Reviews

The Widow by Fiona Barton

kayleem93's review against another edition

4.0

Hooked from the beginning, rare these days to get a book that manages to stay interesting from start to finish.

nbonz4's review

4.0

You can tell by the way she speaks what kind of woman Jean Taylor is. You can also glean what kind of person her husband is. How she always talks about "what Glen said" as if it's her own thought, her decision. She doesn't seem to be a person in and of herself. Perhaps this is why we all want to know what she'll say now that Glen is gone. The detective looking for little Bella is the one most invested in this question. He knows Glen took her; he needs to prove it. As the story progresses the questions about Glen's wife multiply. Did she know what her husband was doing on October 2nd? Was she involved? Does she know where Bella is? If the reporters can keep her talking, if Detective Sparkes can stay on her trail, maybe Bella can be found.

An intriguing storyline, I enjoyed how the story unfolded. I would have been even more drawn in if Bella was more fully developed, personified more than being that missing girl. But I kept turning the pages as my curiosity grew, and was pleasantly surprised by the nuggets of information I was rewarded with as I neared the conclusion. A solid novel by Fiona Barton I would happily recommend to others.

jnordgren's review

2.0

I really wanted and expected to enjoy this book--and did up until the last quarter. Instead of a suspenseful, twisty-turny ending, there's a very slow, very obvious reveal. I can't decide: was this book meant to be a suspense but failed to deliver, well, much of anything after the build-up? Was it intended as a character study that fails to be insightful or interesting? I wish it hadn't been so disappointing.

mcearl12's review against another edition

4.0

Good page turner!

barbiegirl1993's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cborders3's review

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

abbyk89's review

1.0

This one was hard to even finish. The storyline was very disturbing, and I didn’t know that going in. Huge trigger warning for child abuse. On top of that, it was just an incredibly slow lead and ended up being very predictable and anticlimactic.

cbneary's review

3.0

meh

ianr2's review

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

maxwellbays's review

5.0

So good! Couldn't put it down - even while cooking, carried my Kindle with me.