THE WIDOW
by Fiona Barton
A loving husband or a heartless killer . . . She’d know, wouldn’t she?
How well can you really know someone? What secrets live within a marriage? These are two of the questions at the heart of Fiona Barton’s stunning debut novel, a haunting psychological thriller with one of the most fascinating unreliable narrators in recent fiction.Certain to cause a stir in literary circles on both sides of the Atlantic, THE WIDOW (New American Library Hardcover; February 16, 2016; $26.00; 978-1-101-99026-1) is drawing comparisons to recent thriller successes Before I Go To Sleep and Gone Girl. The sales teams at Penguin behind The Girl on the Train and The Silent Wife are comparing THE WIDOW to both.
A British journalist who has worked for the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph among other UK publications, Barton recently shared the inspiration for THE WIDOW: “As a journalist, I spent a lot of time in court. In the big cases—notorious and terrible crimes that led the news—I would find myself watching the wives of those standing in the dock and wondering what they really knew, or allowed themselves to know.” Kate Waters, the reporter in the novel, is a composite of several journalists Barton has known, including herself. “I have been where Kate’s been—on the doorstep, interviewing difficult subjects, minding interviewees at hotels.”
In THE WIDOW, Jean Taylor is the wife of a man who may be a monster. Though never convicted, Glen Taylor was the prime suspect in a horrible crime that captivated people across England and had camera crews camping out on the Taylors’ front lawn. Now, a week after Glen’s death, journalist Kate Waters shows up at Jean’s door, like so many others before, seeking answers—and the scoop of a lifetime. Though Jean kept quiet during the media circus surrounding the trial, she is finally ready to break her silence.
The desperate search for answers—both in the past and the present—takes shape through the interlocking narratives of the widow, the journalist, and the detective who never forgot the case. Each has a story to tell, but some might be more truthful than others. Their stories converge in a shocking ending that will leave readers everywhere eager to share and discuss THE WIDOW.
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About the author:
Fiona Barton lived for many years in London where she worked as a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at The Daily Telegraph, and as chief reporter at The Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the National Press Awards. Since leaving her job in 2008 to volunteer in Sri Lanka, Barton has trained and worked with exiled and threatened journalists all over the world. Born in Cambridge, England, she now lives in southwest France with her husband and is currently at work on a second book.
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