Wednesday 1 June 2016

Book ~ "The Widow" (2016) Fiona Barton

From Goodreads ~ A loving husband or a heartless killer ... she'd know, wouldn't she?

There's a lot Jean hasn't said over the years about the crime her husband was suspected of committing. She was busy being the perfect wife, standing by her man while living with accusing glares and anonymous harassment. Now her husband is dead and there's no reason to stay quiet. People want to hear her story. They want to know what it was like living with that man. She can tell them there were secrets. There always are in a marriage.

The truth - that's all anyone wants. But the one lesson Jean has learned in the last few years is that she can make people believe anything. For the reporter who has secured the exclusive interview, this is the scoop of a lifetime. For the detective who has lived a half-life since he failed to get justice for the victim, it is a chance to get at the truth that has eluded him for so long. For Jean, it's a chance to defend herself, what she knew - and when.

In 2006, four-year-old Bella disappeared from her front yard.  Glen Taylor was charged with her abduction but later acquitted.  What came out during the trial was that Glen was into porn.  Jean, his meek and submissive wife, stood by him throughout all this and tried their pick up their lives after it was over.

In 2010, Glen is killed in an accident and everyone wants Jean to tell the truth.  Did Glen kidnap and kill Bella?  Since he's now dead, there's no reason why she can't tell the truth.

I had a hard time getting into this book.  I found it slow moving but since it is on the best sellers' lists, I kept at it and managed to finish it.  I wasn't crazy about the story or any of the characters ... a dominating husband who may or may not be a pedophile, a submissive wife who is obsessed with having a baby and may be keeping her husband's secrets, an ambitious reporter determined to get the story and an obsessed cop who has let this case take over his life.

The writing style jumps back and forth from the past to the present (the chapters are labeled).  There is some swearing.

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