Apr/ May 2016 Group Read - The Widow by Fiona Barton

[Bill]

This is the thread for Fiona Barton's The Widow/ Jené will moderate this group read. Enjoy!

[Skye]

I am trying to buy a copy of this book, Bill; it has some great reviews.

[Bill]

Skye wrote: "I am trying to buy a copy of this book, Bill; it has some great reviews."

Good luck.

[Debby]

Just got started last night, looks to be an interesting book!

[Britney]

I just need to get the book so I can start it

[Jené]

Debby wrote: "Just got started last night, looks to be an interesting book!"

I am excited to hear what you think about it! I am getting started tonight as well - happy reading!

[Jené]

Bill wrote: "This is the thread for Fiona Barton's The Widow/ Jené will moderate this group read. Enjoy!"

Thank you for kicking us off Bill! Welcome everyone. I look forward to hearing your comments and opinions as you read the book. I heard some good reviews about the book, so I am looking forward to reading it myself. As I am the moderator, I am extra motivated to read it and am getting started tonight :)

[Tracie]

This book really has my interest. I'm on a waiting list for it currently but may just go buy it so I can get started.

[Jan C]

I got on the list for it on OverDrive, but there are 11 ahead of me. So it may be a while.

[Diana]

Hi! I'm new to this group, and this is my first post.

I enjoyed THE WIDOW, gave it 4 stars. Thought it was more of a mystery/subtle suspense than a thriller, but it easily held my attention. The main character Jean was difficult to figure out. Kept me wondering if she was an unreliable narrator or not. Overall, an unsettling story. Great writing.

My full review is HERE. Thanks!

[Jené]

Book of Secrets wrote: "Hi! I'm new to this group, and this is my first post.

I enjoyed THE WIDOW, gave it 4 stars. Thought it was more of a mystery/subtle suspense than a thriller, but it easily held my attention. The m..."

Thanks for sharing! I am just getting started and Jean is really intriguing me as well. Not able to wrap my head around her yet. I'm really enjoying getting a feel for the other characters as well. Does your review have any spoilers? If so, I may wait before I read it :)

[Diana]

Jené wrote: "Book of Secrets wrote: "Hi! I'm new to this group, and this is my first post.

I enjoyed THE WIDOW, gave it 4 stars. Thought it was more of a mystery/subtle suspense than a thriller, but it easily ..."

No spoilers. I didn't say much more about it in my review. I'm glad you're enjoying the book too!

[Jené]

Book of Secrets wrote: "Jené wrote: "Book of Secrets wrote: "Hi! I'm new to this group, and this is my first post.

I enjoyed THE WIDOW, gave it 4 stars. Thought it was more of a mystery/subtle suspense than a thriller, b..."

I am about halfway through and I can't stop thinking about it... I have some suspicions and I'm looking forward to seeing if any of them pan out. I really enjoy the way the story jumps from character to character and present to past as well.

[SherryRose]

I like the character jump too Jene' . In the audio, there are also various readers.

[Debby]

I'm a little over half way through and the writing is excellent! I'm having a hard time figuring out if any of the characters are at all sympathetic, they all appear to be deeply flawed.

[Jené]

Sherry wrote: "I like the character jump too Jene' . In the audio, there are also various readers."

I bet this would be a very interesting book to listen to! Sometimes I need to pause when I start a new chapter to make sure I know "where I am" in the story.

[Jené]

Debby wrote: "I'm a little over half way through and the writing is excellent! I'm having a hard time figuring out if any of the characters are at all sympathetic, they all appear to be deeply flawed."

Great point Debby! I'm noticing more flaws the more I read.

[SherryRose]

Jené wrote: "Sherry wrote: "I like the character jump too Jene' . In the audio, there are also various readers."

I bet this would be a very interesting book to listen to! Sometimes I need to pause when I start..."

