Fabulous Fiction Firsts #588 “Women can accept the fact that a man is a rotter, a swindler, a drug taker, a confirmed liar, and a general swine, without batting an eyelash, and without its impairing their affection..." ~ Agatha Christie

Sun, 03/20/2016 - 10:07pm by muffy

It really was NOT my intention to revisit the topic of child abduction again so soon, but The Widow * by award-winning journalist Fiona Barton is NOT to be missed.

A week after her husband Glen is killed by a bus, Jean Taylor is again hounded by the press. This is nothing new. Ever since the abduction of 2-year-old Bella Elliott from her Southampton backyard five years ago, Glen has been the prime suspect. Though the police could not make the charges stick, public opinion has no trouble making him to be a monster. Jean remains the faithful, steadfast wife and an unwavering supporter of Glen's innocence, even after evidence of child pornography turned up on Glen's computers, both at home and at the bank where he was let go.

Told from the alternating perspectives of the widow, journalist Kate Waters, the lead police investigator Bob Sparkes, and Bella's single mother Dawn who still harbors hope that her daughter is still alive, the suspense builds and the intrigue intensifies. The burning question remains - how much does Jean know about Glen’s involvement, and whether she plays a part in Bella's disappearance. Readers who resist skimming to the end will be rewarded with a jaw-dropping conclusion.

Read-alike: Just Fall, a first novel by screenwriter/producer Nina Sadowsky, that begs the question - how can you find out that the person you love is a killer…and continue to love him anyway? "Guilt, sex, and double-crosses collide to produce a blazing inferno of heat and betrayal on a tropical island paradise."

* = starred review