I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the description of this book I was intrigued by it and I wanted to read it and find out what happened to the girls, and where was Kate’s son. I was not disappointed. The book had two good mysteries going on and eventually they intertwined and I was like whoa and then was even more intrigued to see where it was going to go from there.

The plot of the book was well done, the book was told in multiple perspectives which worked well for this story because you were getting different views of all the people involved and their side of the story. That way you are seeing what the people trying to discover what happened are feeling and then you see the perspective of the people it is happening to. The story flowed nicely and there were good twists that had you guessing how the story was going to play out.

The characters were pretty well developed, I don’t think I particularly liked anyone in the sense that I wanted to see what happened, but they all had some flaws where I was like well this is your doing so…But, you get a background on each of the characters and you know how that relates to what is going on in the story and the way the ending plays out.

The ending had a good twist that you don’t quite suspect is coming, but have a feeling that there is more to the story than what really happened and then bam you know. I won’t say what because I don’t want to give it away. The Suspect was definitely a fun and entertaining read. I would recommend it.

This is my first Fiona Barton book and I didn't realize there were two more before this one, however I didn't feel like I came late to the party and didn't understand what was going on. There was just enough backstory for me to understand the dynamics. This one took me a minute to get invested because the beginning chapters were short and choppy introducing all the key players. At first we meet the reporter, Kate, whose son is estranged and doesn't call much. Then we meet the mother Lesley who, along with her husband Malcolm, is quite worried about their daughter whose on her gap year travels and hasn't checked in with them at the scheduled time. Next up is Inspector Bob Sparkes, who is having his own family troubles. All our main characters converge when the daughter on holiday gets in trouble in Thailand. What happens next is a mystery with quite a few twists that I honestly didn't see coming. I thought I had it all figured out and then the story turned on me so I had to reevaluate. All in all I was pleasantly surprised with this one.

I received an Advanced Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

When two girls go missing on a trip to Thailand, not only the police but journalist Kate Waters, whose son is also in Thailand, begin to investigate. This book starts out very engaging and mysterious, but kind of drags as it goes on. Although this book works fine as a standalone, the reporter and inspector are characters from Barton's other books and it helps to have their history.

The first hint of trouble comes with an absence. There's no email in Lesley O'Connor's inbox when she looks for a missive from her 18-year-old daughter, Alex. It's alarming because Alex was meant to be contacting her parents to find out her A Level results. It's even more worrisome because Alex and a friend, Rosie Shaw, are supposed to be enjoying an adventure in Thailand. They contact the police to report that the last time they had heard from Alex was when she said she was in Bangkok. Both sets of parents meet with Detectives Bob Sparkes and Zara Salmond to ask for help in contacting the British Embassy in Thailand and reporter Kate Walker soon gets involved in trying to find out what's become of the missing girls. But Kate has her own private concerns -- her own son, Jake, hasn't phoned home much since he bunked off to Phuket after leaving his university studies over 2 years ago. Something is truly amiss in Thailand and this mystery must be solved as worries for the teenagers mount. NO SPOILERS.

What a great story! Told in alternating points of view, the reader hears the voices of Alex, Kate, Bob, and Lesley who describe events in detail as they happen. The shifts in perspective were easy to follow and lent a great deal of tension and suspense to the evolving tale. You can feel the parents' anguish intensify as it all unfolds and you can imagine the frustration experienced by the police and by Kate as they try to find out information from officials on foreign soil. The writing was excellent and I had difficulty in putting the book down as more and worse is revealed. I definitely liked the style in which this was told and just sat quietly as I tried to take it all in after I turned the last page.

I had read the first book in the Kate Waters series and do have the second (which I'll definitely go back to), but I wanted to read this by publication day as I was grateful to NetGalley and Berkley for the e-book ARC to review. This is definitely a book I can recommend as I understand all too well that "protecting our children changes who we are. Who we seem to be."

And lastly, call me overprotective and whatever, but I can honestly say that there's no way on earth I'd let my 18-year-old daughter go off backpacking in Thailand with a girlfriend. Oh yes, I know that bad stuff can happen anywhere -- even in your own backyard -- but it just seems way too risky of a venture.