The nice thing is that there's a different narrator for chapters about each character. It helps to clear up who's who. The widow chapters have a certain narrator, then the reporter, then the detective..etc it's well done.

[Debby]

I just finished the book, I'll be interested to hear what others thought of it.

[Jené]

Debby wrote: "I just finished the book, I'll be interested to hear what others thought of it."

I just finished it as well... (view spoiler)[ I felt that the ending was a bit anticlimactic - I was expecting a more... shocking? unexpected? interesting? turn of events. It did feel like a realistic ending, but a bit of a let down. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, I enjoyed the book and felt the characters were developed very well. For me, Kate seemed more "flat" as a character than many of the others.

What did you think?

[Debby]

Jené wrote: "Debby wrote: "I just finished the book, I'll be interested to hear what others thought of it."

I just finished it as well... [spoilers removed]

Overall, I enjoyed the book and felt the character..."

The writing was excellent and that kept me engaged and reading into the night but I just never got attached to any of the characters. By the end, I felt let down and rather sad. I wanted to care more for all of them but it just didn't work that way. Still, I'm glad I read the book and because of the quality of everything from sentence structure to plot development, I'll read this author again.

[SherryRose]

(view spoiler)[The widow is less and less sympathetic as the story progresses. She's very strange. I'm on chapter 22 and she's starting to get weird about Bella. Maybe I'll like her better as the story moves on. I don't understand her attitude towards Bella's mother. It's pretty cold. (hide spoiler)]

[SherryRose]

Here's an interview in the Huffington Post with Fiona Barton (slightly, but barely spoilery)

www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-rubinstei...

[Debby]

Sherry wrote: "Here's an interview in the Huffington Post with Fiona Barton (slightly, but barely spoilery)

www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-rubinstei..."

Thanks for sharing, it helped some in understanding some of her decisions!

[SherryRose]

You're welcome Debby! It explains why she wrote it but I'm still becoming more and more impatient with Jean!

[Jené]

Debby wrote: "Jené wrote: "Debby wrote: "I just finished the book, I'll be interested to hear what others thought of it."

I just finished it as well... [spoilers removed]

Overall, I enjoyed the book and felt ..."

I agree Debby - well put!

[Jené]

Sherry wrote: "You're welcome Debby! It explains why she wrote it but I'm still becoming more and more impatient with Jean!"

Yes, Jean does get harder to like!

I felt least attached to Kate, so I'm interested in the idea of another book that will build on her character. Thanks for sharing that link!

[SherryRose]

Ok I finished. I was interested until the end. I sort of predicted the ending. I kind of saw where it was going. (view spoiler)[By the end of the book I loathed Jean. I can see denial is possible but she was ridiculous. She was also certifiable and there must be some kind of law broken on her part. Withholding evidence at least. I didn't like Bella's mother either. I know she wanted to find her daughter but
I thought she was disgusting because she profited off of her daughter's disappearance. She went to the reporters who paid the most. Such a loving mother right? Kate is a con artist and she plays on the most vulnerable people at their most vulnerable moments. However, she's shrewd and sees right through some of their bs. She's good at what she does. The story was interesting until the end and I will read Fiona Barton again. But the characters were not nice lol (hide spoiler)]

[SherryRose]

Oh and..(view spoiler)[Jean would have been just fine with Glen's kidnapping of Bella if he would have brought her home so she could mother someone else's child! Reason being it was Bella's mother's fault that Glen took her! How could I NOT hate Jean! The chapter featuring Glen's POV was really creepy! I'm giving it 4 stars for being very well written. It's a sad story though. (hide spoiler)]

That sounds like so many negatives but I actually thought it was a well written book.

[SherryRose]

Jené wrote: "Sherry wrote: "You're welcome Debby! It explains why she wrote it but I'm still becoming more and more impatient with Jean!"

Yes, Jean does get harder to like!

I felt least attached to Kate, so I..."

You're welcome. I'll read the next book too.

