This book was a good murder mystery. The story takes place in England and Thailand showing cultural
differences when handling a murder case. You follow the two young women on their adventure in Thailand as things spiral out of their control. I liked the twists and turns which made this a real page turner.

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 quandry 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.

ARC from Netgalley.

Malia Obama did it. Prince William did it. They’ve become increasingly popular over the last decade or so. Fiona Barton’s The Suspect takes a hard look at the latest hot trend - The Gap Year - and shows that while for some it can be fun, for others it can easily prove otherwise.

Alex had been saving for over a year to go to Bangkok for her gap year. She and her best friend were going to see all the coolest temples, hang out at the local beaches, and take dozens of selfies documenting their awesome time. But when her friend decides not to go, Alex finds herself traveling with neighbor Rosie instead. Alex and Rosie are barely cordial acquaintances but not even doubts about her traveling companion are enough to cool Alex’s excitement about her coming adventure.

When her family goes a week without hearing from her, they grow concerned. Reaching out to the local police and the British embassy in Thailand, they receive reassurances but no real help. They jump at the opportunity to speak to reporter Kate Waters and make their story - and worries - public.

Kate is no fan of gap years. Her own son Jake dropped out of law school over a year earlier to work with turtles in Phuket  and the two of them had a heated argument over the decision. She barely hears from Jake anymore and has no real desire to chase after other people’s children following the same dream. The news desk is slow however, and when she gets a tip from DI Bob Sparks about two missing teens, she speaks to the family, determined to get an exclusive human interest piece. She has no idea that soon those two girls will be the center of a whirlwind in her own life.

Told from alternating points of view, this tale is all about simple, ordinary decisions that turn out to have extraordinarily bad consequences. Ms. Barton is the queen of the slow burn mystery and this book is no exception. The plot doesn’t twist and turn so much as it meanders down a slightly curvy road. Initially, it’s not a story that surprises – each new element is not so much  revealed as gently introduced and I was able to guess what was about to happen just slightly before it actually occurred. These quiet exposés are actually intensely compelling - the reader becomes deeply engaged in learning whether or not their assumptions are correct and if so, (or not) what that means for the plot.

Then the latter third of the tale simply explodes. Events are not quite what is expected, the truth is very difficult to come by. At that point you are invested in the characters, especially all of the mothers. Just how far will they go to for their children? What effect will each tragic revelation have upon them?

Compelling and addictive, The Suspect slowly sucks the reader in. I think the slow start and the leisurely pace of the beginning might be a turnoff for those looking for an instant thrill, but if you are willing to put in the work, the payoff, in the end, is worth it. The book certainly left me thinking about it long after I put it down.

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“ The Suspect” by Fiona Barton brings back DI Sparkes and reporter Kate Waters on a case that has her not in the usual role as reporter on a crime but as part of the story. The mystery revolves around Alexandra O’Connor and a childhood friend who steps in at the last minute to accompany Alex on a dream trip to Thailand before starting college.
Kate Waters jumps at the opportunity to cover the story and travel to Thailand where her son has been hiding out for the last two years.
The story is a bit slow and some characters need more of a backstory or introduction throughout rather than a neat wrap up st the end.
The big reveals are unsatisfying as they are told from an observers point of view rather as they happen. Regular readers of musteryand thriller genre will figure out most of the surprises. Mama is a looming presence throughout but you never get a clear read on her motivation- is she purely mercenary or truly evil.
Itbis an interesting story that could have been tightened up and some side characters eliminated.
The main theme throughout seems to be how well do you know your children and what are you hiding from yourself because it’s too painful to admit

A 3.8 rounded up

This was my first time reading a book by Fiona Barton and what a pleasure it was! This story about two eighteen year old girls who go missing on a trip to Thailand and the desperation of their families to find their whereabouts intrigued me from the beginning with just enough detail but not over the top descriptions of the characters and surroundings. Fiona caught the essence of what a parent goes through when they discover that their children are not all what they think or want them to be.
The writing is engaging, just enough tension to keep the pace going. This psychological thriller is a must read of the year.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To say I've been on a Netgalley kick lately is the understatement of a lifetime. I sat up late one night and just scrolled through as many upcoming releases as possible requesting anything that caught my eye or sounded good. Some I picked due to genre or recognition of an author I have either read or who probably sits on my bookshelf with all my other hundreds of TBR's (okay maybe not hundreds, but it feels like it).

