Fast-paced and action packed, this was a very thrilling read and I had a difficult time putting it down!
(TW: In terms of a clean read, there is some profanity within the book. There is also adult themes and discussions.)