The New York Times bestselling author of The Widow returns with a brand new novel of twisting psychological suspense about every parent’s worst nightmare…When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft, and frantic with worry. What were the girls up to before they disappeared?Journalist Kate Waters always … disappeared?
Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth—and this time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, whom she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling.
As the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think…
more
This is a very good suspense story. Kate Waters, an ambitious newspaper reporter, goes to Thailand to cover a story about two missing girls. The case compels her, not just because she feels a strong connection to the girls’ frantic parents, but because her own son Jake is somewhere in Thailand – but where? She hasn’t been heard from him. Her personal pain pulls her to make the trip and investigate, only to discover that what happened to the missing girls is entwined with her son’s story in ways she could never have imagined.
Told from several POVs, this story brings to life any parent’s worst nightmare. There is tragedy, with the mothers as a focal point. Sometimes the pace is slow, but the writing and pacing follow a steady build. All in all I enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC to read and review.
Children grow up and leave home. It’s the natural order of things. But in The Suspect, two eighteen-year-old girls, Alex and Rosie, go on what is supposed to be a joyful first trip on their own to Thailand. When they are reported missing, their desperate, heartbroken parents find themselves thrust into an international spotlight as they struggle to learn what the girls were doing when they suddenly disappeared.
For journalist Kate Waters the search for the two girls becomes more than another attempt to get an exclusive story. Her own son, Jake, left home two years ago to travel around the world after abruptly leaving school. He has communicated little with his parents in that time. When Kate begins chasing the story of Alex and Rosie, she has no idea of the personal connect that she will discover or how it will impact her family.
“We don’t always know what our children get up to when we’re not there, do we?” Author Fiona Barton brings back the character of Kate in this creative, unique mystery. The story is multi-layered and will resonate with readers long after they read the last page. The theme of whether it is possible to ever really know another human being is not a new one in literature. Perhaps less explored is the question of how well parents can ever really know their children. Or how they respond when parents learn that their grown children are not really the people they believed them to be. In The Suspect, at least two sets of parents are confronted with those questions as the search for Alex and Jenny proceeds. In this instance, the 2 young women journeyed to a country they had never visited before, where they did not know anyone, and their safety depended upon their ability to depend upon and trust each other. However, Barton illustrates with startling clarity how such a trip can go tragically wrong. Concurrently, the reporter following the story finds herself dealing with her own family crisis when it is discovered that Jake was at the same boarding house as the two girls. Barton has believably constructed a mystery that, as it is unraveled, evokes a deep emotional response, particularly from readers who are parents.
The story twists and turns, providing shocking surprises at a pace as relentless as the parents’ frantic search for their children. Barton also looks at the roles the media plays in such events, shaping public opinion and loyalties which shift uncomfortably as details about the girls’ fate and Jake’s activities emerge.
The result is a haunting, heartbreaking story exploration of parents’ relationships with their adult children, the difficulty inherent in watching children grow and venture into the world on their own, and the way parental expectations can impact the relationship. It is ultimately a thought-provoking tale that would be ideal for book clubs, providing plenty of themes and colorful characters for vigorous discussion.
Thanks to Net Galley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
I have not read the first and second installments in this series, and I am pleased The Suspect did not need the build up of the first two books. Kate and Steve Waters son, Jake, has been finding himself for two years, and they rarely hear from him. Reporter Kate picks up a new story about two girls who have disappeared, and the story builds from there. Ms. Barton writes an interesting story, keeping the reader interested all the way to the end. The conclusion causes conflict.
Another excellent read by Fiona Barton, a master of multiple POVs and letting us get inside the characters’ heads.
Eighteen-year-old Alexandra O’Connor and Rosie Shaw are backpacking in Thailand for three months. But when they don’t contact their families as scheduled, panic ensues. They are reported missing, and journalist Kate Waters begins covering the case as well. But this one feels especially close to her heart, as she can’t help but think of her own son, Jake, who has been overseas traveling for two years. As it quickly becomes clear that there’s more to Rosie and Alex’s case than meets the eye, Kate will soon be drawn to into their world.
For some reason, I must have forgotten that this was another Kate Waters book, so I was really excited when I started reading and realized that both she and DI Bob Sparkes were back in this one. I really liked Barton’s previous two books featuring Kate and Bob, THE WIDOW and The Child, and this one was no exception. By this point, they are starting to feel like old friends.
The story is told via short chapters from various points of view: Kate, Bob, and Alex’s mother, Lesley. We also get flashbacks to Alex in Bangkok. It’s all very effective, as the result is very easy-to read. The story moves along steadily, and it kept me very interested and wondering what had happened to the girls. I also found the story a little frightening and, as many thrillers do, it made me quite frightened for my children to grow up and leave the house!
Kate was her usual self–I just always find myself drawn to her. She’s determined and tough, yet vulnerable. I don’t know much about the press, especially not in the U.S., but Barton’s take on Kate always seems really authentic to me. This makes sense, considering Barton is a former U.K. journalist: it shows. I always enjoy how focused Kate is: ready to do nearly anything to get her story. What’s great about this novel is that Barton throws in a compelling personal aspect for both Kate and Bob; for Kate, it really shakes up her take on reporting, which is truly her one constant in life. While it’s not easy for her (or for me, really, since I have grown to care for her), I found it interesting to watch her grapple with this. Kate also has to look at the truth and how she might present it when it’s more personal for her. It’s a stark dilemma, and made the book more fascinating.
“Being a reporter is touchy-feely…We’re not here to observe the news happening through a telescope–or Google. You’ve got to plunge yourself into this job so you can feel things, see things up close, understand them. You’ve got to get your hands dirty. Right up to the elbows.”
At the core, though, there’s a very intriguing plot here: what happened to Alex and Rosie? I found the book to be really interesting, and I was sucked up along with Kate and Bob, trying to piece together the various clues as to what had happened. There are several great twists and turns thrown in: a few I guessed at, several that really surprised me. The book does a great job at exploring how the media can put a person on trial, as well as the way we portray ourselves on social media versus what’s really happening behind the scenes. All the various shades of truth being presented in different facets–all quite interesting.
Overall, this one was a winner for me. It featured some characters that are old favorites, a compelling mystery, and some intriguing personal elements for said characters. 4+ stars. I certainly hope Bob and Kate make a return appearance in another Barton book.
What drew me to this book was the premise, young people taking a “gap year” or vacation far from home, in this case Thailand. The world can be a very scary place particularly if you have led a somewhat sheltered life and young people make decisions based on emotions often without thinking far ahead of possible consequences. These girls are quite young, just graduated from high school, to be traveling alone in a dangerous country with no back up plan should things go awry.
Alex is a great student who has saved for a long time for this trip. She has it planned down to what they would be doing every day, what she hopes to see in Thailand, the trip of a lifetime. However at the last minute her good friend Mags tells her that she really can’t go, she doesn’t have the money. Alex is disappointed, so when Rosie, just an acquaintance, not really a good friend, offers to go with her, the trip is back on. Her best friend cautions her about Rosie, she is known to make bad decisions in the past but Alex is desperate to go on the trip she has planned for so long.
Things go wrong very quickly and the girls parents are alarmed. They haven’t heard from the girls in 3 days or more. Soon the police are involved and Kate Waters, a journalist, wants to cover the story. She has a very personal reason, her own son, Jake, has been in Thailand for two years with very little communication between Jake and his parents. She arrives on the scene of a terrible fire in a hostel where the bodies of two young women have been found, they are soon identified. The only known witness is in the hospital, but Kate is too late, by the time she arrives the witness has fled.
Soon Kate herself is part of the story as her son Jake is identified as the lone witness. There are so many questions that she wants to ask him, but he will not contact her no matter how hard she tries.
There were lots of things I liked about this book. It had a great premise, the characters were interesting, if not quite believable, and there was a mystery to be solved.
I do think that this book will have you turning the pages to figure out the mystery of what happened. It is a complicated, well written mystery. I do feel as though the characters could have been more well described. We know very little about the girls and Jake except for what is taking place at the time. I think if I would have known more about them I would have cared more about the story.
For me this was a mediocre read, not one that I will rave about but still a good read.I had trouble believing that Kate would let two years pass without checking on her only son but then she flies off to Bangkok quickly when in pursuit of a story. I don’t really get a feel for her personality as a mother or wife. Her husband plays little part in the unraveling of the story.
I had the same feeling with Ms. Barton’s other books, her strength lies more with the mystery than the characters.
I received an ARC of this mystery from publisher through NetGalley.
THE SUSPECT is the third book in a series about journalist Kate Waters. Although all three books are good, this one is certainly Fiona Barton’s best.