During this hour-ish of insomnia, to my amazement, I stumbled upon Fiona Barton's soon to be new released novel "The Suspect." If Fiona Barton isn't ringing a bell right away to you, she is the author of "The Widow" and "The Child." All three books follow news reporter Kate Waters and each story is a different crime that has shaken the community.

A quick confession: Barton is one of the many authors who have sat on my TBR shelf for, what feels like, forever. "The Child" was a Book of the Month pick in 2017 and "The Widow " was Barton's first novel, both which I have bought and not read as of about a week ago. When I saw "The Suspect" was being released next week, and realized Kate Waters was in every book, I knew I had to read the other two before reading this new one. Disclaimer: you do NOT have to read them all to understand "The Suspect." They all standalone, but I was worried about possibly "The Suspect" mentioning the past two books and ruining the endings to either of those, which, along with my Obsessive Compulsiveness, made me decide I needed to read them first.

I also must admit that I am O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with British Procedurals (or European Procedures.... is that a thing?). I don't know if it's because they're all set in Europe or what, but you give me a crime story based in England, Ireland, Italy, etc. you have my undivided attention. I also love listening to them on audiobook. I could listen to someone with an England or Irish accent all day long. Okay, moving on...

This was, hands down, my favorite one by Barton so far. That I can remember, I don't feel like I've had a mystery/suspense book tug at my heart strings like this one. I honestly felt a variety of emotions including happiness, annoyance, sadness, heartache, anger, etc. I enjoyed all the characters in this story and I love the working relationship between Waters and DI Sparkes (who is also in both "The Widow" and "The Child"). The story gives you every parent's worse nightmare: Your child going on vacation and then comes up missing. You are introduced to two families, whose daughters, leave for Thailand on a vacation after graduation. What first was a fun-filled vacation before college, becomes an investigation into the disappearance of these two girls and the shotty investigation that is conducted by the Bangkok police.

Coming in at just shy of 450 pages, this book is a pretty quick read with short chapters and a story that makes you not want to put the book down. "The Suspect" will be released January 22nd and if you're into mystery genre's with a multi-person POV then this, and honestly all of Barton's novels, are for you.

--Brit

@callemarie- Litsy
@bookreader_craftbeerlover -Instagram

3.5 Stars
Kate a journalist is reporting on mystery surrounding the death of two girls during their gap year trip, and finds herself in the middle of the story. It was an interesting take reading the story through her eyes on the other side as the story now instead of reporting it. The book was well written and had me engaged to see what would happen next. It was an intersting quick read although I felt a connection to the characters lacking. Kate was the most interesting one and didn't realize she was part of prior stories. I will be checking them out at a later time.

Thank you to NetGalley for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m happy to say that my first read of 2019, was.. AMAZING.

Fiona Barton does NOT disappoint in her third book that is set to release Jan.22nd.
I loved being back with Reporter Kate Waters and Detective Bob Sparkes and reading how they unfold yet another chilling mystery. The plot was perfectly thought out and executed throughout the book, with surprises I didn’t even expect.
Barton’s writing is just brilliant, and it’s authors like her that make me LOVE this genre.

This is definitely a must read of mystery fans.

Fiona Barton is a great writer and I have enjoyed all her books, including this one. She keeps you going with good stories, prose and intrigue.

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: their teenager is thousands of miles away, and unreachable. Her Facebook and Instagram are no longer being updated; she’s not answering her phone.

This is the terrifying situation faced by two mothers in The Suspect, Fiona Barton’s third novel featuring journalist Kate Waters. (I reviewed the first book in the series, The Widow, a couple of years ago.) Lesley O’Connor’s 18-year-old daughter Alexandra traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, with her friend Rosie Shaw, promising to phone home on the day her eagerly-awaited A-Level results came out. When the day passes with no word from Alex, Lesley reports her missing.

The disappearance soon becomes national news, which brings Kate into the story. Her son, Jake, is also in Thailand, living in Phuket. While he’s older than the girls, it’s concerning to Kate that he’s not been in more frequent touch: “There’ve been three e-mails, but our eldest son told us early on that he wouldn’t be contactable by phone. Said he was freeing himself of all the stress that constant calls would bring.”

