The Widow.

 

The Widow opens with the death of Glenn Taylor and then flashes back to a child abduction that happened four years earlier.
The period between the two events is retold in short chapters voiced mainly by three characters: Jean Taylor, the dead man's widow; Bob Sparks, a police detective obsessed with discovering what happened to the missing child; and Kate, a tabloid journalist desperate for an exclusive story.

 As the story progresses we find out that Glenn Taylor was the chief suspect in the abduction case and the book slowly reveals the answers to the following questions -  Did he do it? Can it be proved? And exactly how much does Jean know?

I enjoyed this debut novel by ex journalist Fiona Barton very much. The story was intriguing - it isn't a true mystery and there are no twists and turns to the plot but the way that the author reveals what happened bit by bit throughout the tale is expertly done and makes for a gripping read. 

The short chapters make this a quick and engrossing read  and there are lots of little everyday details in it that make all the scenarios highly believable.
The characters are very well developed, Glenn (who is a nasty piece of work) especially so. Both the chapters and characters are well balanced and all compliment each other. The

writing is excellent.

 'The Widow' was a clever and accomplished book and I enjoyed the way that it was presented and written.  I hope that there are more works by Fiona Barton in the pipeline - for once this is a book that I think deserves the hype it has received.

Recommended.