Category Archives: Fiona Barton

Review: The Suspect by Fiona Barton

Title: The Suspect by Fiona Barton
Kate Waters Series Book Three
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 416 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The New York Times bestselling author of The Widow returns with a brand new novel of twisting psychological suspense about every parent’s worst nightmare…

When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft, and frantic with worry. What were the girls up to before they disappeared?

Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth—and this time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, whom she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling.

As the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think…

Review:

The Suspect by Fiona Barton is a suspenseful mystery about two missing girls in Thailand. This third outing in the Kate Waters series can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend the previous installments as well.

Reporter Kate Waters knows all too well how Alexandra “Alex” O’Connor’s and Rosie Shaw’s parents feel when their daughters fail to call when expected. Her oldest son, Jake, dropped out of university two years earlier to go to Thailand. His contact with his worried mum and father, Steve, is infrequent and they have no idea exactly where he is or what he is doing. So when Kate learns Alex’s and Rosie’s are missing, she sticks close to their parents, Lesley and Steve O’Connor and Jenny and her ex-husband Mike Shaw. The case quickly becomes entangled in bureaucracy and a lackadaisical investigation by Thai police.  Detective Inspector Bob Sparkes and Detective Sergeant Zara Salmond start their own inquiry in Britain but will they be able uncover the truth about what happened to Alex and Rosie?  And when the story takes Kate and her follow journalists to Thailand, will she finally locate her missing son?

As the truth about what happened to Alex and Rosie is slowly but surely pieced together, Kate finds herself on the sidelines of the news story.  Now on the other side of the story, she is reluctant to discuss her unexpected personal tie to the Alex and Rosie case. Kate is also very worried about Jake especially as the details about his inexplicable departure from university and his hurried trip to Thailand is revealed.  She also begins to get a clearer picture of what he has been doing in Thailand and Kate has good reason to worried about his future.

Through a series of Facebook posts and emails to a friend back home, Alex describes what she and Rosie have been doing in Thailand. Her plans for the trip have been quickly derailed by Rosie whose interest in Thailand does not include sightseeing or leaving their first stop. Eighteen years old and away from home for the first time, Alex is uncertain about what she should do. The situation is quickly hurtling to a crisis point that culminates in a shocking series of events.

The Suspect is an engrossing mystery with an intriguing storyline and an eclectic cast of characters.  The investigation into what happened to Alex and Rosie is interesting and full of unforeseen twists. In addition to trying to uncover the truth about what happened to the young women, DI Sparkes is dealing with a heart wrenching issue in his personal life. Kate is quite worried about Jake and it soon becomes apparent she will go to any lengths to protect her son. While the final revelation about what happened to Alex and Rosie is easy to predict, Fiona Barton brings the novel to a surprising conclusion. This latest addition to the Kate Waters series is sure to be a hit with old and new fans.

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Filed under Berkley, Contemporary, Fiona Barton, Kate Waters Series, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Suspect

Review: The Child by Fiona Barton

Title: The Child by Fiona Barton
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The author of the stunning New York Times bestseller The Widow returns with a brand-new novel of twisting psychological suspense.

As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?

As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss.

But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn—house by house—into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women—and torn between what she can and cannot tell…

Review:

The Child by Fiona Barton is an intriguing mystery about a newspaper reporter who is pursuing a story about the recent discovery of a baby’s skeleton at a construction site.

Newspaper reporter Kate Waters’ instincts are immediately piqued after reading a story about of the unearthing of baby’s skeletonized remains and she quickly begins looking into the case. At the same time, the newspaper story is quite upsetting to Emma Simmonds, an emotionally fragile wife of a university professor and Angela Irving, whose newborn daughter was kidnapped from a maternity ward in 1970.  Kate’s research leads her to Angela who has never given up hope she will one day find out what happened to baby Alice and she eagerly co-operates with both Kate and the police who trying to identify the remains. Emma, on the other hand, is immediately filled with dread as she scours the newspapers daily for new developments in the case. Kate is, of course, interested in breaking a big story but she also becomes emotionally involved in learning the truth after she interviews Angela.  Will Kate uncover the truth about the baby’s identity?

Kate’s newspaper is in the midst of another round of employee cuts so she is definitely feeling the pressure to break a huge story. She has been in the business long enough to have a decent list of police contacts who give her just enough information for her to begin her investigation.  Initially keeping quiet about the story she is researching, Kate is instrumental helping the police discover the identity of the baby’s remains. The case then takes an unexpected turn and Kate is hot on the trail of story that she knows is going to be huge.

Angela cannot help but hope the discovery of the baby’s skeleton will finally give her the answers she has been searching for about baby Alice’s disappearance.  Despite having her hopes raised and dashed a few times over the years, Angela is certain the remains are Alice’s.  If she is correct, will she find out the truth about what happened to her daughter? Or will she forever wonder who is responsible for kidnapping her baby?

Emma’s emotional troubles first surfaced when she was a teenager but her depression and anxiety have been much improved for quite some time. The newspaper article sends her on a downward spiral and she is very distracted as the story unfolds. It soon becomes obvious she is heavily burdened by a secret from her long ago past, but Emma finds it impossible to discuss what is haunting her. With every new revelation about the baby, Emma becomes even more fearful that the truth about what she has been hiding will be discovered.