Kate follows the story to Thailand, hoping to perhaps pick up some clues to exactly what Jake’s been up to while she’s investigating the girls’ disappearance. In a flashback, we learn early on in the book that level-headed Alexandra and free-spirited Rosie were at odds even before their plane touched down in Bangkok (“Rosie had had three glasses of wine with her hideous airline meal—’The chicken or the pasta?’—and Alex had warned her she’d get dehydrated. Her friend had rolled her eyes and made a big show of flirting with the man in the next seat before falling asleep and snoring gently.”). Alex had been hoping to see the sights, while Rosie’s main interests included partying and boys.

The Widow was fairly bleak, dealing with some pretty unsavory themes, and The Suspect isn’t exactly a feel-good novel either. (Any parent whose kid is angling for a gap year in Thailand will probably refuse to let them go near the place without a sober coach and an armed escort in tow after they’ve read this book.) Barton, a former journalist and editor at major U.K. newspapers, writes with authenticity about how Kate must insinuate herself into the mothers’ lives in order to scoop her rivals. The story is told from multiple points of view (including the police), but I always looked forward to returning to Kate’s first-person chapters, since her straightforward, authoritative yet compassionate voice is the best thing about this series.

Alex and her closest friend have been planning for a long time to take a trip to Thailand for a summer vacation. When her friend backs out of the trip another friend, Rosie, finds out and insists that she is going to accompany Alex on the trip. Alex has an agenda well planned and has mapped out all of the activities and places that they will visit. Rosie, however, has different ideas for how they will spend time on their trip and her plans do not match with the plans Alex has made. Unfortunately, Alex is unsuspecting of Rosie’s ideas, and because of this once they are on their trip things quickly turn disastrous.

The girls’ parents are also unaware of the change in plans and when they don’t hear anything from them for several weeks both families begin to worry. Soon the parents enlist the help of local detectives and the Thai police. And when the police get involved so usually does the press. This is when reporter, Kate Waters, becomes part of the story of the missing girls.

Coincidentally, Kate’s son is also supposed to be somewhere in Thailand and he has not been in contact with his family for some time either. Kate tries to remain objective about the girls and their disappearance but worry for her son is never far from her mind and she can’t help but wonder if he could also be in danger. When the investigation escalates following a new discovery, Kate herself becomes an integral part of the story and she must withdraw from reporting on the case. With each new discovery the case becomes bigger and more personal as it unravels to a surprising conclusion.

The recounting comes from many different characters with multiple points of view and so it gives the reader insight into the personal and professional perspectives of the different individuals involved in the disappearance. The transitioning from one person’s narration to another happens flawlessly and keeps the reader engaged.

The major theme in the book is of family and of a mother’s love and care for her children. The book probes the consideration that children grow up and away from their mother’s care way too quickly. When children reach a certain age a mother loses the ability to protect and safeguard her children.

The primary characters are well developed. The detective is both professional and personable. Kate is a spot on reporter until circumstances go awry. I did, however, wish that Alex could have been stronger willed in her dealings with Rosie. Her responses are disappointing but if she had been more forceful, there wouldn’t have been a story. (Sigh)

Overall the book is interesting and entertaining with enough twists and turns to make it a satisfying read for fans of the mystery and suspense genre.

This review is written from the eBook ARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

The subject matter of this story drew me in immediately. Two girls decide to take a journey to Thailand before they head off to college,something exciting but also in my mind frightening, especially at there age. And my fears were well founded. Well told as expected from Barton, and interesting twists along the way. Thanks #netgalley for this book.

Reporter Kate Waters is back in Fiona Barton's third novel! While this can definitely be read as a stand-alone, I recommend reading The Widow and then The Child beforehand because it will give you a great backstory on Kate's personal life and work as well as her working relationship with Detective Bob Sparkes that I have enjoyed throughout the series.

Every mother knows her child, doesn't she?

This is the question running through the minds of three mothers when the unthinkable happens and their children are involved. Two 18 year old's are traveling in Thailand when they turn up missing. Coincidentally, Thailand is where Kate Waters' son took off for in Barton's last book, The Child. As the mothers and police go on a search for their children, they find out things about them they could never have thought were true.

