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The Widow is a book that focuses on Jean, the wife of a man who is accused of being a pedophile, and murdering a little girl as well as giving us the viewpoint of other people involved including her husband Glen, the detective trying to solve the case, and the reporter who first interviews Bella's mum. Jean wants nothing more than to believe in Glen's innocence, but has to deal with the unpleasant truth that even if he is being honest and did not kidnap little Bella, he is a porn addict who has been cheating on her with women online - women who he fantasizes are little girls. But it's just fantasy, he insists - no one is getting hurt. Is that the truth? Or did his addiction go too far and step into reality? A little girl is missing, but are the police fixated on the right person or not?
We often hear the phrase in the news from people "He seemed like such a normal person", and I've often wondered how do the family of that person feel? Did they always know or are they just as shocked? How does it feel to know someone you loved and spent your life with, is hiding such depraved thoughts and actions? Definitely an interesting question, and Jean tells her story of why she married Glen and who she thought he was - and how finding out the truth changed her.
I thought that the main character Jean was hard to empathise with, as she is portrayed as being quite a weak person. There is no real mystery or thrill since all the information is presented, and despite waiting anxiously for some crazy twist or horrible revelation, it never really came so I felt a little bit disappointed by the time I finished it. The police work was lackluster and I would hope that the British police would make less mistakes in a real child kidnapping, but I felt the character of Kate, the journalist, added an interesting depth to the story and of the characters she was definitely the strongest voice for me. She alternated between being the reporter who actually forged relationships and cared about people, and the woman who would do nothing to stop at getting a story. I ended up caring more about who the real Kate was, than Jean and Glen.
I saw it being compared to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, and as an "electrifying thriller", but unfortunately, although an interesting and well written psychological piece, I did not find it particularly gripping or thrilling. Overall three stars from me - I think it was a debut novel with potential, but in my thrillers I like to be kept guessing and wondering what will happen next and I like to find something I can relate to, something I connect to that makes me think "This could be real - that could be my friend, my mum, my sister, it could be me." I just couldn't relate to Jean, so I found it hard to care what she was feeling.
We often hear the phrase in the news from people "He seemed like such a normal person", and I've often wondered how do the family of that person feel? Did they always know or are they just as shocked? How does it feel to know someone you loved and spent your life with, is hiding such depraved thoughts and actions? Definitely an interesting question, and Jean tells her story of why she married Glen and who she thought he was - and how finding out the truth changed her.
I thought that the main character Jean was hard to empathise with, as she is portrayed as being quite a weak person. There is no real mystery or thrill since all the information is presented, and despite waiting anxiously for some crazy twist or horrible revelation, it never really came so I felt a little bit disappointed by the time I finished it. The police work was lackluster and I would hope that the British police would make less mistakes in a real child kidnapping, but I felt the character of Kate, the journalist, added an interesting depth to the story and of the characters she was definitely the strongest voice for me. She alternated between being the reporter who actually forged relationships and cared about people, and the woman who would do nothing to stop at getting a story. I ended up caring more about who the real Kate was, than Jean and Glen.
I saw it being compared to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, and as an "electrifying thriller", but unfortunately, although an interesting and well written psychological piece, I did not find it particularly gripping or thrilling. Overall three stars from me - I think it was a debut novel with potential, but in my thrillers I like to be kept guessing and wondering what will happen next and I like to find something I can relate to, something I connect to that makes me think "This could be real - that could be my friend, my mum, my sister, it could be me." I just couldn't relate to Jean, so I found it hard to care what she was feeling.