I was quite impressed with the latest mystery by Fiona Barton. She skillfully weaves a suspenseful story while managing to include the humanity of loss and the fear of every parent.
Each portion of the story is revealed at deliberate intervals so that the reader isn't frustrated by wondering about elements for too long. And the twists keep coming until the very end, so that even when you think you know everything, you really don't.
I like the chapters from alternating points of view, so that the reader is kept just a bit more informed than the different parties involved, but only just slightly. I much prefer this to the other way around (where the reader is totally in the dark and the characters know everything).
I will definitely read more books by Barton in the future, I appreciate how she furthers the stories of the main characters, but doesn't get bogged down on side tangents so much that she neglects the main plot.

This is my third Barton book and in looking back, it seems I rated every single one the exact same way. And look, everyone has their own way of thinking about ratings but I do not consider a 3 star rating bad like some people. And this has been my consistent rating for Barton... and I still need to read everything she writes!

She has a way of keeping you addicted to the pages. She writes in a way that keeps the story flowing. Different perspectives: in this case, one of the teenage girls who is missing, a mother/reporter whose son has been a mystery to her and the detectives on the case. These all intertwine... though I'm not sure the storyline of one was entirely necessary to keep the story full.

The thing with Barton is that she gives us this little bit of a mystery, the suspense through the story and it's all done at the same pacing. There's never any real BIG reveal or a throat punch twist. I think those who love these types of stories should absolutely pick up all 3 of Barton's books. There also seems to always still be some type of dangling mystery still to keep your mind moving as you turn that last page.

I do enjoy her novels. I close the book with this kind of …. but but but… but in a good way. I think I prefer those novels that while aren't always tidy, also gives me more of a roller coaster in the feelings department. I'll certainly still be keeping my eye out for whatever Barton comes out with next, because she definitely does entertain.

The Suspect is another winner from author Fiona Barton. This book literally had my attention at page one. The story of two missing English girls in Thailand is told from several perspectives – the mother of one of the girls, a reporter who becomes personally involved in the disappearance, an English detective and one of the missing girls. As the story progresses it becomes apparent that there are secrets and lies that will be uncovered before the truth is determined.

Once again, Fiona Barton weaves a fascinating tale, interspersing the disappearance and subsequent investigation with details concerning the private lives of the various players. It also has some unexpected jolts and twists that will keep a reader totally engaged and focused.

As with the other books by this author, I thoroughly enjoyed The Suspect. I am already looking forward to the next book by the incomparable Ms Barton.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Fiona Barton crafts a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the beginning. Two missing girls. Thailand. An international hunt for answers. As clues appear, and the case is being worked, there are several places that make you sit back and go "OH!" As the families are thrown into the international spotlight, besides themselves with worry, Kate, a journalist has been getting to know the families on a deeper level as she looks into the girl's disappearances.

I could NOT put this book down! It was fabulously addicting! This was the first book by Fiona Barton that I have read, and it did not disappoint! I will be checking out her other works as well.

After months of saving money, planning, and convincing their parents, Alex and Rosie are finally in Thailand for their gap year before starting university. However, when their parents don't hear from the girls for over a week, they start to get worried and call the police.
Reporter Kate Waters is looking for a good story to distract her from the fact that she hasn't heard from her son Jake in months, so when she hears about the girls' disappearance, she decides to investigate. She travels to Thailand with the girls' families but has her own personal reason to go: she hopes that she will finally find Jake, who went to Thailand after dropping out of university. Once Kate gets there, she uncovers a truth much darker than she thought, but will do anything to protect her son.
Fiona Barton has created a story full of tension and twists. With well-crafted characters and a compelling plot, the novel sees three mothers desperate to find their children and thanks to the author's brilliant writing, you can feel their panic, their worry, and their sadness. If you loved the author's previous two novels, you're going to love this, and there is a final revelation that will completely take you by surprise.

Thank you to Fiona Barton and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC.

The premise of this book is great, albeit a little scary if you're a parent of a teenager who's almost old enough to be thinking of taking a gap year. I read this book in two days. It was very well written, and nicely paced.

I love Fiona Barton's writing style, and will definitely be reading more of her books in the future.

