Blog Tour: The Child by Fiona Barton (Review)

Genre:
Mystery, Suspense

Format:
E-ARC

Publisher:
Berkley

Release Date:
June 27, 2017






Synopsis from Goodreads:

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…

My Review

When journalist, Kate Waters, reads that a child’s skeleton has been found buried in a London construction area, she wonders if there is a bigger story here. After some investigation, she discovers secrets and pieces of a puzzle that don’t seem to fit together. The skeleton is identified as a baby that had been kidnapped from a hospital over 40 years ago. The police don’t hold out much hope for this case to be solved after so much time has gone by.

Kate has no intention of letting this go by without at least trying to find some closure for the parents who have suffered all these years not knowing what happened to their baby. She ends up discovering a bigger story than she ever expected.

I must admit this book started off slow for me, but then it picked up tremendously and I couldn’t stop reading. The chapters are short so it made it even easier to keep swiping my e-reader. I had to know how this all ended. I had a good idea, but I wasn’t sure of all the details involved.

Each chapter is told from a different point of view - Emma, Kate, Jude and Angela. This technique made it quite interesting as you read what each person is thinking and going through. For me, it enhanced the story very much. I thought it might be confusing, but it wasn’t.

It’s a fascinating story delving into the psyche of different characters - their different emotions and motivations which guided the characters and their decisions.

It may have started out slow for me, but after the first couple of chapters, it was anything but that. The book sped by, keeping me up for hours at night reading. I was disappointed when it ended. I already miss the characters. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.



For reading challenges:
Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 2017
Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2017

FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.