The Child is initially somewhat slow paced as Fiona Barton introduces readers to the key players in the unfolding mystery. Kate tenaciously follows each and every lead she uncovers but she is having a very difficult time figuring out exactly how the disparate pieces of the puzzle fit together.  Angela is desperate for answers about what happened to her baby and she is a very sympathetic character. Emma is a little harder to read and the truth about her past takes a very long time to be revealed.  Astute readers will mostly likely figure out the connection between the various storylines fairly early, but this knowledge does not lessen the overall enjoyment of the novel. While there are very surprises left by the novel’s conclusion, there is one final revelation that is instrumental in tying up all of the loose ends.

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Filed under Berkley, Contemporary, Fiona Barton, Mystery, Rated B, Review, Suspense, The Child

Review: The Widow by Fiona Barton

Widow_JKT_front.inddTitle: The Widow by Fiona Barton
Publisher: NAL
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

For fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, an electrifying thriller that will take you into the dark spaces that exist between a husband and a wife.

When the police started asking questions, Jean Taylor turned into a different woman. One who enabled her and her husband to carry on, when more bad things began to happen…

But that woman’s husband died last week. And Jean doesn’t have to be her anymore.

There’s a lot Jean hasn’t said over the years about the crime her husband was suspected of committing. She was too busy being the perfect wife, standing by her man while living with the accusing glares and the anonymous harassment.

Now there’s no reason to stay quiet. There are people who want to hear her story. They want to know what it was like living with that man. She can tell them that there were secrets. There always are in a marriage.

The truth—that’s all anyone wants. But the one lesson Jean has learned in the last few years is that she can make people believe anything…

Review:

Fiona Barton’s debut novel, The Widow, is a cleverly written mystery that is quite intriguing. This fascinating novel is written from multiple points of view (the widow, the detective and the reporter)and weaves back and forth in time, all of which provides the reader with valuable insight about the characters and the unfolding story.

Just days after her husband Glen dies in a traffic accident, Jean Taylor at long last gives in to reporter Kate Waters’ request for an exclusive interview. Having lived under a cloud of suspicion when Glen was arrested for a horrific crime, she is finally ready to all, but what exactly that entails is anyone’s guess. Of course the most pressing question about Glen’s guilt or innocence is what everyone wants to know, but equally important is whether or not Jean had prior knowledge of the crime. Curious minds would also like the answer to another question that has crossed many people’s minds: did Glen act alone or was Jean his accomplice?

Jean and Glen married young and by all accounts, their marriage was happy. Jean is the type of meek and dutiful wife who is eclipsed by her husband’s overbearing personality and she learned early in her marriage to do whatever Glen says without asking any questions. Despite overwhelming evidence, Jean never doubts his innocence and she remains by his side throughout the investigation and his subsequent arrest. Of course, she knew that Glen was up to some kind of “nonsense” but she fully believes whatever he was up to behind closed doors has nothing to do with the crime is accused of committing.

DI Bob Sparkes is involved in the case from the very beginning and he quickly becomes obsessed with solving it. He is quite methodical and thorough but there is little evidence to go on but he never gives up looking for the one clue that will crack the case wide open. Sparkes’ keen eye picks up some inconsistencies in one of the witness statements and this is just the break he has been searching for. Slowly but surely he follows the new evidence which eventually leads him to Glen Taylor. However Glen’s alibi seems unshakeable and the case goes dormant again until new information surfaces. A vital clue ties Glen to the crime and Sparkes is able to make an arrest but an overzealous attempt to make their case against him ends in disaster. In the months leading up to Glen’s death, Sparkes again uncovers new evidence, but Glen dies before he can confront him.

Despite her profession, Kate is quite compassionate and she has a good working relationship with Sparkes. She has an immediate rapport with the victim’s closest relative and they remain friendly with one another over the years of the investigation. However, she does not let this quasi friendship interfere with her efforts to snag an interview with Glen or Jean and immediately following Glen’s death, Kate steamrolls Jean into agreeing to an interview. This take charge attitude appeals to the suddenly rudderless Jean and she finally agrees to answer Kate’s questions. Just as Kate is making progress finding out the truth about whether or not Glen is guilty of crime he was accused of committing, Jean asserts her long relinquished independence and returns home. The fragile trust between the two women is irretrievably broken, renewing fears that the truth about Glen may never be revealed.

The Widow is a well-written and brilliantly executed mystery with an unusual premise that makes it stand out from other novels in the genre. Fiona Barton’s portrayal of Jean as the meek, subservient wife and Glen as the overbearing, dominant husband makes a compelling argument for Jean’s devotion to Glen and her steadfast belief in his innocence even in the face as seemingly overwhelming evidence.  The suspense grows as the novel races towards a dramatic conclusion that will hopefully provide a definitive answer the burning questions about Glens’ involvement in such a horrific crime.

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Filed under Contemporary, Fiona Barton, Mystery, NAL, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Widow