The Child

The book The Child is a mystery fiction novel written by Fiona Barton. It is written in third and first person omniscient point of view, where it shows the perspectives of other characters in the book. This book is about a reporter named Kate Waters, who went to investigate and find more information on the body of a baby that was discovered at a certain part of London. Kate started interviewing people that may have a connection to the baby or to the place where the baby was found. As she interviewed different people, they revealed shocking truths about other people that Kate’s interviewed. Kate felt the pressure of whether to reveal those secrets or not. The book was slow paced, as it showed the interviews and questions that Kate asks and it climaxed towards the end. The antagonist in the novel was Will Burnside because he was the one that caused the main problem in the story. He committed a felony that lead to the discovery and investigation of the baby’s body. The protagonist in the novel was Kate Waters. Kate Waters is a reporter and she was determined to investigate and find out more about the baby’s body. During her investigation, she started putting puzzle pieces together and then found out shocking truths. The major conflict in the novel is that some interviewees have secrets and pasts that are shocking and added a twist to the investigation. My favorite character is Kate Waters, because she is determined, caring, and kind. She is a reporter, but also a friend to the people to interviewed. She helped two women find the solution to their obstacles. If I could change something about the novel, I would change it by giving more background information of Will. Will wasn’t a good – minded character in the story. I feel that there should’ve been more background story to Will and more of his thoughts and perspective. Overall, the novel was amazing and I enjoyed reading it. The characters were mostly well developed and the conflict was exciting. I would recommend this book to everyone, because it is such an amazing book. It is an amazing book, because it contains well developed characters and has a conflict that is coated in suspense, which makes the book very exciting to read. This book captures the reader’s attention and never lets it go.

This is an unusual complicated storyline as the story goes between several characters. A skeleton of a baby is found in an excavation site. It seems to be the baby who was kidnapped from a Mom's hospital room. This story has a very surprise ending.

I had the best time reading this book. Which is exactly what I love to say when I finish a book. I enjoyed every moment in its pages. I had a lovely time figuring out the mystery and tying up the three threads of the story into one lovely package. And what a fabulous package it all wound up being. I was completely satisfied when I turned that last page.

I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful thriller, with characters who you care about, and a few you don't, and a twisty turny ride that you are sad to see end. This one was all of that and more and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Fiona Barton's The Child is a story that rapidly draws you in and won't let you go until everyone's secrets have been revealed. The style of this book is reminiscent of Kate Atkinson in the manner in which the story unfolds. Told in alternating chapters by Kate and the three women involved-- Angela, Emma, and Jude-- the voices may not be particularly distinctive, but their stories kept me guessing clear through to the end.

Barton definitely has a knack for creating memorable characters and strong storylines. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

The Child by Fiona Barton is a story centered around the finding of an infant's remains.

This is a very good story. Full of twists and turns that I did not see coming. This book is very well written, and we hear the story unfold from several points of view. This would have been a five star read, but some of the characters seemed one in the same to me. I would have liked more character development. Overall, this is a four star read for me.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Is it possible that there are two dead babies in the same building? This is the question journalist Kate Waters and the police trying to answer. While it is possible it's not likely. And how are these babies related to the narrating voices telling this story? I enjoyed the twist in the end and had a hard time putting the book down. A real page turner for all fans of psychological thrillers. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK!

I recently read her previous book "The Widow" and I really enjoyed, (even with some of the darker themes) I knew I had to read "The Child." This one did not capture my attention as quickly as the other. I was about 100 pages in before the story grabbed me, but once it did, it became some what fast-paced. This was definitely character driven with short chapters (which I love) from four main POV's and a cast of great secondary characters. Overall this was a very good read and I definitely recommend.

This author really knows how to write a story.. Kate, a reporter digs into a story about bones of a baby burned in an old building. As she digs the police become involved and the story takes on a twist you won't expect. Written in chapters told by each of the characters , the reader is quickly caught up into the story. As with many British stories, the twists and turns are often leading the reader to keep reading. Hard to put down as was her first book, The Widow. Fiona Barton is on my to read list when the next book is written.

