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The Widow: A Novel By Fiona Barton | Conversation Starters
Limited Time $3.99 ($4.99)
Two-year-old Bella Elliott has disappeared, sending the country into an uproar. The police and the media follow one lead after another trying to find the culprit, which leads them directly to Glen Taylor. Taylor proclaims his innocence and is acquitted at the trial. He even gains a hefty compensation from the police force. Then he dies in an accident, and the case is alive all over again. But ultimately, there is only one more person who knows the truth – his widow. How much is she willing to reveal? Was Glen really guilty? What happened to Bella?
EVERY GOOD BOOK CONTAINS A WORLD FAR DEEPER
than the surface of its pages. The characters and their world come alive,
and the characters and its world still live on.
Conversation Starters is peppered with questions designed to
bring us beneath the surface of the page
and invite us into the world that lives on.
These questions can be used to..
• Foster a deeper understanding of the book
• Promote an atmosphere of discussion for groups
• Assist in the study of the book, either individually or corporately
• Explore unseen realms of the book as never seen before
Disclaimer : This book you are about to enjoy is an independent resource to supplement the original book, enhancing your experience of The Widow. If you have not yet purchased a copy of the original book, please do before purchasing this unofficial Conversation Starters .
Download your copy today for a Limited Time $3.99 ($4.99)
Read it on your PC, Mac, iOS or Android smartphone, tablet and Kindle devices.
Two-year-old Bella Elliott has disappeared, sending the country into an uproar. The police and the media follow one lead after another trying to find the culprit, which leads them directly to Glen Taylor. Taylor proclaims his innocence and is acquitted at the trial. He even gains a hefty compensation from the police force. Then he dies in an accident, and the case is alive all over again. But ultimately, there is only one more person who knows the truth – his widow. How much is she willing to reveal? Was Glen really guilty? What happened to Bella?
EVERY GOOD BOOK CONTAINS A WORLD FAR DEEPER
than the surface of its pages. The characters and their world come alive,
and the characters and its world still live on.
Conversation Starters is peppered with questions designed to
bring us beneath the surface of the page
and invite us into the world that lives on.
These questions can be used to..
• Foster a deeper understanding of the book
• Promote an atmosphere of discussion for groups
• Assist in the study of the book, either individually or corporately
• Explore unseen realms of the book as never seen before
Disclaimer : This book you are about to enjoy is an independent resource to supplement the original book, enhancing your experience of The Widow. If you have not yet purchased a copy of the original book, please do before purchasing this unofficial Conversation Starters .
Download your copy today for a Limited Time $3.99 ($4.99)
Read it on your PC, Mac, iOS or Android smartphone, tablet and Kindle devices.
67 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 21, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 29, 2019
The tale is written in multiple voices to attempt alternative views of the crime. It is partially successful though I never quite got into the minds of the different characters . Short entries , rather like diary posts would lend this well to audio... pages turn quickly and the truth doesn’t finally emerge til the last entry so as such it creates the need to know tension of the detective story but really it poses more questions about the press and their impact on people’s lives ...
August 1, 2018
Fiona Barton’s new book, “The Widow”, starts with Jean Taylor, the wife of the accused, narrating, as she does through much of the novel. The point of view switches between chapters with the point of view switching from the Widow, Reporter, and the Detective. It has been 4 years since little Bella Elliot went missing, while her mother Dawn left her unattended in the front yard. Glen Taylor became the prime suspect for the disappearance: he was charged with the crime, acquitted, and then he was killed stepping in front of a bus. All of these facts we learn in the first three pages of the book from Jean Taylor, who adds, “I was glad he was gone. No more of his nonsense."
Glen was not a nice person and was manipulative, controlling, secretive and emotionally abusive. Bob, the detective, is a hard-working, caring, honest man, who has found good reasons to suspect Glen of taking the little girl from her yard.
Kate is the only reporter, of the many who try, to break though to gain access to Jean Taylor. Kat really doesn’t know if, with that access, that she has learned anything or has just been played by Jean.
When Glen is killed the reporter and detective, both believing they have a relationship of trust with Jean, try to get her help still hoping to learn what happened to Bella.
Jean does let Kate back into her life and says of that time: “Kate seems to be in charge of things. It's quite nice to have someone in charge of me again. I was beginning to think I'd have to cope with everything on my own."
What makes this an emotionally powerful novel is that none of the characters emerge at the ending. in quite the same state as they were in the beginning. They change and our feelings for them change.
Some critics suggest that Barton reveals too much, too soon, but the approach seems to be part of her process of building on what, in the beginning, were lies the characters were telling themselves. That approach does result in our being part of the change in seeing the characters differently: which was really a strength of the book. More on this book and author at www.connectedeventsmatter.com
Glen was not a nice person and was manipulative, controlling, secretive and emotionally abusive. Bob, the detective, is a hard-working, caring, honest man, who has found good reasons to suspect Glen of taking the little girl from her yard.
Kate is the only reporter, of the many who try, to break though to gain access to Jean Taylor. Kat really doesn’t know if, with that access, that she has learned anything or has just been played by Jean.
When Glen is killed the reporter and detective, both believing they have a relationship of trust with Jean, try to get her help still hoping to learn what happened to Bella.
Jean does let Kate back into her life and says of that time: “Kate seems to be in charge of things. It's quite nice to have someone in charge of me again. I was beginning to think I'd have to cope with everything on my own."
What makes this an emotionally powerful novel is that none of the characters emerge at the ending. in quite the same state as they were in the beginning. They change and our feelings for them change.
Some critics suggest that Barton reveals too much, too soon, but the approach seems to be part of her process of building on what, in the beginning, were lies the characters were telling themselves. That approach does result in our being part of the change in seeing the characters differently: which was really a strength of the book. More on this book and author at www.connectedeventsmatter.com
February 8, 2021
A widow, her husband, a reporter and a detective cross paths in this missing child novel. I changed my mind from guilty to not a few times and also from sympathy for the widow to "what the heck??" An enjoyable book that keeps you going to try to figure out exactly what happened.
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February 21, 2024Not the best psychological thriller I've read but gave allowances for the author's first novel.
Most of the dialogue the reader can work out for themselves however the hope that somehow things will get to the proved beyond a doubt stage submerge with the secret the widow keeps
Most of the dialogue the reader can work out for themselves however the hope that somehow things will get to the proved beyond a doubt stage submerge with the secret the widow keeps
Read
January 31, 2024Great read. Just read two of her books and looking for more.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews