The Suspect by Fiona Barton @figbarton @BerkleyPub @about_thethrill #travelingsistersread #askthetravelingsistersaboutourreads #askusaboutourbook #BookBloggers

The Suspect by Fiona Barton is now available!!! The Suspect is the third book in the Kate Waters series. Our main character journalist Kate Waters is again on a new story here making this one a good one for a stand-alone.

Today we are linking up with Kim @It’s All About The Thrill and sharing our thoughts for The Suspect by Fiona Barton. Pop on over to her blog and see what she has to say.

Because of my fear of missing out on people thoughts, we read this one with a few of our Traveling Friends and Sisters and we had some mixed feeling here among us. We first read and discussed this story in our Instagram group and then we followed the thoughts of our Traveling Sisters as they read it. We really enjoyed seeing a few different thoughts on this story and I have added a few different thoughts from our group members here for all to see.

The Suspect explores one of a parent’s worst fear here, however, taking a bit of a different premise to it with the missing children being adult children. They go missing after taking a gap year and traveling to Thailand. I was intrigued right from the start as it played on one of my worst fears of the reality that we can’t keep our adult children safe and the fear of them becoming lost to us. Not only by the dangers around them but also lost to us by not knowing where or how they are really doing.  This lead to a very interesting discussion with some of us who shared the same fear. We connected a bit differently to the story then others did.

The story started off a bit slow and the suspense builds as we start to see some twist and turns. We could see some coming and a few that we didn’t that left us thinking oh that’s a great twist. Adding some fun and entertainment to the story and our discussion.

We see a personal side to our main character here Kate Waters and I really enjoyed the personal conflict she had with her loyalties that left us questioning what we would do in her place.

Overall we all enjoyed this story however a couple of us struggled a bit with the way the story was written. It took on a documentary feel to it. The chapters are short and the POV change often. For some us that made it bit harder for them to connect to the story and the characters. For the rest of us, it added some suspense to the story that drove the story forward for us. We recommend giving it a try and then come back and let us know what your thoughts are.

Intriguing premise, short chapters & a suspenseful mystery!

Can you enjoy a book even if you don’t connect with the way a book is written? Fiona Barton is an author that I always find myself a little excited to read but I wouldn’t necessarily say that I enjoy the way she narrates her stories though. I find the narrative a little bit indifferent and challenging but I wouldn’t say that it hinders my reading experience all that much though. If so, it’s minimal and it definitely doesn’t stop me from picking up her next book offering. Weird I know! 

THE SUSPECT by FIONA BARTON is a slow-building suspenseful crime thriller that takes you on quite the intriguing journey that clips along at a nice swift pace. I was immediately intrigued within the mystery here and the short chapters definitely helps to move this story forward quickly. I absolutely love short chapters because they make me feel like I have to read just one more chapter. 

FIONA BARTON delivers an entertaining and interesting read here that is told through multiple perspectives with chapter headings labeled “The Reporter”, “The Mother”, “The Detective” and “Bangkok Day ?” from Alex, one of the missing girls. I really enjoy and love this format but I felt like there was something missing though to make me really connect and feel for these characters. I found Alex’s perspective the most interesting and would have liked to have read more of her story. 

Thank you so much to Elisha at Berkley Publishing Group and to Fiona Barton for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy of this novel.

An extremely addictive, twisty and fast-paced journey.

Kate Waters, a determined and successful reporter, travels to Thailand to investigate the disappearance of two eighteen-year-old girls from her home town. The girls were on a backpacking trip, with a jam-packed itinerary and plans to be in touch with their parents every couple days. Their parents notified police after several days of not hearing from either girl. This leads to an investigation by the Thai police and then involves local Detective Inspector Bob Sparkes and his team who travel to Thailand to pick up the pieces that seem to be missing.

I am so sad to be finished this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this thrilling and suspenseful story, where I hungrily devoured every single word in extreme anticipation of what would happen next. The characters, setting and storyline pulled me right in from page one. Each chapter left me feeling an urgent need to continue on and fit another chapter in. I loved Kate Waters and DI Sparkes! I enjoyed their personalities and thought their personal side stories really enhanced the novel.

When I downloaded this ARC, I didn’t realize it was part of a series. I read Book #1 “The Widow” a few years back and enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. I haven’t read Book #2 “The Child”. This, being Book #3, is completely fine to read as a standalone. I feel that the author, Fiona Barton’s, writing is much more smooth and engrossing in this novel, compared to “The Widow”. I look forward to picking up “The Child” to see how it is in comparison and I look forward to Book #4!

Thank you to Edelweiss, Penguin Books and Fiona Barton for providing me with an ARC to read and review. 

Some thoughts from our friends and sisters

From Diane’s review

Told from the perspective of three different characters, one being posts from one of the dead girls. There was just something about this format that kept me from totally connecting to the story. There were many positives, a reporter who becomes part of the story, a moral quandary pertaining how far one would go to protect her child. One big twist in the story that I didn’t see coming. The format though, read more like a documentary, which made it difficult for an emotional connect. I just never really felt the characters. Was more a tell not feel. So for me, this was a good story, different plot, a locale, Thailand, that I have read little about, just wish I could have felt more.

From Christina’s review

Not only are these parents worst fears realized but they’re thrust into immediate limelight in the worst way. As they’re grappling with the reality of their situation, they’ve also become a worldwide source of entertainment.The Suspect is told from multiple POVs – Kate Waters, DI Bob Sparkes, Alex’s mother Lesley and Alex herself. Switching up the perspectives really kept the stories forward momentum chugging along in a way that was at times sluggish and at others built suspense like Jenga blocks waiting to be toppled.

While I enjoyed Barton’s storytelling, her writing and her ability to build some serious suspense I still found myself a bit let down by this novel. As the story progressed and the tension and suspense built up, and the forward progression sped along I found myself enjoying it much more than I had anticipated. I did enjoy this and once it got moving I found it quite compelling, I just wish that it had been a bit more developed and had grabbed me from the start. For Christina’s full review

From Heidi’s review

Barton vividly evokes not only the atmosphere of the Bangkok hotel the girls find themselves stranded in, but also of the nightmare of parents trying to find answers to their questions in a foreign country and a culture very different to their own. I found all her characters authentic and believable, and particularly enjoyed Kate, who I discovered has featured in two previous novels (which I will certainly read now). Whilst some aspects of the mystery did not come as a total surprise, the final reveal still packed some punch and gave a lot of food for thought. For Heidi’s full review

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Eye-catching, intriguing, mysterious, and a fitting representation to storyline. 
Title: I really like the title of this book and how it played obscurely into storyline. 
Writing/Prose: I am not going to elaborate on the writing because I wasn’t able to connect and fully enjoy it. I read this with my Traveling Sisters and I was the only one that felt this way. 
Plot: Interesting, intriguing, predictable, fast-paced, and entertaining.
Ending: Satisfying but I have questions and wonder what is next in store for Kate.
Overall: There is something about her books that I just find so appealing and readable. Would recommend!

Have you read this one? Want to read this one? Drop us a comment! We would love to hear from you