Although Kate is English, most of this story takes place in Thailand. Two English girls are there visiting but have not been in touch with their parents. Something must be wrong. Kate goes there to cover the story during the slow month of August. Bob Sparks, an English police detective and another regular in this series, also goes to investigate at the request of one of the girls’ mothers. Coincidentally, Kate’s oldest son, Jake, has been living there, too.
Turns out, an English boy/young man is accused of murdering the two girls. He is in a Thai prison, and, of course, Kate beats Bob there to interview him. It is at that point in the prison that this story becomes full of twists and turns and some surprises.
I enjoyed this book as I did the two previous books in the series. But I liked this one more partly because Kate steps out of her journalist role here. She’s a mother.
Also, I think you’ll agree with me that the twists and turns are more twisty-turny, the surprises more surprising in THE SUSPECT.
I still loved The Widow more, but this is a good read!
This latest one did keep my eyes on the next p. then the next. Not quite the em as ” The Widow” which I read twice win 4 yrs.
I enjoyed reading this book. Hard to put down. I would recommend
Two young British women go off to Thailand for an adventure before heading to university. When their parents don’t hear from them in several days, they become worried. In addition, a reporter’s son has been in Thailand for a few years, having abruptly left law school, and his parents only hear from him infrequently.
This becomes a mystery of what happened to the girls and who knows information becomes an international event.
I was not a fan of this book. I didn’t like Rosie, and I felt that Anna could have done a lot more to get out of the situation. I felt they made incredibly poor choices. The young men were also sketchy. The parents of all these people were also problematic. This book also made me scratch Bangkok, Thailand off my travel list. I was also disappointed, but not surprised, by the ending.
#TheSuspect #FionaBarton
I LOVE Fiona’s novels! They are such good psychological reads. You just never know what twist she is going to throw in the storyline. This is her third novel, and is just as good as the first two. This is a novel of a parents worse nightmare. Your young adult child goes on vacation with a friend or friends, in a foreign country and they go missing either to never be found again, are murdered or dead and the country is not seeming to care about finding the truth of what happened.
Two girls, Rosie and Alex take off for their adventure but things quickly change for the worse and Alex is questioning her decision in agreeing to let Rosie come last minute since her best friend backed out on her. Alex had a whole itinerary planned out, and each day scheduled with various sightseeing places and Rosie just wants to drink, party and sleep her way through the boys. In a foreign country and way off path, Alex is stuck. She can’t just leave Rosie but she knows this is not a safe place to be either and that Rosie is going down a bad path fast.
Social media posts show their families that they are having fun. Photos, dinners, drinks… all looks good online but they have no idea the truth of what’s happening hundred of miles away. When the girls do not check in to find out how they did on their exams, the parents know something is up. They are trying to rational why contact was not made… but deep down they know it is not a dead phone battery, or them forgetting about the date, or loss track of time.
They decide to raise the horn on the girls not making contact, and it’s a fight against the countries law enforcement to try and work to figure out what is happening and where the girls are. Then there is a fire and two girls bodies are found, and rumor it’s their girls. What happened? Who did this? Why is Thailand seeming to fight every step of the way. Yes, tourists go missing everyday and sometimes people purposely disappear, but not these girls.
Journalist Kate gets insider information on this case, and gets approved to go there herself as well, as this story is becoming an international media case and this is hitting a bit all too close to home. Will Kate’s past come back to haunt her and what she went through and what does her past have to do with these missing girls, is there a connection? Will she find the answers to what she has been looking for, for the last few years as well?
I liked “The Suspect” even better than “The Child” — which is saying a lot! Barton is so good.
Great read. Recommend this book as well as the first two in this Kate Waters series.
Intelligent, insightful, and compelling. A clever, twisting whodunnit that delivers an emotional punch. I loved it.
A stylish, beautifully written and perfectly pitched thriller that will have you racing to the denouement.
Utterly engrossing… I lived inside this book for two days — and I’m still thinking about it. Superb!
Fiona Barton has taken a nightmarish scenario and woven it into a dark and twisty tale… This is a novel with real heart and a thoroughly surprising and thought-provoking ending.
A fast-paced whodunnit with heart, characters I feel I know and a deliciously dark twist.
How far will a parent go to protect a child?
Alex and Rosie go for on their once in a lifetime trip to Thailand and are murdered there. The Thai police are inept at finding the killer, but once the British police get involved, the riddles are soon solved. There are so many secrets in this book and so much family drama. Readers of crime and suspense novels will quickly be captured by this story.
Disclaimer
I purchased this book on my Kindle and the opinions expressed are my own.