Review: The Widow by Fiona Barton

Title: The Widow
Author: Fiona Barton
Format: ARC
Publisher: NAL
Publish Date: February 16, 2016 (Today!)
Source: Publisher

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "When the police started asking questions, Jean Taylor turned into a different woman. One who enabled her and her husband to carry on, when more bad things began to happen...

But that woman’s husband died last week. And Jean doesn’t have to be her anymore.

There’s a lot Jean hasn’t said over the years about the crime her husband was suspected of committing. She was too busy being the perfect wife, standing by her man while living with the accusing glares and the anonymous harassment.

Now there’s no reason to stay quiet. There are people who want to hear her story. They want to know what it was like living with that man. She can tell them that 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…"

My Two Cents:

"The Widow" is the story of a marriage between Glen and Jean. Glen is one of those people who seem to be above it all, which gets him into trouble. Jean is a quiet woman who wants to be a devoted wife. To some degree, Glen almost seems to be mentally abusing Jean. Every time she thinks about letting out one of his secrets or even leaving him, he reels her back in. Glen has all sorts of indiscretions outside of his marriage, including the main event driving the action of the story, the kidnapping and murder of a little girl.

Psychological thrillers are a fairly new genre for me. I really like the twists and turns! This book is a little quieter than some of the other thrillers that I have read. Much of the action takes place after Glen passes away. With Glen removed, it is now up to Jean to decide how much of the truth she sets free. Even though the story is a little quiet, it was interesting to see how the author pieced everything together to draw readers into the story.

Glen makes a great villain. He's very full of himself and with every indiscretion, he doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself. His hubris gets the best of him in the end, luckily. I felt bad for how much control he seemed to have over Jean, even after his death. I wanted to warm up to Jean a little more but I almost felt as if the readers were being held at arm's length. To some degree, that is simply Jean's character. She is a bit standoffish and going through all she has just been through means she doesn't really open up too easily.

Overall, this was a pretty good thriller. I really wanted a little more closure at the end of the book because it felt a little bit rushed. The characters are interesting and the book kept my attention. This quiet thriller was a great way to while away the afternoon!