The Child

By: Fiona Barton

Narrated by: Mandy Williams, Rosalyn Landor, Katharine Lee McEwan, Steve West

Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

The author of the stunning New York Times best seller The Widow returns with a brand-new novel of twisting psychological suspense.

As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it's a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?

As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss.

But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn - house by house - into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women - and torn between what she can and cannot tell.

©2017 Fiona Barton (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Tense, tantalizing, and ultimately very satisfying...definitely one of the year’s must-reads.” (Lee Child, number-one New York Times best-selling author)

"Fiona Barton brings back reporter Kate Waters from the best-selling The Widow and delivers another winner with The Child....A truly engaging tale.” (Associated Press)

“[Jean is] a fascinating puzzle…Barton knows how to ramp up tension.” (The New York Times Book Review)

The child.

WOW, what twist. It would be great if it becomes a movie or television show.

Great story with problematic narration

I really enjoyed the story, and Emma’s, Angela’s, and Jude’s chapters were fantastic. Kate’s chapters, though, were excruciating to. I kept wondering whether the narrator was fighting to stay awake or just reading above her level and trying to hide it by speaking incredibly slowly. It was like listening to someone who’s drunk but trying to sound sober.

Didn't see that coming!

Lots of twists and turns. An excellent and suspenseful story. Great narrators. I definitely recommend this book.

Listen to this if you enjoyed "The Widow"

This is a bit of a slow starter, with several shifting POVs that require attention to keep the characters separate. It helps that there are multiple narrators. Unfortunately, the voices were not particularly engaging. The outcome of the disparate plot lines was apparent to me at about the 2/3 point, but it was rewarding to have everything nicely concluded with an emotional ending. If you liked this author's previous book, " The Widow", this is similar in style.

Good Story Told in Multiple Points of View

If you could sum up The Child in three words, what would they be?

Layered, psychological mystery.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Actresses worked as team to bring the 4 main characters to life.

Any additional comments?

In this story written from multiple points of view, Emma's chapters digress a bit in the middle, Then the author reigns it in and handles the ending well. The reporter Kate is a strong, well-written character.

so slow

the ending was good, but the whole thing was slow and boring, not sure if I check out hhheeeyyyyy first book

A bit predictable

Maybe 1/3 of the way through I was pretty sure what had happened. Yep. I was right. Usually this isn’t the case, so it dragged until the big ‘reveal.’

Excellent!

Great book all the around - storyline, characters & performance! Keeps you guessing till the very end!

Slow build but worth it to keep going

Any additional comments?

I have read this author before and this is not a rush to pulse pounding situations type writer...more of a slow build of the characters and the circumstances that have brought them together in the novel. I did keep guessing and pretty much had figured it out before the end in an enjoyable way. No heart pounding here, instead lots of thinking about the characters and what will ultimately will be their fate....

Lost in Narration

Any additional comments?

It's a good story. I did confuse the characters as the narrator's voices were not distinct and the name Anna is not that much different from Emma. As noted by previous reviewers, I too was bored by the endless ruminating and internal dialogue.