The characters in the novel are not very well defined so you find yourself lost as she flips from character to character. The writing is very bland and you eventually realize there will be no plot development as she looks at one small event from different perspectives. It might have been an interesting short story but there is not enough action to expand the story into a full novel. Don't believe the reviews....it's boring.

The Child is told from the point of views of four different women: Emma, Kate, Angela and Jude. With that many characters, I was afraid I was not going to keep not only the details straight but the characters themselves, so I started taking notes on each character – just to keep all the women separate and keep myself sane. This was all for naught however, because the author did a fabulous job with the writing and the character development so it was an easy job at keeping everything straight.

The story starts off with the skeletal remains of a baby that are discovered buried on a building site. As the story unfolds, the reader gets inside the minds of four women:

Angela’s daughter was taken from a maternity hospital never to be seen again, so she is certain that the baby is hers.

Emma has been hiding a terrible secret for most of her life, and now that the baby has been found, she fears that she will be locked up forever.

Jude is Emma’s mother and the relationship between the two has been turbulent for years. When Emma was just fifteen years old, Jude kicked her out of the house because she believed that Emma was interfering with the relationship between Jude and her boyfriend Will.

Kate is the investigative reporter that is working the story on the discovery and as she dives deeper into the details, she finds herself in a story full of lies, deceit and horrors she could have never imagined and could quite possibly be ‘The Story’ that makes her career.

But who is the ‘Building Site Baby’? That is the question that haunts three of these women and that my dear reader is a journey you get to take in order to find out. Trust me….it’s a fantastic and captivating journey that kept me up into the wee hours of the morning to find out and it was worth every minute of lost sleep.

I figured out who ‘the child’ was long before the story drew to an end, but the investigative journey was so fascinating and the story was beyond thrilling, I couldn’t even think of putting the book down. The way that Ms. Barton formulated her plot was simply brilliant and telling the story in the different POV’s really worked in bringing everything together.

The Child grabbed my attention right from the beginning and continued as I attempted to put all the puzzle pieces together of this gripping and thrilling story. If you love psychological suspense stories then you need to check this one out. I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it!

4 1/2 stars

Favorite Quotes:

The problem is that a secret takes on a life of its own over time. I used to believe if I didn’t think about what happened, it would shrivel and die. But it didn’t. It sits in the middle of a growing tangle of lies and fabrications, like a fat fly trapped in a spider’s web. If I say anything now it will mean ripping everything apart. So I must say nothing. I have to protect it. The secret, that is. It’s what I’ve done for as long as I can remember. Kept it safe.

“Student Welfare? Goodness, he’ll be knee-deep in drugs and sexually transmitted diseases,’’ I say, relishing the idea of Derek, the most pompous man on earth, dealing with condom machines.

“Because I want to know what happened, Joe. It’s called human interest. Not all news is about soap stars or politicians. This has got the makings of a good story. I can feel it in my waters.” Joe looked slightly squeamish. “It’s a saying, dear. Nothing gyno about it.” He looked mortified and she felt terrible. She was turning into one of the dinosaurs.

Kate had been sent to try to get a talk with the family. They’d told her to piss off. She’d been glad. They looked like the cast of Deliverance.

My Review:

The Child was a tautly written, tightly coiled, complex, and intense read. I was transfixed by the intriguing, well-constructed, and maddingly paced storyline. I adored Kate, an overlooked reporter whose efforts solved a 42-year-old crime when she was unable to walk away from a quagmire of a mystery, one that started as a small snippet of detail from a two-line story she noticed in the newspaper. The storyline crackled with tension and Ms. Barton’s writing maintained a constant simmer as the plot slowly evolved with sharp and cleverly depicted details and emotional nuances. The plot bore an aura of heaviness emanating from the tragic find of newborn skeletal remains at a building site. I immediately began to devise and systematically discard multiple theories before finally settling on a heart-stopping possibility when the DNA evidence pointed first in one direction, then strangely, in another.

The characters weren’t always admirable or likable, yet were consistently and oddly fascinating, clever, and uniquely compelling. I was riveted and engrossed as the intricate web of deceit and multiple layers of secrets were gradually untangled. Sigh, Ms. Barton delivered an ingenious plot and an expertly written and well-crafted book, but I believe I need to invest in a spa day before I scour my list for a comedy to read next.

