#BlogTour The Suspect by Fiona Barton #BookReview #RandomThingsTours #TheSuspect

THE NEW MUST-READ STANDALONE CRIME THRILLER

FROM THE AUTHOR OF SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERS AND

RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICKS THE WIDOW AND THE CHILD

A huge delight to be taking part in the Blog Tour for this fabulous book – my thanks to the author, publisher and Anne of Random Things Tours for allowing me to be part of it all!

About the book

When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing on their gap year in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft and frantic with worry.

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, who she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling. This time it’s personal.

And 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…

Published by Bantam Press

Purchase Links

hive.co.uk  £10.25

Goldsboro Books – signed first edition £12.99

waterstones £12.99

About the Author

Fiona Barton’s debut, The Widow, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been published in thirty-five countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, was a Sunday Times bestseller. Born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives in south-west France.

Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards.

While working as a journalist, Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and she developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. Fiona interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery, and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most . . .

MY REVIEW

This is the 3rd book in the Kate Waters series, but can read as a standalone – although I highly recommend reading The Widow and The Child as they’re both amazing! – and once more the author has created a storyline that hooks you in immediately and makes it very difficult to stop reading once you’re in! Many a time I thought I had this book figured out and then boom, all change!  I can’t fail to enjoy a book that has a few unexpected twists and turns to thrill and shock you!

This is a story where the storyline is explore from a number of angles which really helps  immerse  you into the plot.  When 2 teenagers go missing in Thailand their parents are frantic so you totally understand their reactions and desperation to find out just what has happened to their children.  When Kate hears of the story she is looking at it firstly as a journalist, but also from her point of view as a parent.  She hasn’t heard from her eldest son in a couple of years so it brings back thoughts of him and how their relationship has changed and how she’d love to hear from him just to know what he’s up to.

And then there is the point of view of the detectives in charge of trying to find out what has happened.  The use of social media by the parents is a help and hindrance to their investigations and it really shows how the modern world can affect the way a crime is investigated.

There is also the intriguing aspect of the story from the emails sent from one of the girls back home to another friend.  Despite her social media posts of how wonderful a time they seem to be having, the truth in the emails seems a long way from that and was a fascinating aspect to the story.  

I was completely absorbed by this story from start to finish.  The pace of the story just never let up and I think all the different viewpoints really added that extra edge to the book and made it such a gripping read! Loved it!!

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#bookreview The Widow by Fiona Barton

About the book

‘The ultimate psychological thriller’ Lisa Gardner

We’ve all seen him: the man – the monster – staring from the front page of every newspaper, accused of a terrible crime.

But what about her: the woman who grips his arm on the courtroom stairs – the wife who stands by him?

Jean Taylor’s life was blissfully ordinary. Nice house, nice husband. Glen was all she’d ever wanted: her Prince Charming.

Until he became that man accused, that monster on the front page. Jean was married to a man everyone thought capable of unimaginable evil.

But now Glen is dead and she’s alone for the first time, free to tell her story on her own terms.

Jean Taylor is going to tell us what she knows.

Du Maurier’s REBECCA meets WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN and GONE GIRL in this intimate tale of a terrible crime.

‘My book of the year so far’ C. L. Taylor, author of THE LIE

Purchase Links

hive.co.uk

waterstones

book depository

MY REVIEW

This book has been my obsession for the past few days, as I listened to the audio version via Borrowbox. And it was so wonderful to hear it all brought to life so stunningly by the narrator – and I loved the bonus interview at the end too between her and the author which added so much more to the reading experience!

This is the story of Jean Taylor, who has led a very quiet life until her husband Glen is accused of kidnapping a young child. Surely not her Glen? She stands by him as the press and police close the net convinced they have found their man. We then hear the story not only from Jean’s point of view, but also from the perspective of a journalist wanting the exclusive story and the detective leading the investigation to find the missing girl. The timeline is from now when Jean is widowed and also goes back to the past when the media circus was camped outside her door from dawn to dusk.

I had so many questions in my head as I read through this – how does somebody stand by someone accused of such horrific things? What lengths do the press go to in getting that exclusive aspect of a story? And how does a police force build up a case where there is very little evidence or witnesses? And the author has done an amazing job of exploring all these avenues throughout as she follows the story of the missing 2 year old. You are left with so many conflicting emotions as the story goes through a number of revelations that leave you shocked, upset, angry and most of all intrigued as to the outcome of the story.

The journalist and the detectives sides to the story really added an extra dimension to the book – it was fascinating to see how the case consumed the detective and how he wouldn’t settle until he’d looked at all aspects to those under suspicion. And with the journalist it was interesting to see how their minds worked in relation to getting different sides to a story.

I found this to be such a gripping and fascinating story that I was sad when it came to an end. Looking forward to reading more from this author very soon!!

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