By Josh Hancock
Although not a traditional horror novel, Fiona Barton’s debut novel widowwill appeal to readers who enjoy fast-paced, psychological thrillers with dark and disturbing themes. Told from the perspectives of several different characters—including a tenacious reporter, a dedicated police detective, a would-be murderer, and the “widow” of the title—the novel reveals the seedy and illegal underbelly of the Internet and how murderers and pedophiles use it to prey on their young prey.
The novel’s protagonist is Jean Taylor, a polite, well-behaved woman in her thirties whose greatest misfortune is that she and her husband Glen cannot have children. It is this conflict that drives the mystery of the book. Someone has kidnapped a local child, Bella Elliot, and now the girl is missing. Detective Bob Sparkes remains committed to finding Bella and solving the case, while journalist Kate Waters hopes her in-depth interviews with Jean will uncover the sinister truth. As the story unravels the various clues, husband Glen becomes one of the most depraved men in the book (there are many), hiding his sordid deeds and perverted fantasies behind an almost robotic mask of normalcy. However, given the novel’s title and the forest imagery on the cover, readers are not surprised to learn that the seemingly innocent Jean Taylor will also play a key role when Barton reveals several key truths in the final chapters.
While I enjoy slasher and supernatural stories as much as the next person, I am more terrified by real-world horrors. Fiona Barton’s The Widow has no ghosts, vampires, or exorcisms, but the novel will elicit a visceral response from anyone willing to brave its repulsive content. Fortunately, Barton is a very smart writer who doesn’t explicitly delve into the novel’s themes (child pornography, child kidnapping, illegal Internet chat rooms, etc.), which makes The Widow a mature and suspenseful read without exploiting the reader. One long sequence in which the police try to use the Internet to catch their prime suspect and get him to confess to his crimes is effectively dragged out, heightening the tension while emphasizing the drama of police work. While some of the discoveries at the end of the novel are easy to predict in the first few chapters, the author’s vivid details had me eagerly turning to the last few pages. The final line of the book, in particular, shows that no matter how safe we feel in the comfort of our homes and communities, we are never far away from darkness and psychological distress.
Patton’s style is direct and crisp, allowing readers to finish The Widow in just a few days. The constantly shifting points of view require extra attention, but this narrative technique adds an extra layer of suspense to an already gripping mystery.
Rating 4/5
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About the Author: Josh Hancock is the author of two epistolary horror novels, October Girl (2015) and The Devil and My Daughter (2016), both published by Burning Bulb Press.