In The Suspect, Barton has returned us to the lives of Kate, the reporter, and Sparkes, the detective, from The Widow. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Two teenage girls have gone missing during a trip to Thailand. Their parents have contacted the police, but not much is being done. Kate becomes interested in the story, trying to draw some attention with publicity, but when the girls' bodies are found in a burned out hostel, she's all in. Especially since her son is in Thailand, and she hasn't heard from him in months. She hopes to visit him while she is in Thailand.

What they find when they arrive in Thailand is not encouraging. The police are quick to rule it an accident--a fire set by a candle. No witnesses are available until Kate finds out her son was living in this same place, and he's in the hospital being treated for burns. Things just don't add up. Her son wasn't supposed to be here; he was supposed to be away working on a farm.

Back in London, Sparkes is taking over the investigation, since the Thai police have botched it so bad. The bodies are returned and his investigating begins.

I don't really want to say much more. There are multiple perspectives, as in The Widow. And this technique is used masterfully (as in The Widow.) We get the girls' perspectives and realize this isn't turning out to be the dream trip they expected.

I liked The Suspect better than The Widow. There is a bigger twist that I didn't see coming. The situation causes tension between Sparkes and Kate. The parents of the missing girls have their own set of problems that we get from the perspective of one of the mothers.

The Suspect has a complex, twisty plot that kept my interest easily. There are several references to the plot of The Widow that I enjoyed but aren't necessary to the understanding of this story. Getting to know these characters on a continuing (and more personal) basis adds to the satisfaction.

If you enjoy detective/reporter stories, especially in a Brittish setting, you will certainly enjoy The Suspect (and The Widow.) Highly recommended.

Fiona Barton’s latest thriller The Suspect is the third book in her popular Kate Waters series. In this novel, we follow journalist Kate Waters as she investigates what has happened to two teenage girls who have gone missing while traveling in Thailand. Kate is an ambitious journalist – she always wants to be the one to get the exclusive and be the first to discover the truth. This case is no different, although it does have the added motivation that it would have her traveling to Thailand.

Why is Thailand such a draw for Kate? Because that’s where her estranged son has been living for the past two years. She hasn’t seen him even once in those two years and he rarely ever tries to contact her or his dad and is evasive the few times he has spoken to them. Kate is hoping this investigation will give her the opportunity to check in on him herself and hopefully convince him to come home.

Kate decides that getting close to the families of the missing girls is the best way to ensure she is at the forefront and has access as the pieces of the investigation start to form a picture of what has happened to the girls. At first this seems like a brilliant move, but then the investigation takes an unexpected turn that has her regretting her decision to get so close to these families.

The Suspect is a suspenseful story that kept me reading late into the night. I knew just based on the novel’s title that a crime had potentially been committed, so as soon as I read that two teens had gone missing in a foreign country, I couldn’t put the book down until I knew what had happened to the girls and who was responsible.

The story itself was engaging because the fear of losing a child is a fear that all parents can relate to. Barton does a particularly good job of depicting the two sets of parents and how frantic with worry they are. There are several scenes where they get emotional and lash out at each other, desperately looking for someone to blame. The raw emotions in those scenes felt very real, and it was easy to put myself in these parents’ place and imagine what they were going through.

Another aspect of the story that I thought was very well done was the way Barton chooses to present the story from four different points of view – Detective Sparkes (who appears regularly in this series and often works with Kate), so that we get law enforcement’s perspective on the investigation, and of course, Kate so that we also get the media’s perspective. In addition to those two points of view, we also hear from the mother of one of the missing girls and from one of the missing girls, Alex. I loved the depth and the added layers that each perspective brought to the story. Any more than four POVs might have gotten too confusing to keep track of, but these four really came together to paint a full picture of what happened and to show how each piece fell into place. Alex’s perspective was particularly effective since we can witness firsthand the days and weeks leading up to the girls’ disappearance.

All of these elements made for a well-paced read that I didn’t want to put down.

Even though I enjoyed the story overall, I did have some mixed feelings about The Suspect, the first being that I found it hard to connect with Kate Waters. I experienced the same thing with the second book in the series. I like Kate well enough and I think she’s a talented journalist, but even three books in, I still just don’t feel like I really know much about her. In that sense, the books remind me of procedural crime dramas where the characters take a backseat to the crimes being investigated. There’s obviously nothing wrong with that and from a mystery standpoint, the story is fantastic, but because I prefer to feel some kind of a connection to the main characters, I found that aspect a little lacking in The Suspect.

