When I read Fiona Barton's first book, The Widow, I thought it was OK, but somewhat disappointing. Her newest book, The Child, is more of the same. It reads fast, and the story is intriguing enough to keep you interested, but there were a lot of little things about it that were a let-down. Most of the characters are annoying and unpleasant, but part of that I feel was due to to the fact that there were too many points of view, so no character was fully developed. There was even one random chapter that had the point of view of a character that we had never heard from before, and that we would never hear from again. I hope that waste of space doesn't make it into the final version.

The story wrapped up in a way that felt completely unrealistic. Really everyone's actions throughout this book felt inauthentic.

The remains of a baby are found when workmen are tearing down old homes / apartment dwellings.


Many years, decades prior, Angela gave birth in a local hospital and the next day went to take a shower for just a moment while her newborn laid in her hospital room. When she returned from the shower her infant daughter was gone, never to been seen again.

Kate Waters is a local reporter, you might have met her in the author's prior book, "The Widow." She finds out about the body of the infant being recovered from the work site and starts wondering if there could be a connection between this infant and the infant that disappeared so many years ago.

Emma grew up same area as where the buildings are being demolished, she is an emotionally troubled adult women but she gets by with her depression medicine and her husband who is a great deal older than she is.

The story is told in alternating point of views of these three women. It is a complex and intriguing story that spans many years. I never saw the ending coming and that is refreshing.

The story begins a bit slow for me, of course you have to build the characters to get to the larger story, and once you get about 30% into the book the story is in full motion and it is a book you won't put down.

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this book prior to publication for an honest review.

I enjoy the way the author gives viewpoints from so many characters. I found the mystery to be easy to figure out, but found the developing story rather interesting nonetheless..

An intriguing mystery that is well-plotted with developed. The changes in narration add different perspectives and dimension to the novel while still keeping readers guessing as to how these people are connected. This is a unique mystery that is most about the past affecting the present, but the stories told by each of the women were compelling and added current action.

Not only is The Child a delicious mystery, at its centre is Kate, a formidable investigative reporter stuck in the reality of a news industry pushing celebrity headlines. In addition to her POV, the story also unfolds from the perspective of two other women and the question becomes, how does the discovery of a baby's remains tie them all together?

This is a great read for anyone who enjoys thrillers with multiple POVs, and a whydunnit mystery. The pacing unfolds beautifully, amping up as Kate's findings take us deeper and deeper into the this tangled web. Barton's characters were intensely compelling, each woman struggling with profound issues of grief, loss, and identity, weaving us through the tapestry of their lives. I'm definitely going to go back and read Barton's first novel now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy.

Kate Waters the intuitive and intepid reporter is back on a case again. I loved her diligence and problem solving ability in THE WIDOW, but this book is even more engrossing and engaging. Barton tells the story of a few bones found by construction workers that lead Kate Waters to uncover the mystery of a child kidnapped from a maternity hospital after her birth.

The book is narrated by the women surrounding the fragile skeleton. As the story unfolds we begin to understand the complicated background of the women, all left damaged by the starling kidnapping. The men are introduced and we begin to see who the bad guys are, especially one who essentially destroyed Emma. There are many twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing., until the final denouement which I will not spoil!

This is an incredibly satisfying book, I enjoyed every page, and quite literally could not put it down. Unlike many books, THE CHILD, pulls all the strands together perfectly at the end. Do not miss this. Note to publisher: keep Kate working on these cases!

The story starts off slow, introducing the reader to the various women who will each play a role across the span of the book. Initially it's a little difficult to connect with these characters, to want to learn more than the little teasings of history here and there.

And then the book accelerates, giving answers that most characters are surprisingly unhappy with, leaving the reader wondering what we're missing.

Whenever I read a mystery I'm making guesses from page one, changing and molding them again with each new piece of information but it took me a long time to guess at what was happening here, thrilled by the layers of deceit.

Even if you're uncertain in those first 100 pages know that there's a hell of a story yet to be unwrapped and keep on reading!

I devoured this book in a single day.

When the bones of a baby are found during an excavation, journalist Kate thinks there is a story there, even if finding who the mother was will be exceedingly difficult. Angela, whose baby was stolen from her years ago, is certain that the baby is hers, and Emma, who battles a mood disorder and has been treated for mental illness, reads everything about the remains obsessively.