This kept me reading.

Lots of people to keep track of. Had to keep paging back to see where I first saw that person.

Lots of "chance encounters". But six degrees of separation, right?

The twist was twisty, but I had considered it as one of the explanations. Still surprised me, though.

I like reading English novels. "Separated by a common language"!

But really, read this book.

Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

A infant baby is found during construction and there is more than one person who may have connections to the baby, but reporter Kate is on the case and wants to get the story before anyone else.

I have to say that I did figure out all of the things early. I doubted myself at a few points, but in the end I was correct and I am still not sure how I feel about how easily I came to the conclusion.

This is 2nd by this author I've read. Borrowed from the library. Can't remember where I got first book, "The Widow". This one started a little slow to me and I was confused at times by all the subtle twists. But the last couple days I couldn't put it down. Going to look to find more by Ms. Barton.
I really enjoy finding great foreign authors!

A satisfying page-turner! The short chapters and multiple perspectives kept me engaged and up until the wee hours finishing the book.The suspense was carried throughout the book, with enough twists and turns to keep things interesting. I had a little trouble keeping everyone straight at first but my persistence paid off.

There are secrets to be discovered and the author reveals just enough to keep you turning the pages. I found the surprise twist and the ending satisfying on several levels.

The Child is another fine mystery from Fiona Barton, with ace reporter Kate Waters once again solving the case. This one didn't keep me guessing about the essential questions of the story, whose baby is buried at the construction site and who put it there. I figured it out fairly early on, but enjoyed how the story unfolded. More importantly, you learn the whys of it. Thoroughly enjoyable!

I had a hard time getting into the story at first. There were a lot of characters to keep straight pretty quickly too, but I kept finding myself having to read more to find out how everything fit together. As the story became more involved, I couldn't read it quickly enough. I love Kate and how she empathized with the other characters, and I LOVE how the author brought it all together. Good read!

This is a good book - A REALLY GOOD book. The author write the story through the eyes of four people (separate chapters) exposing the plot slowly, bit by bit. Chapters are very short so that only a small bit of detail is brought out before the book moves to another character describing how they are impacted by the new detail. To top it off, the actions of the characters make logical sense!!

In the southeast of London, the skeleton of a baby girl is discovered at a construction site. Journalist Kate Waters decides to find out who the baby belongs to and how it got there. The story that unfolds braids together the lives of three (and a half) women: Kate, Emma (and her mother Jude) and Angela. Angela lost her baby 30 years ago when she was taken from the hospital room. Emma believes the buried baby is her own, one she miscarried years ago. Kate is left to unwind the mystery and figure out who this baby is to not only break the story, but to bring healing to the woman who lost her.

The Child isn't a seat-of-the-pants thrill ride. It develops slowly and burns steadily, allowing you to get a real feel for the characters and their plight. At the same time, it isn't a boring read. The pace is balanced between intriguing and complex. You find yourself wrapped in the story of Emma - troubled with a dark past, Angela - broken and hopeful, and Kate - tough and perceptive, as you try to figure out who is telling the truth, who is right and who has something to hide.

I've never read the author's first novel, so I had no notions coming into this character, but I enjoyed the mystery, suspense and character development

I am drawn to British crime dramas, as they are often atmospheric, dark, and haunting. And, based on the cover of this book--shadowy, eerie, with a hint of menace, I assumed it would turn out to be just as spooky as I imagined. But, no, not at all. Rather, it read more like American genre fiction, with a bubbly journalist—too perky, I thought, for her advanced age and experience, and a few high-strung melodramatic women difficult to distinguish from each other, except for the chapter headings with their names. There was a decent plot in here, and it kept me going despite the stock, derivative, and bland characters. The dialogue did nothing to dissuade me, either, of its contrived narrative.

