Ordinarily I’m not a reader of psychological thrillers. Historical fiction is more my thing. And I had already started reading another book when I received an email from my local library that my copy of The Widow by Fiona Barton was ready to download. I was anxious to dive into The Widow so I put the other book aside. Two days later I was finished. I really enjoyed Barton’s style of writing and this book was a page-turner for sure.
I have mixed feelings about the book though, which opened with the widow’s husband getting killed by a passing bus in a London suburb. Right up front it’s clear she is relieved to be rid of him and what she describes as “his nonsense”. The title’s namesake Jean is a naïve young hairdresser when she meets and marries tall, dark and handsome Glen Taylor. She can’t believe her good fortune. Soon, she becomes slightly uncomfortable with his micromanagement of their marriage and Jean finds it easier to assume the role of Stepford wife to keep their perfect union rolling along. Then, a toddler is kidnapped and her perfect husband is one of the main suspects. She’s shocked and disappointed to discover he’s an on-line troll with a preference for kiddie porn, but true to form, she plays the role of supportive wife throughout a lengthy investigation, judgement and incarceration.
Jean Taylor’s life is no longer what she thought and she finds herself and her husband ostracized by friends and neighbours. The character of the investigating police detective is a bit cliché in his dogged determination to prosecute the offender but we soldier on expecting an eleventh-hour surprise revelation, that never happens. Barton presents the story from three perspectives, beginning as Jean written in the first person, from the point of view of the detective, and through a female journalist who tries to ingratiate herself to Jean in order to get to the truth. It was a fun summer read for a couple of days and kept me away from wasting money at the mall. That’s good enough for me.
To order a copy of The Widow from Amazon.com, click here.
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Lynda I read this book some months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. A fast read that kept me intrigued.
I kept hoping that for a surprise about the real murderer but it didn’t happen. I’m reading Alias Grace (finally) now. A.nother story where the ending is evident at the beginning but a good read.