[Cathryn]

Sherry wrote: "Here's an interview in the Huffington Post with Fiona Barton (slightly, but barely spoilery)

www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-rubinstei..."

Thanks for posting this. I liked her comments on unreliable narrators -- I love reading their stories. It's what drew me to this book (along with the genre). It's a great read so far.

[SherryRose]

Cathryn wrote: "Sherry wrote: "Here's an interview in the Huffington Post with Fiona Barton (slightly, but barely spoilery)

www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-rubinstei..."

Thanks ..."

You're welcome. Fiona Barton has has a great background for writing a crime novel. Her take on Jean is really interesting.

[Jené]

Sherry wrote: "Oh and..[spoilers removed]

That sounds like so many negatives but I actually thought it was a well written book."

I agree with your observations about the characters! It was really hard to like or identify them, but equally hard to put the book down.

[SherryRose]

Jené wrote: "Sherry wrote: "Oh and..[spoilers removed]

That sounds like so many negatives but I actually thought it was a well written book."

I agree with your observations about the characters! It was really..."

I couldn't put it down either. We don't have to read Mary Poppins characters to enjoy a good book!

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

Starting this one tonight!

[SherryRose]

I hope you like it April!

[Jené]

aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "Starting this one tonight!"

Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

[Harriet]

I read this several months ago. I'm in the habit of taking notes and keeping a journal. I sympathized with Jean almost all the way through. Kate was aggressive, intrusive, and her personality overpowered Jean. Thinking of Jean's background, how could the reader not see her as being used by her husband and the reporter. At the start, Jean is practically abducted.

I felt sorry for DI Bob Sparkes, the policeman assigned to the case, and the run-around he received from that self-appointed neighborhood "policeman." There is/was a child's life at stake.

Bella's mother - a piece of work. I'm sorry but I'm a mom with two (now grown) daughters. I never, ever, ever, ever allowed either of them to wander alone into our front yard. I won't let my dog out alone! To begin with, in the story there wasn't a fence, just a hedge. What would have prevented Bella (2 1/2 yrs) from chasing her cat into the street? This situation started all kinds of "what ifs" in my mind.

Did anyone else feel this way about this situation or these characters?

[Jené]

Harriet wrote: "I read this several months ago. I'm in the habit of taking notes and keeping a journal. I sympathized with Jean almost all the way through. Kate was aggressive, intrusive, and her personality overp..."

I enjoy your observations! I do agree that Jean was frequently dominated by the stronger personalities like Kate and her husband, but it was interesting to see that she had the strength to resist when she wanted to. It seemed like she did not want to put in the effort the majority of the time.

Sparkes was my favorite character and in my opinion the most sympathetic.

I did really enjoy how dedicated Bella's mom was to her daughter's cause and that the author gave us enough insight into her to know that it wasn't all about the money or the fame. It seemed like the author was trying to balance the readers view of her.

[SherryRose]

Harriet wrote: "I read this several months ago. I'm in the habit of taking notes and keeping a journal. I sympathized with Jean almost all the way through. Kate was aggressive, intrusive, and her personality overp..."

(view spoiler)[Bella's mom really should have been with her daughter in the yard. My brother's kids were born in the 80s and even back then we all knew that you just don't let a 2 1/2 yr old play in the yard alone. My kids were born in the 90s ..same story. It's not Mayberry 1950.
I thought Bella's mom cared but yet she sold her story to the highest bidder. That seemed cold to me.

Jean was married when she was a teen so it might explain why her husband dominated her. She wasn't old enough to be her own person yet so she was comfortable with depending on him. BUT she would have been ok with raising Bella had Glen not killed her. She blamed Bella's mother for what Glen did. Bella's mother was foolish but Jean excused Glen's evil for a mothers neglect. I hated Jean anyway lol. Someone, like Sparkes, should have suggested therapy for Jean. She was living in an odd fantasy world.

