The Widow

By: Fiona Barton

Narrated by: Hannah Curtis, Nicholas Guy Smith, Jayne Entwistle, Steve West, Mandy Williams

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

For fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, an electrifying thriller that will take you into the dark spaces that exist between a husband and a wife.

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...

List of readers:

• "The Mother" read by Jayne Entwistle
• "The Detective" read by Nicholas Guy Smith
• "The Widow" read by Hannah Curtis
• "The Husband" read by Steve West
• "The Reporter" read by Mandy Williams

©2016 Fiona Barton (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“If you liked Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, you might want to pick up The Widow by Fiona Barton. Engrossing. Suspenseful.” (Stephen King)

“The ultimate psychological thriller! Barton carefully unspools this dark, intimate tale of a terrible crime, a stifling marriage, and the lies spouses tell not just to each other, but to themselves in order to make it through.” (Lisa Gardner, number one New York Times best-selling author of Find Her and Right Behind You)

“A twisted psychological thriller you’ll have trouble putting down.” (People)

Awesome book!

This was an awesome book and it keeps you interested from beginning to end. The audio performers were wonderful.

Keeps You Very Engrossed

I loved it from the very beginning . It really kept me guessing . I went back and forth as to who I thought took her. Very good ending, didn't expect it!!!!

Too much repitition

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Too wordy

Would you ever listen to anything by Fiona Barton again?

Not sure

What three words best describe the narrators’s voice?

Good

Was The Widow worth the listening time?

Yes and no I had to complete it

Any additional comments?

It was a predictable ending and at the last I did not like Jean and felt she was just as guilty as Glen

Slow and anticlimactic

I really wanted to like this book. The plot was interesting, but the pace was slow and character development fell flat.

Interesting

I was interested the entire time, but really wish the ending was better. That’s all I feel it was missing

SAD & CREEPY

Well written, well narrated, difficult story overall ... insights into a marriage, a sexual deviant who starts off slowly with internet sites and escalates ... you are never quite sure what the widow knows or doesn't know.

Great story but at times hard to follow

This is a page turner and keeps your interest. The problem for me was feeling I missed something because of the back and fourth between years

The Widow

I had a hard time finishing this book. It was slow at times and not the suspenseful thriller that I normally enjoy. The performances by most of the narrators were decent although the widow herself was flat. The widow is not a very believable character either. Overall I was disappointed in this book.

Surprisingly gripping

I listen to about two mysteries/thrillers a month, and found this one surprisingly good. I honestly don't understand the bad reviews. I thought the characters (although all flawed, some vile and disgusting) were well developed. This was a bit smarter than many books of this genre that I found mediocre. Narration was excellent. This would make a great film if done well.
I read some criticism about how ridiculous it was regarding the police not understanding online predators and chat rooms, but you have to remember the crime wasn't present day.

Sad and infuriating

I listened to this book as it was supposedly recommended by S. King, who is my favorite. I wonder if he did read it, was he annoyed that she seemed to have poached his storyline from his short story A Good Marriage. Hmmm...

The story is fast paced, especially with the multiple narrators. I always tend to enjoy the audiobooks with many narrators better as to break the monotony. But The Widow character named Jean/Jeanie is, imho an absolutely abhorrent, weak, sick, and unlikeable character. I hated her and can't think of enough nasty curse words that could actually describe her. I actually hated her more than the deceased. It just left me with a sad and angry feeling at the end.

To me, this book doesn't flow like gone girl and girl on the train as advertised and definitely not as good. I think I would pass this one by unless you are looking to add colorful curse words to your vocabulary to describe the main protagonist. Because I definitely added a few to my list after this one.