One other issue I had was that I felt like we learned what happened to the girls a little too soon. I know the book is called The Suspect and therefore implies that the suspect is the primary focus, but I just would have preferred a little more buildup to the reveal of the crime.

The Suspect is another riveting mystery from Fiona Barton. Even with the couple of issues I had with it, I still found the story very engaging and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a good thriller.

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 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…

Another great read from Fiona Barton. I read The Child and liked it so I was hoping this one would be equally as thrilling. It did not disappoint!

We meet up with reporter Kate Waters again as she is following the story of the two missing girls only to find herself part of it. The POV switches between the reporter, the detective, a mother of one of the girls and one of the girls. The overall pace of the story wasn’t hang-on-to-your-seat fast but it was good. Not to slow. The twists were great and caught me by surprise. That ending! (I had forgotten about that little tidbit of info from before!) I also enjoyed the relationship between Kate Waters and DI Sparkes. How they respect one another. Overall great read and I am looking forward to more from Ms. Barton.

How far will a mother go to protect her child?

Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wrote about this title on my blog and will provide details and a link in the next stage when I can share directly with the publisher

This was my first book to read by Fiona Barton and did not realize The Suspect was the third in a series. That being said, it stood alone just fine on its own, and I did not need to have read the other two as the references to them were minimal. The Suspect centers around two girls that go missing on a trip to Thailand, and their mothers' attempts to find them from the US. Kate Waters is a reporter, a consistent character from the previous two books, who happens to have a son in Thailand as well. She gets the lead interviews and headlines on these girls, but the narrative quickly takes a turn when it appears her son has not been honest with her regarding his whereabouts and activities in Thailand, and is now connected to the missing girls.

This was a great read, and was informational on all the things you should NOT do when traveling overseas. I felt like this could be a parent's literal worst nightmare, and Barton did an excellent job at keeping the story fascinating, but never did it veer off into an extreme or absurd plot that jumped the shark. All of it was believable, which made it that more frightening. The overall pacing was steady - I read this in a couple of sittings. She also covered all the bases in how a mother would react through each of the mothers in this story - anger, denial, depressed, etc.. DI Bob Sparkes is also a consistent character (I believe), and he had a touching story regarding his wife but I also enjoyed the relationship between he and Kate, e.g. Detective vs. Reporter.

Overall this was 4 stars for me and I would definitely recommend it when it is released on 1/22/19. I will be going back and adding the first two books in this series to my TBR as well! Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the electronic ARC of this book in exchange for my review. All opinions above are my own.

The third book by Fiona Barton is my favorite so far. Two girls from England go missing in Thailand during their gap year. When Kate Waters a journalist starts researching the story she finds her own estranged son is connected to the missing girls. This book takes a lot of twists and turns. I really liked the ending. I will be looking forward to more from Barton in the future.

Fiona Barton’s The Suspect has a ripped-from-the-headlines premise that takes a surprising turn with a suspenseful twist, making this a fantastic development in the Kate Waters series. With short chapters and alternating narrators, the pace of this book was quick and lively. I particularly loved the back story from Alex and the contrast to the search and investigation. A fascinating case with a unique plot twist that is sure to be a hit!

Reflection

I’ve read all three Kate Waters books, and I love how each iteration continues to develop Kate’s character, while still working as standalone reads. In the first book, The Widow, Kate is a less prominent (but important) character, and the focus is largely on the titular character herself. What does the widow know? What will she reveal?

In The Suspect, Kate is truly the central character and voice in the story. I really enjoyed hearing more from her in this book. Her storyline in The Suspect is particularly interesting, because she ends up having a personal tie to the case. I really can’t elaborate, but there is a wonderful, heart-pounding moment she has part way through the first half, and I get chills thinking about that line in the book!

Let’s talk about the central case, shall we? The book starts and we learn Kate’s son is off in Thailand, taking a two year hiatus from college to live and work in Phuket. Next we switch perspectives and learn about two girls who are spending the summer traveling in Thailand, only their parents stopped hearing from them about a week prior. So already you can see where the intersection between Kate’s personal and professional lives might occur.

As Kate picks up the case of the missing girls, she can’t help but wonder why she hasn’t heard from her son in so long. The case brings up some painful truths from Kate’s own life. The case reminds me so much of the famous case of the two Dutch girls who went missing in Panama. They did eventually find their bodies, but it wasn’t clear at first what the cause of death was. The stories are clearly not identical, but I remember finding that case incredibly haunting. In particular with the finding of the backpack, the emergency calls from their cell phones, and the cameras. I won’t go into that case here (though maybe I should do a true crime post sometime??), but you should look it up. Chilling!

I loved Alex in particular. The contrast between what Alex is actually experiencing with her friend Rosie and what her parents hear and friends see on facebook is such an important story for our time. The pressure, especially on young people, to showcase an enviable life can have detrimental effects. In this case, it contributed to the disappearance of two girls without their parent’s realizing what was wrong.
Enter Kate Waters, whose dogged determination to find the story (and the truth) uncovers a myriad of clues that help lead the detectives closer to the truth. Add to that Kate’s own maternal worries and connection, and truly this is a captivating story.

I read this book with the Book Besties. We all had a slightly different reaction to some things, but a great discussion about this book. I think I had read the most books from this series, and certainly that added to my enjoyment of the case. I hope you will read their reviews and hear for yourself what their reading experience was like!

Thank you to our partners at Berkley for our copies!

This was an intriguing story that kept the mama bear in me on the edge of my seat!

This is a story guaranteed to make any parent squirm... Leslie and Jenny receive the call that no mother ever wants to receive, they need to head to Thailand to identify their daughters bodies...

Being a parent is a tough job, and being the parent of adult children is sometimes even harder... i’ve read so many reviews that state that they don’t know anyone who would allow their children to go to Thailand at the age of 18? And that’s fine if you don’t believe you would allow your children to go to Thailand, but it does not mean that a parent that would allow their children to go to Thailand is a bad parent.... I also think that a lot more UK kids in their late teens early 20s travel, the gap year is much more common... I personally don’t know anyone here in America who had a gap year? With the exception of Malia Obama, who I guess I don’t know personally...It is more than likely I would not want my kids to go to Thailand, but there comes a point in your child’s life that it is up to them... in this book Alex has graduated is about to head off to university and has saved her money for an entire year for this trip, in hindsight probably not the greatest idea, but... well I went off on a bit of a tangent there, sorry about that.... back to the book!

When two 18-year-old girls Alex and Rosie go missing while on holiday in Thailand it stirs up all kinds of emotions in Kate.... Kate’s son Jacob dropped out of university and went traveling to Thailand to “find himself“ with very sporadic communication with Home... Kate who is a reporter instantly gets herself on the case, and when the families travel to Thailand she is compelled to go too... but Kate has no idea what awaits her in Thailand, secrets and deceptions that will turn the reporter into the story!

This book really was more of a mystery/police procedural/family drama than a traditional thriller... but I was still completely engrossed in the story wanting to know what happened to these girls... I really liked Alex and I loved getting to know her through her Facebook posts and communication with her BFF back home... Rosie on the other hand was much less sympathetic, to say the least.... my heart broke for these parents and I really felt their pain and their need for justice and truth.... I can only imagine how hard it would be as more andMore truths were revealed about your daughters’ horrifying last days...

A perfectly paced story that was propelled forward by short concise chapters... i’d say this book was more plot driven then character driven, and generally I do like a story to be more character driven, but this one completely captivated me.... as I said my mama bear was on high alert... I just needed to know what had happened to these girls, and how these parents coped with living my worst nightmare....

A well constructed story with a large dose of mystery and a splash of thriller! Recommend!

🎵 OK I’m going to start doing something a little different with all my reviews. I love music and I always have a song going through my head as I’m reading... so I’m going to start sharing with you lyrics and a link to the song running through my head while reading. At least until I run out of songs or inspiration!