This was a wonderfully crafted mystery that kept me engaged through the last page. There were so many layers to unravel and bigger secrets and shockers were revealed at every twist and turn!

Thank you so much to Berkley Books for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! I also received an ebook via NetGalley.

I picked this book up thinking it was a stand alone but it was actually the 3rd book in a series. Now I haven’t read the previous 2 so I was less invested in Kate as the reporter. The premise was interesting enough but the writing style wasn’t for me. The book is definitely longer than it should be and it especially feel this way right around the middle since nothing is really happening. It’s tempting to stop reading at this point. The story is a little sad no doubt but is a good one all the same. The beginning is interesting enough and the climax is good too. The story is fairly predictable but there are some very good surprises in there.
The writing style is good and I’d definitely read more by this author. The characters are well defined and you can feel for them. I do not know how correct her account of Thailand is, but I’ll treat it as fictional and that makes it ok for me.
My quibble with this book is how Alex and Rosie do not get along at all. I mean why would you go on a trip that too overseas with someone you don’t really get along with? They keep arguing all through the book and that was annoying. I also do not think that the detective’s side story added much to the plot overall.
For those that are fond of procedural Detective stories, this will probably deserve a higher rating.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley, #TheSuspect

Also shared on: https://romasharma.blogspot.com

When crimes are committed outside of the USA things can get very complicated. Two girls having a holiday in Thailand show up dead. The search is on for the suspect. A story that will have you to turning pages to see how things end.

I am a big fan of Barton's other books, so I was thrilled to get the chance to read her latest. I enjoyed this latest novel, although I found that it took me a little time to get to know the characters enough so that I wasn't getting them confused. What an amazing ending - this is a book that you'll enjoy reading, right up to the last words!

2.5 stars rounded to 3.0
Let me preface this by saying I haven’t read Fiona Barton’s first two books. I’m almost positive that if I had, I would have been more invested in the characters. The description says this one is a standalone but based on how many people have raved about this author and this book- I have to wonder what I’m missing.

SPOILERS AHEAD
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The premise of two girls gone missing in Thailand sounded like a exciting storyline (I’m thinking Liam Neeson in Taken). We meet Kate Waters a journalist who by coincidence- has a grown son in Thailand that she’s lost touch with.

We meet the families of the two girls and we learn that Alex’s first choice for this trip was her friend Mags. She backs out and is replaced by an acquaintance, Rosie who has no interest in seeing the sights - only the boys and the drugs.

The rest of the book felt very cliche with tired stereotypes. Once the girls turned up dead (which almost made this a DNF) in a hostel fire, we follow the investigation to try to find out how the girls ended up naked in the freezer. I kept hoping it was all a ruse and it wasn’t the girls...but sadly it was them. From there we have a corrupt government, mistaken identity, roofies, bickering parents, cheating, blackmail and a covered up death at the same hostel.

Kate’s son ends up being involved and she must be a mom instead of a reporter. The storyline jumps around and when we find out what really happened, it’s anticlimactic. I wanted more from these characters and was left disappointed.

This book gripped me from the first chapter. I love the way the chapters toggle back and forth through time, slowly unraveling the mystery behind what happened to Alex and Rosie, and the effective use of multiple POVs. Fiona Barton does a brilliant job of making you really care about the key players in her books. My heart was breaking for so many characters in this one, and I found myself wondering and torn over what I would do if put in the positions of either Alex's or Jake's mothers. Such a horrible yet sadly realistic scenario. Much like Barton's other books (The Widow and The Child), I thought about this book for days after I finished reading it. Bravo, Ms. Barton! I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

I received an ebook from Netgalley and I won a paperback copy from a Goodreads contest.

The Suspect is my first Fiona Barton book and I really liked it. I'd definitely read more books by this author. The Suspect is a slow building, suspense thriller about 2 girls reported missing in Thailand. It's a parent's worst fear to have their child go missing in a foreign country. I kept thinking about what would I do in that situation. I enjoyed reading the story and the different POVs in the book. It had me reading late into the night to find out what happened. It wasn't a 5 star Gone Girl type of ending, but I was surprised by it.

Very good read. Lots of twists and turns to this book. I was quickly absorbed. Characters are well drawn and believable. I was eager to see it all unravel and find out what the real story was with regard to the two murdered girls. Scary and fast paced.