mitabird
Written on Mar 12, 2016
THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, AND RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK
'If you liked GONE GIRL and THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, you might want to pick up THE WIDOW by Fiona Barton. Engrossing. Suspenseful' Stephen King
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.
***** 'The book really got under my skin and had me turning pages at a rate of knots, unable to tear myself away.'
***** 'An utterly addictive read that I couldn't put down.'
***** 'Clever twists and turns . . . kept me on my toes until the end.'
Read Fiona Barton's other tantalising thrillers: THE CHILD, THE SUSPECT and LOCAL GONE MISSING - out now.
- ISBN10 0552172367
- ISBN13 9780552172363
- Publish Date 1 September 2016 (first published 14 January 2016)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd
- Imprint Corgi Books
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 416
- Language English
Reviews
Leah
Written on Feb 14, 2016
Now that that's out of the way (I feel SO much better) I can talk about the book itself. The Widow is very much an intriguing read, because I've never read a novel before like this one, and you do wonder when it comes to people like the Taylors', what kind of wife or woman can stand by someone who's accused of something so horrific? A wishy-washy woman with no backbone is the answer, and so we have Jean Taylor. Not to be rude but when the book started, and she was talking about her simple life and simple job, I thought maybe there was something wrong with her? But no, she just lacks backbone, and while I enjoyed her narrative, I didn't like her. I genuinely expected some kind of mouth-dropping twist at the end, that Jean was not all she seemed, and I was kind of disappointed she was the same the whole novel.
The real story for me was that of Kate, the journalist trying to get to the bottom of Jean's story, and of Bob Sparkes, the detective trying to find Bella. You really root for both of them, because you really want to know what happened to Bella. Were they wrong about Glen? Right? Where did Bella go? A child doesn't just vanish into thin air. And Bob's dedication was to be applauded, because you want an officer to go as far as he can go to try and get answers. And I liked Kate, too. Her dogged determination was to be admired, and she seemed far nicer than your typical journalist.
I've long said that authors who write psychological thrillers are crap at endings. They very rarely get it right, and usually leave you with a ton of questions and this was the case again. We got some sort of resolution, but I kinda wanted to know what happened after that. And I still thought there was something amiss about Jean Taylor. That she wasn't as sweet and innocent as she made herself out to be, and I just waited and waited for the gob-smacking twist that was never to appear. That's another problem with these books, you expect a twist and end up disappointed when there's a relatively mundane ending. For all that I've said I liked this book, it kept me reading, I just thought Jean Taylor was the most unreliable narrator I've ever met and I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her.
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Feb 2, 2016
Through the voice of widow Jean Taylor, Bob Sparkes the lead detective and those of journalist, Kate Waters and the mother of the victim we gain firsthand knowledge as Barton unraveled the mysteries surrounding the case. The synopsis does not mention the crime, so I am not going to divulge that in my review. I will say that Glenn Taylor is suspected of a crime that most will find horrifying, unthinkable and particularly heinous.
Whenever a particularly gruesome new story makes the headlines, you often wonder if the parents, wife or siblings knew about the violent acts, their loved one was committing. We think the same thing when a spouse is cheating. How could the wife/husband not know? I think in retrospect there are signs. Barton does a suspenseful job of showing the many sides of Jean Taylor. She made her decisions, actions and struggles seem authentic.
The timeline goes back and forth between the present and the time of the crime, both through the character’s retelling and the detective’s case. While the crime was horrific, Barton spared readers the gruesome details and for once, I was beyond grateful. We skirted the darkness and I still shuttered.
Barton allows readers to understand Jean Taylor, her marriage and her reaction as events unfolded. We saw the subtle manipulation, the cracks that began to appear and began to understand Jean’s psyche. It was a brilliant case study.
I really wish this was not marketed as the next Girl on the Train or Gone Girl . The Widow is not a twisted/big-reveal type thriller. Jean does surprise us, but I think marketing did Barton a disservice. The Widow falls more in the mystery genre. It is very well written but I fear people will be expecting something different. I became caught up in the case and its characters and wasn't disappointed but I did go into it with the wrong expectations. I cried for the victim and cringed as we went through the court trial and learned more about Glenn. Barton brought Bob Sparkes to life and I felt the weight this case had on him and his family. I felt for the victim’s mother even as I mentally scolded her. Surprisingly while I didn't care for Jean, I did sympathize with her and can understand why the mind turns a blind eye, even if subconsciously we know the dark answer. Some knowledge is too great to bear.
Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer