The Widow

Fiona Barton

Feb 2016 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“A twisted psychological thriller you’ll have trouble putting down.”—People

“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

Following the twists and turns of an unimaginable crime, The Widow is an electrifying debut thriller that will take you into the dark spaces that exist between a husband and a wife.

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 her husband is dead, and 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...

An NPR Best Book of the Year
One of The Wall Street Journal’s 5 “Killer Books” of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

Includes a Readers Guide and an excerpt of Fiona Barton’s The Child. 

Ratings and reviews

The Widow by Fiona Barton is supposed to be a suspense/mystery novel but it does not succeed. The book starts out in June of 2010. Jean Taylor’s husband was hit by a bus. Jean is sorry to lose her husband, but the scandal before his death was overwhelming. Glen Taylor was accused of kidnapping and killing a little girl (Bella Elliott). The police (especially Detective Inspector Bob Sparkes) could not prove that Glen committed the crime and now they may never find the out the truth. Kate Waters is a reporter with the Daily Post. She wants to get Jean’s story for their newspaper. Kate gets through the door and convinces Jean to sell her story to the Daily Post. We get to find out what Jean actually knew about Glen’s activities (the book then goes back to 2006). Did Glen kidnap and murder Bella Elliott? Can Jean lead the police to the body to give closure to Bella’s mother, Dawn? The Widow is a slow moving book. It reminded me of oxen pulling a covered wagon across the open prairie (a long, slow journey). The writing itself is okay, but I found it lacking. The book is very dull with no action and a lousy ending. The first 17% of the book is just about Jean and her life with Glen. There is no action or mention of Glen’s crimes. The book goes back and forth from the present to the past. We get to see how Glen and Jean met, their life, etc. We also find out about Bella and her mother, Dawn. The police investigation into the crime. There is no suspense (not a page-turner). The book does not hold your attention. I give The Widow 1.5 out of 5 stars. The basic concept (the crime) is interesting, but the writer did not do a good job developing it. I received a complimentary copy of The Widow from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

HORRIBLE BOOK. Title misleading. It’s all about a pedifile who looks at child porn and stole a kid. No story there, please stop writing books. Threw the book right into the trash. Do not waste your time buying this book.

The Widow is a well-written, interesting novel. Gone Girl it is not, however. There are hints throughout that the 'wife' has a big secret. Don't want to be a spoiler so all I will say is that this was a good book that didn't live up to expectations.

About the author

Fiona Barton, the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow, The Child, and The Suspect, trains and works with journalists all over the world. 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.