THE CHILD – The Book Diva's Reads

Good morning my bookish peeps. There have been a lot of great books released so far this year and today we’re going to celebrate the paperback release on The Child by Fiona Barton. Some of you might recall, I reviewed this book last year upon its hardcover release and it was a recommended read. How are we going to celebrate the paperback release of this recommended read? With a book giveaway courtesy of the publisher, Berkley – Penguin Random House.

The Child by Fiona Barton

An NPR Best Book of the YearA Bustle Best Thriller Novel of the Year

“The Child is a perfect blend of beach read and book club selection. It’s a fascinating and fitting follow-up to [Barton’s] best-selling debut novel, The Widow. . . .[A] page-turning whodunit…A novel that is both fast-paced and thought-provoking, it keeps the reader guessing right to the end.”–USA Today

“Fiona Barton brings back reporter Kate Waters from the best-selling The Widow and delivers another winner with The Child….A truly engaging tale. Those who enjoyed The Widow will discover that Barton has only gotten better.”–The Associated Press

“An engrossing, irresistible story about the coming to light of a long-buried secret and an absolutely fabulous read–I loved it!”–Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

“Tense, tantalizing, and ultimately very satisfying…definitely one of the year’s must-reads.”–Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author

The author of the stunning New York Times bestseller The Widow returns with a brand-new novel of twisting psychological suspense, now in paperback.

As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers human remains, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but she’s at a loss for answers. As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier. A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found.

But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn–house by house–into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. She soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women–and torn between what she can and cannot tell…

The author:

Fiona Barton, the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow and The Child, trains and works with journalists all over the world. Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards. Visit her online at fionabartonauthor.com and on Twitter @figbarton. Join the conversation using #TheChild.

Giveaway

To enter this giveaway, use the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway ends on Friday, March 16, 2018, at 11:59 PM ET and the winner will be announced on Saturday, March 17, 2018, by 10:00 AM ET. Please note that this giveaway is limited to US residents only, all non-US entrants will be disqualified. The book will be shipped to the winner by the publisher, Berkley.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Child by Fiona Barton
ISBN: 9781101990483 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781101990506 (ebook)
ASIN: B01LZXZET4 (Kindle edition)
Publication date: June 27, 2017
Publisher: Berkley

The author of the stunning New York Times bestseller The Widow returns with a brand-new novel of twisting psychological suspense.

As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?

As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss.

But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn house by house into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women and torn between what she can and cannot tell.

Forty plus years ago a newborn baby girl was stolen from a British hospital. Recently a newborn baby girl’s skeleton was found at a demolition site. Is it possible these two infants are linked? That is the premise presented in Fiona Barton’s latest psychological thriller The Child.

Kate Water is a journalist looking into the story behind the discovery of the skeletal remains of a newborn infant at a demolition site in metro London. The more she investigates into the remains found, the more she begins to think these remains just might be related to a missing newborn girl taken out of a hospital over forty years. While Kate delves into her investigation and the background of the missing girl’s family, we are introduced to several other women that are impacted by the discovery of the skeletal remains: first there’s Angela Irving, the mother of the missing infant; second is Emma Simmonds a former teen resident of the house where the body was found; and last, is Emma’s mother, Judith “Jude” Massingham. Angela is positive the body is that of her missing daughter Alice. Emma is fearful that the police will be knocking on her door at any moment. Jude is sure the discovery has no impact on her life until her daughter begins to have another emotional breakdown. The story of all four women intersect until finally the answer of exactly who the building site baby was and how she got there is uncovered along with a host of secrets kept hidden for years.

I read and reviewed The Widow in 2016 and loved it, so when I was afforded the opportunity to read The Child I did not hesitate to shout YES! and it did not disappoint. Talk about a wild ride. The Child was fast-paced, engrossing and, yes I have to say it, suspenseful read up to the very end. Kate is an accomplished journalist and it was fascinating to travel along as she uncovered the truth behind this dumped baby. Emma is initially depicted as emotionally fragile and unreliable, but we quickly learn that although she may have some emotional problems she is anything but unreliable. Angela Irving has spent 40+ years grieving the loss of her infant daughter and feeling guilty for leaving her in a hospital room unsupervised. Again, she initially comes across as needy and fragile, but she is just as strong as both Kate and Emma. Jude, Emma’s mother, is initially portrayed as this strong and independent single mother, but we learn that looks can be deceiving as she is the neediest and most fragile of the bunch. With the presentation of these four women, we learn that all is never quite how it appears. These women all have their strengths and weaknesses, as do all humans, but they persevere in the face of adversity and prejudice. The Child is much more than a story of a missing child and the discovery of skeletal remains, it’s a story about relationships, family, and what we’re willing to do for family. Sometimes the family is related by blood, sometimes the family may be our work family, and sometimes the family might be our friends, but when push comes to shove the strong stand by family. This is also a story about secrets. The secrets we keep from our friends, our parents, our spouses, and sometimes we tamp down so deep that we try to keep hidden from ourselves. I enjoyed the characters, the storylines, and the action. Ms. Barton crafts psychological suspense thrillers that truly live up to the name; just when I thought I knew where this story was headed, I was yanked off into a new direction and then back again. It wasn’t until I hit about the 80% mark that I caught a hint of where the story was going and even with the confirmation it was still a bit of a shock (no, I won’t tell you what happens, read the book!). If you read The Widow, then you know you’ll want to read The Child. If you enjoy reading taut psychological thrillers or suspenseful reads, then you’ll definitely want to read The Child. I highly recommend The Child and look forward to reading more from Ms. Barton in the future. (If you couldn’t tell, I thoroughly enjoyed The Child and look forward to rereading it in the near future.)

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes via NetGalley. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Buy the Book

Available from BookDepository | Alibris