Kate, the journalist, was apparently the major character of Barton’s last book, THE WIDOW. There was too much given away about it, though, and left little reason for me to read it in the future, even if I had been initially drawn to do so. I had no idea that the two books were connected by a major character until I read how Kate had starred in the previous mystery. Her temperament was too cooing for my taste, and somehow, everyone she met became so disarmed and confessional towards her, even after bottling up secrets for decades. Yet, there was nothing in Kate’s manner that, in my estimation, would organically bring that about, except for the author’s affected efforts.

So why three stars instead of two? I did like the bones of the story, pun intended—the mystery of the buried infant bones. The set-up showed promise, and an initial discovery added more mystery and twist, so that I wanted to see how it would all be revealed. However, by the time the case was solved, I had figured most of it out already. But I think Barton was trying to write a social commentary on class justice as much as she wanted to piece together an apt crime thriller, but I think the forced nature of it brought too many compromises in the storytelling. The villains were villainous, the victims were sensitive, and Kate was indulgent. I kept turning the pages, anyway.

The Child was a fast read – good, but not great. It’s one of those books you read when you don’t want to concentrate too hard to figure out what’s happening.

It kept my interest all the way through in spite of being just a little bit repetitive. I did find myself wondering how the author was going to wrap this up. The plot development was well done, leading to an unexpected, pleasing ending.

Looking for a good summer read? Here you go! I haven't read The Widow yet, but that's now on my 'To Read' list. This book reminded me of the writing style of Kate Morton in The Lake House. I couldn't put either down, and though both started slow as the story unfolded, it was definitely worth it in the end! I like the way two stories - the present and the past - can collide into one, and Fiona Barton did it well in The Child.

This book brings together Kate, the investigative reporter; Jude, a lonely and angry woman; Emma, Jude’s daughter who suffers from psychological issues and Angela, the mother who had her baby “Alice” stollen. This is the first book I’ve read by this author. She does a great job of developing the characters and story line.

This was an interesting story, and the chapters are told from different characters perspectives. I liked it, but there were a lot of characters to keep track of. The story bounced back and forth between the present and two different time periods in the past. I was surprised by the ending, which is always the sign of a good book for me.

Readers who were waiting for another psychological thriller by Fiona Barton following the success of her previous work THE WIDOW will not be disappointed. THE CHILD depicts a decades old child abduction case that went unsolved. As journalist Kate Waters begins to investigate this cold case she finds a neighborhood full of old secrets and doors which should have remained shut.

This was a very puzzling story trying to figure out how all the people fit together. The plot was good. It was a long read for me. Not page wise but story wise. It felt long and dragging at times. The plot was good though and kept you wondering till close to the end.

The Child by Fiona Barton is a psychological thriller. I have read quite of few psychological thrillers this year, with many of them simply ok reads, with the authors using the same multi character POV’s, which can get confusing. The Child started off a bit slow and somewhat confusing with multiple POV’s and I thought “here we go again”. But things changed about a ¼ into the story, when it caught hold of me, and I could not let go; that being said, I loved The Child.

The story revolves around the discovery of a baby’s skeleton on a construction site of a torn down building. Kate Waters, an investigative reporter, sees the notice about the finding of the “Building Site Baby” and decides to do some investigating. The POV’s of this story are Kate; Emma and Angela, with a 4th, Jude, having an occasional narration.

As Kate does her investigation, she will indirectly become involved with the other two ladies. Angela gave birth to a girl over 20 years ago, only to have her child stolen out of the hospital room. Angela and her husband Nick, have been living a nightmare all these years, especially in the beginning when Angela was an initial suspect. Emma is young lady who is emotionally disturbed, which was caused by nightmares from her harsh childhood. Emma used to live with her mother, Jude, near the site where the baby was found.

Kate is in the center of this novel, as she makes discoveries along the way that will bring her into contact with various people, including those who lived near the site all those years before. When the body has been identified as having been buried for decades, Kate will find herself researching missing children from that time period. This will bring her to Angela and her missing baby, Alice. When DNA confirms the child is Alice, both Angela and Nick feel they finally have closure. Then a strange turn of events will open the door for further investigation, as the lab informs the authorities that the things wrapped around the burial of the body was only 10 years old. Was the baby’s body moved? Will Angela get closure?

