The Widow – Fiona Barton

Psychological Thriller
5*s

Having been given a tantalising first chapter of this book back in June I knew that this book was going to be publicised heavily, what you can never tell though is whether I would agree with the effort. I’ll cut to the chase, I love well-written, original psychological thrillers that are so gripping you don’t want to put them down – this was one such book, real people simply faded into the background as I became immersed in the life of Jean Taylor.

Jean Taylor is the widow of the title and we all want to know, what she knows. It is a quest by the police for the truth, and as for the journalist, she would have us believe that she wants the truth too but we know that just as importantly she needs the scoop, the headline and the exclusive interview. I defy anyone who like me and evidently the author who hasn’t seen the women that stand by their man, tight-lipped, to wonder how much they knew of their husband’s alleged crime, particularly one that is horrific. How do they manage when there isn’t a part to play and it is just the two of them on an evening with only the television for distraction? What do they say to each other? Worse still how do they justify staying to themselves if they have the merest hint of suspicion.

I don’t want to say too much about Glen Taylor’s alleged crime but it isn’t one of the nicer ones, the newspapers label him a monster, suffice to say it involves dodgy internet sites among other unsavoury activities. A crime so awful that it should make any sane woman instantly leave her husband, unless of course she is sure of his innocence. The crux of the book is the investigation from multiple perspectives across four years.

Each chapter is headed up with the date from 2006 to 2010 along with the person narrating; The Widow, The Detective and The Reporter. Between them and in between the cracks versions of the truth leak out but the reader is always aware that each of these protagonists has their own agenda and rarely is there an awful lot of overlap.

Fiona Barton has been a journalist and naturally because of that, the journalist’s role in a big crime story, felt far more authentic than in most crime fiction. Our reporter is a sassy woman, one who has a heart as well as being highly ambitious. I’m not sure I could go as far as I was being led into believing that she was there for the greater good but neither was she a pantomime figure. The Detective and just as importantly the investigation felt totally authentic, I often forgot while reading this book that it was actually fiction as the police team chased theories, spent hours viewing CCTV and questioning suspects and witnesses that blew these theories out of the window. Jean Taylor was just like a woman I know, probably not as stupid as she’d been led to believe but neither was she the brightest match in the box, she cuts a deferential figure, apart from when it isn’t in her best interest and she can be stubbornly quite at worst and evasive at best.

Reading this book was like watching the events play out in real life, except fortunately I didn’t have to wait for four years to get the conclusion. Rarely have I felt that I am actually witnessing events in a crime novel and certainly not as powerfully as I did whilst reading The Widow. In fact This is going to be the book in 2016 that I push on all my book-loving friends – an exceptional read, one that is clever without going in for big show-off moments but won me over through consistent, engaging and thoughtful writing. I have a feeling Jean Taylor will haunt me for some time to come.

I received my copy of The Widow from the publishers Bantam Press and is being published today, 14 January 2016.

This Week in Books (January 6)

Hosted by Lypsyy Lost & Found my Wednesday post gives you a taste of what I am reading this week. A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words

So I’ve finally started one of my most anticipated reads for early 2016; Coffin Road by Peter May, with a story set in The Outer Hebrides.

Blurb

A man is washed up on a deserted beach on the Hebridean Isle of Harris, barely alive and borderline hypothermic. He has no idea who he is or how he got there. The only clue to his identity is a map tracing a track called the Coffin Road. He does not know where it will lead him, but filled with dread, fear and uncertainty he knows he must follow it.
A detective crosses rough Atlantic seas to a remote rock twenty miles west of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With a sense of foreboding he steps ashore where three lighthouse keepers disappeared more than a century before – a mystery that remains unsolved. But now there is a new mystery – a man found bludgeoned to death on that same rock, and DS George Gunn must find out who did it and why.
A teenage girl lies in her Edinburgh bedroom, desperate to discover the truth about her father’s death. Two years after the discovery of the pioneering scientist’s suicide note, Karen Fleming still cannot accept that he would wilfully abandon her. And the more she discovers about the nature of his research, the more she suspects that others were behind his disappearance.
Coffin Road follows three perilous journeys towards one shocking truth – and the realisation that ignorance can kill us. Amazon

I’ve just finished Beside Myself by Ann Morgan which wasn’t the book I was expecting, but more of that when I review it… soon.

Read the synopsis and a taster in yesterday’s post.

Next up I have a copy of The Widow by Fiona Barton which I received the first chapter of when I went to Crime in the Court back in June – since then I managed to get a full copy which will be published on 14 January 2016. I’m really looking forward to this is the premise is one that fascinates me in real life…

Blurb

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. Amazon

What have you found to read this week?

Stacking the Shelves (September 19)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you’re adding to your shelves, be it buying or borrowing. From ‘real’ books you’ve purchased, a book you’ve borrowed, a book you’ve been given or an e-book they can all be shared!

This week I have a few additions to the good old TBR starting with by The Widow by Fiona Barton which is due to be published on 14 January 2016. My copy was sent to me by the lovely Ben Willis of Transworld. I received the first chapter of this psychological thriller at Crime in the Courts back in June and was delighted to receive a proof copy as I desperately wanted to read the rest of the story!

Blurb

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. Goodreads

From NetGalley I am thrilled to have a copy of Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths which is the second outing for DI Edgar Stephens and Max Mephisto after their strong debut in The Zig Zag Girl

Blurb

Brighton, winter 1951.
Pantomime season is in full swing on the pier with Max Mephisto starring in Aladdin, but Max’s headlines have been stolen by the disappearance ­­of two local children. When they are found dead in the snow, surrounded by sweets, it’s not long before the press nickname them ‘Hansel and Gretel’.
DI Edgar Stephens has plenty of leads to investigate. The girl, Annie, used to write gruesome plays based on the Grimms’ fairy tales. Does the clue lie in Annie’s unfinished – and rather disturbing – last script? Or might it lie with the eccentric theatricals who have assembled for the pantomime?
Once again Edgar enlists Max’s help in penetrating the shadowy theatrical world that seems to hold the key. But is this all just classic misdirection? NetGalley

Lastly is a purchase of The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty, an author who hasn’t let me down yet.

Blurb

Ellen O’Farrell is a professional hypnotherapist who works out of the eccentric beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. She’s stoic about it, but at this point, Ellen wouldn’t mind a lasting one. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back. Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk.
Braced for the worst, Ellen is pleasantly surprised. It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.
Ellen doesn’t know it, but she already has. Goodreads

So there are my finds – What have you found to read this week?