"The Suspect"

“The Suspect”
Written by Fiona Barton
Review written by Diana Iozzia



“The Suspect” is the third novel in a series following the crime journalist, Kate Waters. In Fiona Barton’s new novel, Kate hears of a news story of two girls on a holiday in Thailand who have seemingly disappeared. We read through Kate’s perspective, one of the girl’s mother, the perspective of a detective we’ve read of in the first two books in this series, and from the perspective of one of the girls on the holiday. The two girls on the holiday are Rosie, a free spirited rebel, and the quiet, reserved Alex. 

Kate has an investment in the story, but she is also curious by this, because her son has also been working in Thailand for a few months as part of a gap year. Kate jets off on a plane to investigate the story. 

This book is fantastically written. I enjoyed reading through the different perspectives. The story of Rosie and Alex in Thailand is told backwards. We hear of their fate, and then we see the events that unfold up until the end of the story. We see the odd cast of characters in Thailand, but we also interestingly meet Jake, Kate’s son who has befriended Alex and Rosie. 

There’s hardly any more that I can say without spoiling the ending. This was a great read. I felt absorbed by it; once I put it down, I could not stop until I read it again. It was sort of a fever dream while I read it, because it’s quite a strange story. I highly recommend this book. I do not feel that you have to read the first two books in this series, but the characters are great who are visited in “The Suspect”. You do not hear too much from “The Widow” and “The Child”, but Barton’s books are so great, you should read the first two. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book to read and review as part of a blog tour.