The story becomes exciting & intense as Kate’s in depth investigation will come across more secrets along the way. Emma’s emotional stability plays a major part of the ongoing story, which will introduce us to many of the other characters we get to meet, all whom were living near the site a decade earlier. I loved the character of Kate, who was an awesome and caring reporter. Her persistence and determination will help bring out the truths.

Once we get past the first quarter, which leads the way into meeting the main characters, it was such a captivating story. I could not put the book down, as I needed to know what happened. What a tangled web it weaves. To tell too much more would be spoilers.

The Child was an awesome thriller, with some great characters, and many amazing twists. Fiona Barton has written a fantastic story, and I loved how things came to a very good and satisfactory conclusion. Certainly not like most the psychological thrillers we have read that leave things to the imagination. If you enjoy thrillers, The Child is a must read.

Well Fiona Barton returns with another good book. In fact I like this one better than The Widow she wrote earlier. I love to read books that give you psychological suspense and this one delivers that in spades. It begins when a skeleton of a small baby is discovered in London by workmen doing construction in the area. This skeleton seems to connect to a crime that took place a good while back. That crime centered around a newborn baby having been stolen from a maternity ward. That baby was never found.
The book starts out slow but does ultimately pick up the pace. I do like the short chapters.
Recommended

Emma, Angela, Jude and Kate. An infant's skeleton is found as an old house is demolished. It seems like it has been buried for many years, maybe decades. All these women take notice when it becomes newspaper article.

Kate is a journalist. She decides to do a full-length article with follow up ... who does this infant belong to? How long has she been there? Why and how did it come to be buried?

Angela's newborn daughter was stolen from her hospital room 28 years ago and never found. She's never recovered the trauma and it has affected her entire life. Is this her baby?

Emma has secrets that have never seen the light of day. Why is this child affecting her so much? Jude is her mother. Jude threw Emma out of their house when she was just 16 years old. Jude's boyfriend was her priority .... not her daughter. Emma has tried to share her secret, but Jude would not listen.

Kate becomes involved with all of them not only because of a story, but because she genuinely cares. And as she becomes enmeshed in their lives, she finds herself burdened by stories that maybe she shouldn't share with the world.

Having read THE WIDOW by this author, I was eager to see if this one would be as good. It definitely is! It was a slow start though ... each chapter written by a different woman. The book bounces back and forth in their memories from the things happening today to what happened many years ago.

All of the characters are cleverly written. It's so easy to get wrapped up in their lives. The secondary characters -- husbands, police, other newspeople -- are all as credible and add a lot of interest to the story premise.

There are twists and turns along the way, but I did not expect the most surprising twist at the end of the book. Very engaging and riveting book. This is an author to watch.

Many thanks to the author / Berkley Publishing Group / Netgalley for the digital copy of THE CHILD. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Join Me June 27 Blog Tour Host. Fiona Barton returns following her award-winning debut The Widow, landing on my Top 50 Books of 2016, with a riveting follow-up, THE CHILD — as readers catch up with journalist Kate from the first book.

From love and loss, a character-driven intense psychological suspense tale of three women. Emotional destruction — dark secrets and lies are exposed, a whodunit mystery keeping readers glued the pages to the twisty finale! You can bury the story . . . but you can’t hide the truth.

“When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie.” — Yevgeny Yevtushenko

Kate Waters, a journalist was bored. She needed a story. She soon finds an intriguing case and she will not stop until she writes the story and solves the mystery.

Headlined “Baby’s Body Found.”

An infant’s skeleton had been unearthed on a building site in Woolwich near London. The police were investigating. No other details. She tore it out of the paper to save for later as she often does when running across a potential story.

Who is the baby and how did it die? Who would bury a baby? How could anyone kill a baby? When checking with the authorities she found newborns were tricky when it came to DNA especially if they have been underground for years.

Kate loved a glint of something in the dark. Someone to absorb her totally. Something to sink her teeth into. Anything to get her out of the office. She is obsessed with finding out the name of this baby. She wants the story. The Building Site Baby. Who drove someone to bury a baby?

