My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Okay, so here’s the deal. If we were only rating the story, I give it 4 stars. But if we’re rating the audiobook, it definitely gets all 5! Read by Hannah Curtis, Nicholas Guy Smith, Mandy Williams, Jayne Entwistle, and Steve West (yes, you’re reading that right… there are five different narrators), the constant changing of character voices with each chapter peaked my interest from the very beginning. And never ended. Let’s just say, they were all superb, but Hannah Curtis as The Widow knocked it out of the park.
When little Bella Elliott goes missing while playing in her yard, the questions start. Who took her? Where did she go? Why? First the detectives come. Then the reporters. And Jean Taylor (aka The Widow) finds that her husband may not be the man she thought he was.
The timeline of events bounces from past to present as the story goes on, first providing the evolution of the relationship between Jean and her husband Glen, followed by the aftermath of Bella’s disappearance. Beautifully written, and tastefully done given the underlying content of the story, Fiona Barton once again produced a literary wonder. If you haven’t already, read this book. And then go read Barton’s other novel, The Child.
Would highly recommend for lovers of Girl on the Train, Gone Girl, The Woman in the Window, or any other psychological thriller with a female lead.
Disclaimer (not really a spoiler): While not graphic in nature, there is reference to sexual acts with children and child pornography throughout the course of the book.