Told from multiple points of view, the mystery of who this baby is will keep you turning pages. Kate is the force that keeps digging and unraveling secrets. She’s a tough, likeable protagonist. Jude, Emma’s self-absorbed mother, is well drawn as an odious woman who should never have become a mother.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

As the newspaper for which she works is firing journalists left and right, making way for a crop of inexperienced writers of sensationalist online content, veteran reporter Kate Waters catches the whiff of a story: a baby's skeleton is discovered during a construction project. Unable to stop thinking about the "Building Site Baby," Waters sets out to investigate alongside the police detectives, insinuating herself into the lives of women who once lived on the street where the skeleton was found. She also meets Angela and Nick, who were ruthlessly scrutinized after their baby was kidnapped from a maternity ward forty years before. Angela desperately hopes the skeleton at the building site is that of her kidnapped baby, so that she can finally have closure, while Emma, who had a difficult childhood with an unloving mother, fears she will be caught out for a crime she committed as an adolescent. A poignant, well-paced novel that examines the intrusiveness of investigative journalism along with its power to provide answers. The final few pages provided an aha moment I absolutely did not see coming.

Open book to -
that is the end to anything else. I was not able to stop reading!
Different viewpoints rotate around so get full effect of everyone's individual story...
when the climax actually took my breath away - I literally gasped and had to stop for a second and just breathe!!

I loved this book
especially in Ch. 41- "Dolly was singing pleading with Jolene over the speakers."
I am a Dolly fan, loved the reference. I could hear the song through her words.

A gripping page-turner! One of my favorite kinds of books--the British crime novel, chock-full of multiple viewpoints told in short chapters. Loved it! Highly recommended for fans of mystery/suspense.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the preview copy

Kept me guessing the whole time. I was waiting to see how the different points of view would finally intersect and I thought I had guessed it, but I was wrong! I really felt for the characters the whole way through. Very touching story with a good twist!

Decades ago, a newborn went missing from a hospital. Days ago, a baby's body was discovered at a construction site. Has the missing baby finally been found? Or is there another heartbreaking explanation? Fiona Barton is a master at dropping clues that lead the reader right to the truth without lessening the enjoyment of the story. Fans of last year's The Widow will enjoy this follow-up, also featuring journalist Kate Waters and boasting more twists and turns, but new readers can also enjoy The Child as a standalone mystery.

A newborn is found buried in the yard of a housing project and two women come forward claiming it is theirs. A stunning ending, as an investigative reporter and the two women become involved in telling this sad story from each one’s perspective. Wonderfully written, this fast paced, emotionally charged psychological drama with all its twists and turns will leave you breathless and tearful. Even though I suspected the twist and was not totally surprised I was still intrigued with the story and was eager to learn what all had happened to keep the secrets hidden for years and I loved watching Kate – the investigative journalist – do her job and bring the whole story together.

Absolutely fantastic!!! I am not normally a fan of this style of novel, but after reading it, can truly think of no other way it could have been told-- fantastic characters, amazing story, and I didn't want to put it down!

Loved it even more than The Widow!

I would like to thank NetGalley, Berkley Books, and Fiona Barton for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This is Barton's second thrilling novel which begins with the discovery of infant skeletal remains. Spanning over decades and crossing over the present and the past, this tale steadily unfolds between Angela, an aging mother who believes the remains are those of her missing daughter, Kate, the reporter uncovering the story, and Emma, a woman who appears to be obsessed with the case. These woman's lives entwine throughout the pages, filled with plot twists and turns and ending with a stellar conclusion. After a slow start, this book quickly becomes very difficult to put down.

I adored her first novel, _The Widow_. In contrast, this is a solid but not breathtaking novel.

A fine British mystery, Fiona Barton’s The Child is deftly plotted with strongly drawn female characters that excel in keeping their many secrets close at hand. The narrative is driven by a sad discovery reported in the daily newspaper, the remains of a baby’s skeleton are found at a building site in Woolwich, a town in south east London. The identity of the child and how she came to be at the building site are reflected upon by three women whose lives all intertwine by the book’s neat end. Kate Waters, a determined Post reporter investigating the mystery of the “Building Site Baby,” is compelled to keep digging for facts and evidence despite her editor’s early reluctance to believe the story is newsworthy. Angela Irving is the mother of “The Irving Baby” that was snatched while she was in the hospital forty years before (Angela was showering for just a few minutes while the baby was sleeping and came back to an empty room). Of course when Angela reads of the baby’s discovery at the building site, she wonders even after all these years, if the remains could be her lost child. Emma Simmonds, a young married ghostwriter, also sees the short newspaper notice about the baby, triggering memories and speculation about the child’s origins. Emma’s once estranged mother Jude, a retired lawyer, is also is affected by the news article. With an assist from a young intern whom she initially resents and sympathetic local law enforcement personnel, Kate’s dogged pursuit of the truth leads to the three women. Book chapters, narrated in first person by the major characters, afford shifting points of view helping to build suspense. This book is an intelligent who-done-it that stands alone and/or has the potential for launching an intriguing series based on Kate’s investigative reporting.
Disclosure: I received a free digital ARC from NetGalley in return for a fair honest review of the book.

Another win for Fiona Barton, this time even better than The Widow. Lots of twists and turns and I loved the development of Emma through the book....I'll be recommending this one to everyone!