From alternating POVs, we hear from Kate and the three women: Emma Simmonds, Jude Massingham, and Angela Irving. (enjoyed the way each section is clearly defined).

Angela’s newborn daughter went missing some 28 years earlier. Every March 20 she would cry, thinking of Alice’s birthday. She had less than twenty-four hours with her. The dread would come each year before the baby’s birthday. She could not put the painful memories behind her.

Emma suffers from anxiety and depression from her past. She knows that a secret takes on a life of its own. She must protect her secret. She will keep it safe.

“I’ve always thought that’s a funny saying. Let sleeping dogs lie. Because sleeping dogs always wake up eventually, don’t they?”

Angela soon calls Kate to find out more. Could this be her daughter? She has never given up hope her daughter would one day be found.

Jude had been a single mom in the late seventies trying to forge a new career with a child to look after, but the rent was cheap. It did not matter where she lived, she was caught in her own little world. She threw Jude out of the house when she was sixteen, choosing her boyfriend Will over her daughter.

How does this current tragedy connect these three women? Secrets threaten current lives. A nameless child.

With alternating time periods (2012-2013) with flashbacks to the 70s-80s, Kate continues to dig deep to solve the mystery of the baby. She begins looking at old missing children cases from the 70’s to the mid-1990s. (Loved Kate from The Widow) and her tenacity!

Barton captivates readers with an enthralling page-turner, as addictive and intense as her debut. How well you know those closest to you? A well-written slow-burning whodunit suspense mystery with depth, Barton once again shines, using her own career as a journalist to enhance the intensity and mystery of the Building Site Baby. Even though each of the women brings emotion to the story, the real mystery to be uncovered comes from the relationship between Emma and Jude and how this connects with Angela.

Highly recommend, both The Widow and The Child. For fans of Mary Kubica, B.A. Paris, Clare Mackintosh, and Ruth Ware. These talented ladies are TOP-Notch authors and enjoy their writing style.

Often a psychological suspense makes a big impact, even though they may not always be edge-of-your-seat fast paced action. I also enjoyed reading about the inspiration behind the novel.

A strong theme of motherhood with a twisty surprise ending. A mother who has not given up after forty-two years. Readers will be drawn into the lives of each of these women. Savor and unravel the mysterious puzzle, with many red herrings. The tension mounts and all the secrets and lies surface. Enjoy the journey.

Well-crafted, twisty, addictive, and intriguing. Can’t wait to see what comes next. . .

A special thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an early reading copy. Also purchased the audiobook, narrated by Mandy Williams, Rosalyn Landor, and Full Cast for an engaging performance.

JDCMustReadBooks

This story sucked me in. I love a good mystery, and this was definitely one. It was hard keeping track of all the names, but I loved the flashbacks and present storyline. I'd like to know more about Emma and Angela, as well as Kate's life afterwards. It ended kind of abruptly, but I'd love to see this as a movie!

Fiona Barton's second novel, The Child, released on Tuesday, June 27/17. I figure if I give you a heads up today, you too can spend a day on the beach next weekend devouring it - I did!

Barton is a former journalist. Her first book, The Widow, took inspiration from real life, trials and newspaper stories, as does the lead character in The Child.

Kate, a reporter, sees this story " 'Baby's Body Found.' Two small sentences told how an infant's skeleton had been unearthed on a building site..." And she wonders "Who is the baby? How did it die? Who would bury a baby?"

What a great premise - I too want to know the answers. Kate is not the only person to see the news story. The Child is told from four alternating points of view - that of Kate and three other women. Each of those three has a reason to hope - or fear - their own ties to the little skeleton. I love multiple point of view books - the reader is privy to the information that each character is holding - or hiding. And we can only hold our breath as (in this case) Kate gets closer and closer to the truth. Now, that being said, I thought I had fit the pieces together about halfway through the book. But, as one character also says..."I don't know what to think anymore. Everything is wrong. I've got everything wrong." I was quite happy to not have guessed!

