Sandra Montrose, a recent widow and resident of Garrett Island, an isolated community surrounded by water with only a ferry as the means to arrive and depart unless you owned a yacht, was preparing for the biggest day of her career. An executive in public relations, the residents of the island had all been "given" an Arrivals vehicle while surrendering their own to the mainland, and the day had arrived when the CEO of the Arrivals company would be on the island to spruik the benefits of a completely autonomous vehicle which would take its passengers wherever they wished to go. Programmed to obey their owner, the cars were deemed 100% safe. Sandra was nervous about the day, never realising what was about to happen.

Inspired by his decades-long love of cars, internationally bestselling author Linwood Barclay envisions a world in which automotive technology outpaces our wildest dreams—and our darkest nightmares— in a gripping new novel of action and suspenseAfter spending his formative years helping run a cottage resort and trailer park after his father died when he was 16, Barclay got his first newspaper job at the Peterborough Examiner, a small Ontario daily. In 1981, he joined the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper. If you think you knew Linwood Barclay before, I suggest you strap in for the ride of your life. His latest release, LOOK BOTH WAYS, is unlike anything he has previously written. LOOK BOTH WAYS was exactly what I need to recharge my reading mojo. It’s gripping, exciting, fast paced, full of action and has a couple of super little twists within the storyline. It’s an easy read which kept me completely entertained throughout and I would definitely recommend it. Barclay’s latest offers characters that are appealing or despicable as required: narcissistic CEOs; a gutsy widow; a clever and resourceful twelve-year-old boy; a reclusive neighbour with a handy secret; and one who is not as nice or sweet as first appears. He gives them entertaining dialogue, and also manages to feature a 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a coat of meat, quite a lot of violence with copious ensuing blood spilt, and some gruesome deaths.

If "Jurassic Park but with autonomous automobiles" sounds like a very cool concept, that's because it is' FINANCIAL TIMES Is this all just a tragic accident, a technological malfunction with deadly consequences? Or were the vehicles programmed to act this way in a cruel act of corporate sabotage? Or could it be that the Arrivals have a mind of their own?

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THE AUTHOR: After spending his formative years helping run a cottage resort and trailer park after his father died when he was 16, Barclay got his first newspaper job at the Peterborough Examiner, a small Ontario daily. In 1981, he joined the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper. The community of Garrett Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, have agreed to a one month trial of these new, 100% safe, electric cars. They have no steering wheels and they do everything for you. The residents have given up their regular cars for the trail period, and those cars are now off the island. The media are descending on the island for a media event, being organised by islander, Sandra Montrose. She is a mother to 2 teenagers and was widowed when her husband was killed in a car accident. The pressure is on, Arrival, the car manufacturers have put their faith and money onto her expertise. It must go right. I enjoyed this book and found myself laughing quite a bit even though some of the events that made me laugh were actually kind of gruesome. Even before I read John Marrs' The Passenger, I was very leery of self-driving vehicles and after reading this book my gut feeling has been solidified. As I mentioned in an update, there was recently a news item about driverless cars causing traffic jams in San Francisco where a similar experiment is underway so, although exaggerated, the occurrences in Look Both Ways are not out of the question. Good characters, an excellent choice of setting and an interesting premise. Very enjoyable. I hope they make a movie based on this book. He held such positions as assistant city editor, chief copy editor, news editor, and Life section editor, before becoming the paper’s humour columnist in 1993. He was one of the paper’s most popular columnists before retiring from the position in 2008 to work exclusively on books.

LOOK BOTH WAYS requires nerves of steel and a strong stomach to survive --- sort of like the literary equivalent of a high-tech rollercoaster ride. Just remember to hold on for your life and keep your arms and legs in the vehicle at all times!" A car company persuades the residents of an island to surrender all their cars for new self- driving cars. For a while, it’s fun for everyone. Until one day the cars stop obeying voice commands — and turn aggressive. Everyone on Garrett Island has been given battery powered self-drive cars. For one month these voice activated cars will do all the driving. For one month there will be no road deaths and no accidents as the cars communicate and monitor everything around them. Sounds like heaven, what could possibly go wrong? They’ve swapped their usual cars for brand spanking new Arrivals (named after the company that manufactured them) – autonomous, electronic, affordable, with a state-of-the-art onboard computer system, where comfort, safety, and efficiency are paramount.

Linwood Barclay

What could go wrong? As the demonstrations begin, the cars start to have a mind of their own. Soon it becomes apparent that the cars are out to take out the humans. There is absolute carnage, blood and bodies everywhere. What or who caused it and how are they going to stop it? That is where the fun and the dram begins.

They think as one. They act as one. They kill as one. ‘ Look Both Ways is devilishly good – exciting, thrilling – Barclay at his best!’ SHARI LAPENA, No. 1 internationally bestselling author Look Both Ways is a novel by best-selling Canadian author, Linwood Barclay. Arrival Inc. has taken the innovative and expensive step of swapping all the vehicles on Garrett Island, Massachusetts, with their self-drive cars for a one-month trial. This also necessitates paying disgruntled car dealerships, gas stations and the police to cover their projected income lost. It’s Press Day, and the media have swarmed to the Island for a Press Conference to showcase the Arrivals various benefits and features.

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. The choice of setting was brilliant - an Island accessible only by air and ferry, but the cars have them covered! Barclay's thought processes are scary. Not a man I would like to get on the wrong side of! Garrett Island, located off the coast of Massachusetts, is hosting an expo involving a fleet of driverless vehicles made by Arrival Inc. Neither the residents of this small island nor the varied organizers are aware of the presence of a man in a cheap disguise who is actually a direct competitor of the company. The residents of Garrett Island are part of a ground-breaking experiment. For a month, their cars will be replaced by self-driving vehicles - voice-controlled, comfortable and safe.