In the beginning of the book I wondered why her parents let her get married at 17. I got the idea she wasn't a street wise kid. I can't imagine even considering giving permission for my daughter to get married at 17. (hide spoiler)]

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

Except for The Detective, I did not like the characters much, but I don't believe that was the point. Understanding how such people function was the point, I think. I wish more backstory on Glen was given, and I think the parents of Glen and Jean were 'on stage' too briefly. However, I thought it a good selection for a read as it is a well-written novel, if a little too much of a snapshot quickie.

[Jené]

aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "Except for The Detective, I did not like the characters much, but I don't believe that was the point. Understanding how such people function was the point, I think. I wish more backstory on Glen wa..."

Thanks for sharing April! It seems that the detective is the most-liked character by most of us. I hadn't given much thought to the parents before your comment, but I think we could have seen them more, they could have added to our perception of Jean and Glen!

[SherryRose]

I agree that knowing more of Glen's background would have been great. I like the detective too. This was Fiona Barton's first book and it was good. I think the next could be excellent. It was interesting until the last page and there were no unnecessary fillers. It's a good book.

[Jené]

Sherry wrote: "I agree that knowing more of Glen's background would have been great. I like the detective too. This was Fiona Barton's first book and it was good. I think the next could be excellent. It was inter..."

Agreed! Even though we didn't like all of the characters (or very many of them) it seems like everyone who has commented so far really enjoyed reading the book. For a first time author, that is a great accomplishment and I'm looking forward to reading the next book as well :)

[[deleted user]]

Hi everyone,

I've just joined the group and am delighted to find this thread. I listened to this book earlier this year and loved it. I avoid books where kids are hurt generally as I find them tough going, but had some Audible credits and this came up as a recommendation so I just clicked ok and am very glad I did.

Re the characters - I like that they are all flawed. Kate has some very appealing characteristics, I thought, but her actions are morally ambiguous which makes her much more interesting to me - the world is not a simple place, it's not fair and it's not just. Reading about real people (well ....real in the believable sense!) finding their way in that world while trying to keep some sort of moral code (albeit maybe a compromised one) ...I dig it!

Jean was even more compromised. IRL I find it hard to sympathise with the victim/princess persona but again I thought Fiona Barton did well and she didn't let me away with just dismissing Jean. I felt terribly sorry for her at times, and hated her at times, and in the end...well I didn't know what I felt about her.

I didn't feel particularly strongly about Sparkes one way or the other.

The best thing I could say about the book is that I was completely caught up in it and found excuses so I could have some audio book time ....i.e. extra dog-walking/ironing : )

I'm really looking forward to her next book. I don't think this read at all like a debut author - she seems very assured and I thought the pacing was just right. Excited to find a new writer that I really like and will definitely pick up her next book!

Thanks to the moderators for this great group!

Maggie

[Ann]

Gosh - I'm coming to this a bit late. Starting reading this weekend...

[SherryRose]

Maggie wrote: "Hi everyone,

I've just joined the group and am delighted to find this thread. I listened to this book earlier this year and loved it. I avoid books where kids are hurt generally as I find them tou..."

I liked the audio narration. It was well done.

[Jené]

Maggie wrote: "Hi everyone,

I've just joined the group and am delighted to find this thread. I listened to this book earlier this year and loved it. I avoid books where kids are hurt generally as I find them tou..."

Thanks for your comments! The flawed characters really did make everyone seem more "real" and believable.

I completely relate to what you expressed about Jean at the end of the book: you didn't know what you felt about her! I think that is probably one of the most intriguing things about reading this book, I ended feeling... confused about how I was feeling :)

PS. Thank you for mentioning combining chores and listening to this book - I think I am officially sold on audiobooks now!

[Jené]

Ann wrote: "Gosh - I'm coming to this a bit late. Starting reading this weekend..."

Let us know what your opinions! Happy reading :)

[SherryRose]

OH yes! I get more cleaning done as I'm lost in an audio book!