The Widow by Fiona Barton

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I happened across a goodreads review of The Widow by Fiona Barton that lamented the book description - or lack thereof - on the book jacket, labeling it as "misleading." I can understand that assessment, but I am one of those readers for whom the limited description is written. In fact, I would never have purchased the book (albeit for dirt cheap) had the synopsis been any more detailed. There is one particular element of which the entire story revolves, even though it is actually quite secondary to how everything generally unfolds, that I don't like, and if you read The Child, it's that. But the surprising plot and unsettling narrator kept me reading to an unpredictably predictable ending.

After years of being the dutiful wife, helping her husband through the literal trials and tribulations of being accused of horrible crimes, Jean's husband is suddenly dead. And the things she held to so tightly, things she believed, things she wanted to believe, and things she suddenly couldn't ignore, come rushing back to the surface and people are just dying to know what she knows. But the big question looms - what on earth could she possibly say? And can she be trusted to tell the truth?

Jean is quite possibly one of my favorite narrators, the last line of the first chapter hooking me and reeling me in: "Everyone was very kind and trying to stop me from seeing his body, but I couldn't tell them I was glad he was gone. No more of his nonsense." There is no way most of us can relate to exactly what Jean is dealing with throughout this novel, but there is always something us readers can recognize within ourselves; "It was my fault, too. Because I was the wife." The story, though unsettling, progresses well and clearly, the most uncomfortable aspects handled with grace and dignity. The alternating perspectives and timeframes can get a little muddy, but the story still flows nicely and offers up some very intriguing twists and surprises and laugh-out-loud moments. Oh, that Jean!

The Widow is a compelling novel that you'll find yourself reaching for out of impulse and a slight voyeuristic compulsion, with a story that is methodically and articulately laid out but still able to keep us guessing. Barton expertly, though sensitively, brings to light broken facades we usually find such security in, like the media, police work, and our friends and family. You will definitely want to know how it all ends.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 on goodreads