Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings)'s Reviews > The Child

With a very intriguing start "The Child" by Fiona Barton is one of those books you won't be able to put down until your curiosity has been sated.
This is an excellent example of a slow burning, suspenseful psychological thriller with an ending that I didn't see coming and was completely unexpected.
Baby Alice Irving goes missing from her maternity crib in hospital in 1970. Forty two years later a baby's skeleton is found by workmen on a building site in Howard Street. Alice's mother, Angela wants to believe it's Alice; Emma who was a teenage resident in Howard Street in the 80's is concerned a long buried secret could be about to be exposed and Kate Waters, a newspaper journalist hung up on the humanity side of the discovery of the bones, is determined to get to the truth of who the baby is by befriending both Angela and later Emma. Old memories resurface and it's not long before long buried secrets start to invade and destroy people's lives. Told from the point of view of the three women their stories intertwine perfectly and they seamlessly merge together in an intriguing and emotional conclusion.
I loved the 70's and 80's era that is covered in the story, being exactly the same age as Emma in the book at the time it is set I really felt a part of the story.
All the main characters are just perfect, likeable and realistic, they really showed true emotion and were the type of characters you could relate to and understand their feelings.
I like the authors writing style, it's easy to follow, entertaining, doesn't drag and truly keeps you compelled to keep reading.
With an excellent attention to detail and staying sensitive to the delicate subject matter, this is a fabulously executed book that I thoroughly enjoyed. There's also some great quotes too in the narrative.
This is the second book by Fiona Barton, the first one being "The Widow" and although newspaper reporter Kate Waters is in both stories, they are both individual standalones that can be enjoyed separately or together.
A well deserved 5 stars from me and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend or read more by this author again.