<i>Bangkok, Oriental setting
And the city don't know that the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world
In a show with everything but Yul Brynner
Time flies doesn't seem a minute
Since the Tirolean spa had the chess boys in it
All change don't you know that when you
Play at this level there's no ordinary venue
It's Iceland or the Philippines or Hastings or
Or this place!
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you're lucky then the god's a she
I can feel an angel sliding up to me</i>
- Murray Head 1984



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rgc_LRjlbTU

*** Big thanks to Berkley for my copy of this book ***

A reporter discovers she has close ties to a story she’s covering and finds herself in the spotlight. As each piece of news comes to the forefront, she must decide whether she can remain an impartial bystander or become an involved mother. Author Fiona Barton brings back her smart journalist character in her latest novel The Suspect.

When a pair of teenage girls go missing during a trip to Thailand, British journalist Kate Waters jumps at the chance to cover the story. She’s built a reputation for herself at her paper and has enough contacts to guarantee she’ll get the exclusive interviews with the girls’ families as well as vetted information from the police. Despite the obvious jealousy from colleagues at rival papers, Kate uses the trust she’s built with her sources in the most honorable way.

Although she may not admit it to anyone else, the story has some personal resonance for Kate. Two years earlier, her older son, Jake, dropped out of his course at the university and decided to travel. Since then Kate and her husband have only had intermittent communication with Jake. Kate understands how the mothers of the two missing girls must feel. It’s almost as if Jake himself is missing.

She receives the shock of a lifetime when she discovers that not only is Jake not missing, he’s right in the center of the story of the girls in Thailand. Kate does the honorable thing and steps away from the story as a reporter, but that doesn’t stop her involvement as a mother. When word comes that the girls’ situation may have become much more complicated than anyone could imagine, Kate gets bombarded by the media and learns firsthand how the people in her own articles must feel. It makes her even more determined to get to the bottom of it all and bring Jake home.

Author Fiona Barton has returned with another thriller that will keep readers up late at night even as they agonize over the choices the characters make. Kate Waters is smart and confident, but Barton doesn’t let that get in the way of possible vulnerability. Readers who are mothers will feel Kate’s heartache and root her on. While her husband and younger son don’t figure in the story as much, Barton doesn’t abandon them completely. The overall affect reinforces the idea that sometimes a mother treads the path of parenthood in emotional isolation.

If the book is to be faulted anywhere, it’s in predictability. Readers will guess in many instances long before Kate does where the story will go. Some of the plot points won’t surprise anyone except the characters. Barton saves them by making them three-dimensional, well-rounded people and also with her artful prose, but it’s a shame that some of the thriller isn’t so much.

In the end, however, Barton does provide readers with a plot that also has heart. She manages to keep a few surprises in store, and in some cases she doesn’t hesitate to follow tragedy to its end. Not every story can end with roses and rainbows, and Barton makes that clear in this book while twisting readers’ emotions into the most delightful knots all at the same time.

Thriller lovers and those who enjoy Barton’s books will like The Suspect, which is why I recommend readers Bookmark it.

A frantic search ensues after two girls go missing in Thailand, in Fiona Barton’s third psychological thriller, THE SUSPECT.

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime for two 18-year-olds. Alexandra and her best friend had diligently been planning their visit to Thailand during their gap year at school. Alex’s best friend bows out last minute, however, and neighbor Rosie enthusiastically steps in to go. Things go wrong from the very beginning, and soon after, the girls go silent and no one’s heard from them for more than a week.

Detective Inspector (DI) Sparkes is on the case, as is reporter Kate Waters, both whom we know from THE WIDOW and THE CHILD. But then they do hear something that takes parents, detective and reporter to Thailand—an occurrence that sparks more questions and concerns for everyone involved.

As they desperately search for answers, the case deepens, becoming far more personal—and precarious—to Kate.

The narrative unravels through multiple perspectives: The Reporter, The Mother, The Detective and a handful of chapters narrated by Alex. And although the driving question is what happened to Alex and Rosie, it’s easy to remain rapt with the many twists that punctuate the story.

I did guess who was responsible for what happened (it’s not difficult), but the way it actually goes down, along with the fallout, is what’s really unnerving.

It’s a solid “whodunit” thriller overall. Somewhat predictable with shifty characters aplenty, but worth the read for casual readers and avid fans of Barton. Kate Waters is the character with most depth, and therefore the one who most resonates. Every parent will undoubtedly shudder with the story too. Key takeaway—don’t send your kids to Thailand!