The Widow

By: Fiona Barton

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

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

This is the tale of a missing child, narrated by the wife of the main suspect, the detective leading the hunt, and the journalist covering the case. It's a brilliantly ominous, psychologically acute portrait of a marriage in crisis - perfect for fans of The Silent Wife and The Girl on the Train.

©2016 Fiona Barton (P)2019 Penguin Random House Canada

Critic reviews

Number One Globe and Mail Fiction Best Seller
Number One Toronto Star Fiction Best Sseller
A Maclean’s Fiction Best Seller

“Switching between various vantage points - The Reporter, The Detective, The Mother - and hopscotching across timelines, Barton skillfully loops her narrative noose...a smartly crafted, compulsively readable tale about the lies people tell each other, and themselves, when the truth is the last thing they really want to know.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“It's not unusual for a "much anticipated" thriller to come along boasting of its own brilliance, with quick-sell words like "gripping" slashed across its cover. Only very rarely do these words ring true, but within the first few pages, it is clear Fiona Burton's debut The Widow is deserving of its accolades.... The Widow is feminist, weighty and scarily plausible. It will haunt you.” (The Independent [UK])

“Barton has written a compelling look inside a horrible crime. While it could be devoured in one heart-stopping gulp, this is a book best savoured slowly, with the time to luxuriate in the myriad carefully placed details - even an act so automatic as picking up a piece of litter will eventually have a major impact later in the saga” (Maclean’s)