Fiona Barton’s books have been getting better and better! The Widow and The Child were awesome, now she’s back with The Suspect. I rarely give five stars on Goodreads and save the five-star reviews for books that really blow me away and this one did.

Fiona Barton weaves a great story here that kept me guessing and turning the pages. I absolutely loved this novel! It’s her best one yet. The way she constructed the story, the different angles and points of view were genius. I like the setting of Thailand, the characters…everything about this book hit every note.

SYNOPSIS:

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 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 traveling.

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…

Pre-order this now so you don’t miss it!

January 2019

Fiona Barton is back with another case for crime reporter Kate Waters to investigate. Told in multiple points of view, this ones follows the case of two teenage girls that go missing while travelling in Thailand. As Kate own son has been travelling in the same area for two years, with only sporadic contact, this one feels personal to her. It is another great book from this successful author and I one I will be recommending to others.

Highly recommend this book. A compelling suspense storyline, with intriguing family dynamics interwoven in the story.

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.

Ridiculously read-able!!!! I could not put it down. Not really because the plot was unique but because it so compelling, it felt like it was ripped out of the headlines! You read stories, unfortunately, about this type of thing all too frequently so that added to the appeal of the book. I have read almost all of Fiona Barton’s books, and this was definitely a decent read. Nothing spectacular though.

Kate Waters is an ace reporter, hit an the trail of a couple of missing teenagers in Thailand. Things go terribly wrong when she unearths evidence that puts her squarely at the center of the story.

I am a huge fan of Fiona Barton. Her intrepid reporter, Kate, captured my total attention in her previous efforts, THE WIDOW and THE CHILD. The best part of this book is that the entire novel is totally unexpected!

Rather than solving a crime in England involving others; Kate is forced to go to Thailand, where what seems like covering a story about 2 missing English girls turns into her own personal nightmare.

It is her own sone Jake who is THE SUSPECT. With the help of her assistant, and her friend D.I, Sparkes, she is able to unwind the knots surrounding this outrageous crime.

Barton does a great job with all the secondary characters, as well as moving the reader into the dreadful surroundings of grimy, gritty Thailand.

I admit to enjoying every minute of this page turner.

This is my first time reading this author, and I really enjoyed both the plot and style of writing.

Kate is a reporter and covering the story of 2 young women that have gone missing in Thailand. I have a journalism background myself, so I connected with Kate but also appreciated that the story was told from different points of views . The transition between narration worked really well in this story, and I was hooked early on.

Definitely recommend this book, and I will be looking for more by Fiona Barton.

If you're a fan of BBC police procedurals a la Broadchurch, the Suspect fits that mold. Told from multiple points of view, but driven by Reporter Kate Waters, the Suspect chronicles a story/case where two teens have gone missing in Thailand. As the mystery unravels, Kate discovers she has a personal connection to the story, complicating her involvement. The characters are compelling, but the storytelling is so straightforward, it lacked tension and mystery for this reader.

This was my first Fiona Barton book and I didn't realize it was part of a series, though that didn't seem to matter as enough was explained throughout. The story was a slow built up told through multiple points of views. I especially enjoyed the reporters point of view and the missing woman's point of view. I would have enjoyed more of the missing woman's point of view to hear more about her story- the bits that were there were a bit of a teaser. I would definitely consider reading more books by the anther. Thanks for the ARC copy.

This author is a definite must read author for me. Her books are always so well written and engaging. I don't know how anyone could not enjoy her books.

This book is a standalone. However, it is connected to her first two books. The main characters of the reporter and inspector are important parts of all three of her books now. Things with these characters' personal lives and how they intertwine with this book are essential. My advice is to read The Widow and The Child before you read this one. You can follow this book without them, but you won't have the whole backstory and friendship that are important to all three books.

This book... Wow. I really don't know what to say. My heart broke for every parent in this book. Barton did such a wonderful job at portraying each parent playing their part so well, it seemed real. Not that it couldn't have been real. Things like this happen all too often.

So here we are.... Where are the missing girls? What happened to them? Where is Kate's son, Jake? In Barton's previous two books you got a glimpse into the woes of Kate and Bob. In this book, their lives and friendship are put to the test when everything seems to intertwine with one another. Trust is a big key component in this book. It is safe to say we can't always trust those who are closest, but we also can't turn our backs on those who are more likely to hold us up.

This book, like the previous books, is a slow build. It's delicious and sets the stage for a story that is bound to hold you captive from start to finish. The characters, the plot, the little twists that leave you scratching your head. My advice, hold on tight. This book is bound to take you on a ride!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this book for review.

I will admit right off the top that I am an addict of Fiona Barton's books. I find her characters so real and just as full of human failings as the rest of us. Bad things even happen to good people, and the good people's family members have serious problems like the rest of the world.

In "The Suspect," Kate Waters, the journalist follows a story to Thailand about two girls who disappeared not long after arriving in Bangkok. Suddenly Kate's own life is tangled up in the story, and she has to make some hard decisions, particularly about her family member's part in the story. And in the end the question that sometimes comes to all of us: do we provide unwavering support to a family member just because they are a family member? A conundrum that touches the heart.

Alexandra (Alex) and Rosie are two British girls who travel to Thailand in their gap year while waiting to begin further studies. Alex regularly communicates to her parents during the trip. However, when she stops communicating, her parents become worried. They contact the police to see if anything can be done.

Kate is an ambitious newspaper reporter who takes an interest in the missing persons report. She feels a connection with the parents because her own son, Jake, is also in Thailand and hasn’t contacted her in a long time. She thinks this is a real human interest story that would appeal to the newspaper’s readers. She arranges to meet and interview the girls’ families and write a news story about them.

Told from many different viewpoints, this novel brings to life a parent’s worst nightmare. The tension builds slowly as the girls’ story unfolds and raw emotions explode. Complex and suspenseful, it is a well written, plausible and realistic tale that is hard to put down and will hold your interest until the final stunning conclusion. This is one of the best suspense stories I’ve read in quite some time!

Thank you to author Fiona Barton, Berkley Publishing (an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC), and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC of this first rate novel— I would highly recommend it!

Told from several points of view, this story reveals many facets to a tragic mystery. Mothers become the focal pint of a tragic mystery and how much they want to protect their children even after death.

Even with fiction, I like the story to be plausible. I felt this novel had a disconnect between Thailand and London, the dual settings for the mystery. I never got a good image of the Bangkok portion of the story. The changing POVs worked well as a vehicle to know the characters and explain the action but the "mystery" wasn't especially mysterious and most of the characters were simply irritating. But the plot moved at a good pace and it was an easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC to read and review.

This has the elements of a very interesting mystery that pulls in the perspectives of family, police, media through rotating narration and characters with varied roles in the story. However, the plot was fairly predictable and the character development was not thorough enough to make up for it. Overall, an average book from Barton.

Fiona Barton has a way of wrapping her plot around the premise and moving slowly toward the answers, while leaving the reader to question each and every angle from the birds-eye view. What a premise to tackle. Young girls traveling abroad on their own. Families relying solely on their emails and Facebook posts to know they are surviving and doing fine. And what do you do when you stop hearing from them altogether? I love how Barton is able to weave multiple perspectives and multiple time periods seamlessly to create a fast paced thriller. From the families of the missing girls, the detective, the reporter, and to the girls themselves each perspectives clues into what is really going on and who all is involved. With each new novel Barton creates, they get better and better. I am looking forward to more from this author.

This is the thriller series I've been wanting. Book three of Reporter Kate Waters and D.I. Bob Sparkes is as engrossing, if not more than, the first two.
The story of "The Suspect" has its own captivating mystery while continuing deeper into the personal lives of the inspector and the reporter.
I hope that was a hint toward a book four at the end; I'd like to read more of these two.

Two teenagers decide to spend their gap year in Thailand. One girl backs out and is replaced with a fun loving substitute. Both girls wind up dead in a fire in a sleazy guesthouse. Detectives, reporters, family members get in the mix and all are hunting for the suspect(s). Lots of back flashes, emails, and descriptions of their adventures - mostly x-rated. Not as suspenseful as I had hoped from her previous work - but an interesting cliff hanger ending. All in all, a good read.

I love the characters of Bob and Kate. This is my third Fiona Barton read and I feel like each one has been better than the last. I figured out one of the major twists in this one, but there were still more to come! Also really enjoyed the setting in Thailand.