The Child is a character driven novel of suspense. Kate is a wonderful lead. I wonder if there are bits of Barton's own journalistic days woven into her character? The details of the investigation and newsroom ring very true. The other three women are just as well drawn - their connections to the child are quite poignant, shocking and in one case absolutely infuriating. I'm deliberately being obtuse - The Child is a story you need unfold and discover as the pieces are slowly put together. Although I will say this - motherhood is a prominent theme and thread that ties the four stories together. "Disturbing the surface had triggered an eruption of unexpected secrets."

I was disappointed...how did I not see that coming?! What a great book! Before I picked this book for my monthly box I had to go back to my review of The Widow, Ms. Barton's previous book, as I didn't remember much about it except the ending. My review reflects that it kept me turning pages, so I dove into The Child.
As the story develops you get to know the different characters' personalities through their own words and thoughts, and it really makes you wonder about the baby in the garden. But I bet you won't figure out the mystery that reporter Kate gets enveloped in before it's revealed! Complete with lovable, questionable, and despicable characters, this novel and it's clever ending is on my top-picks shelf for 2017.

Very enjoyable book! I was invested from the beginning and had to find out the story behind this baby's remains. I think there's a certain part of the book where you can pretty much figure out what has happened, but the path was an intriguing one. I really liked the ending. Good book that I will recommend to others!

I really like the way this author writes her characters. Very in depth thinking and with a lot of care. I enjoyed this book except for the ending. (Spoiler) I really thought it would have been great if Nick was Charlie. A lot of signs he could have been and it would have been more interesting in the family reactions. Instead it was the typical pat resolution. But the rest of the book was a good read.

Especially when the reader figures out what is happening and is wondering why it is taking so long for the characters to know the same. Great writing and no filller. Will looking for more from this author.

The Child is a character driven mystery told in short chapters by four different women. While not all likeable or even reliable, they were very well depicted and each character's story slowly came together giving the reader the overall picture. Another great read from Fiona Barton!

The actual story & plot was fine. I think it could've done without the "Jude" point of view. It made the book very slow in the beginning. Predictable climax. I figured out the big secret on page 284 of 365 & then had to push through for the confirmation & ending.

This is a very enjoyable book, not too complicated but really held my interest. I did figure out the "twist", which is somewhat unusual for me. If you are looking for a great read for a plane ride, etc. this will fit the bill.

This book was extremely well-written and an interesting concept. However, it is not a thriller. Secondly, I had the entirety of the "twist" figured out about half-way through. Reading the remainder of the book was a bit of a struggle after that. Overall, it was a good book, and would've been a great one I'd I hadn't figured it out so early on.

I enjoyed this book and I recommend it to readers. The author has a nice clear writing style and offers interesting characters. I did find that it was easy to figure out "the mystery" about half way through the story, but that didn't really make it less enjoyable.

Emma. Angela. Kate. Three women brought together by novelist Fiona Barton's marvelous follow up to THE WIDOW. Kate is a journalist. Emma is in in a dead-end marriage. Keep reading to see how the body of a baby buried years ago ties them all together in this fast-paced, page turning novel.

Wow- I haven't read a page turner like this in awhile. Well written, and keeps you guessing. I went back to read her first book, "The Widow", after reading this. Not quite as good, but also intriguing. Great summer read!

Well written and engaging but - anyone who has ever watched a Law and Order or CSI will be able see the "twist" coming a mile away. I agree with the other reviewer who said it was completely not credible that the police and forensics teams didn't figure it out immediately. meh.

The body of a long dead infant is found on a construction site. Who is she and how did she get there? A reporter, Kate Waters, starts digging and soon three women, inter-related though they don’t know that yet, are involved. The narrative moves from one to another party as the investigation proceeds. Barton’s previous novel, The Widow, which also featured Kate Waters, was a critical success. I suspect this one will be also. It should especially appeal to readers who enjoyed Gone Girl. It’s not my style though: it feels needlessly protracted –there’s too much filler prose—and under suspenseful to me. Also, the plot seems unrealistically complicated. I know it’s done to build suspense, but still ….

The body of a long dead infant is found on a construction site. Who is she and how did she get there? A reporter, Kate Waters, starts digging and soon three women, inter-related though they don’t know that yet, are involved. The narrative moves from one to another party as the investigation proceeds. Barton’s previous novel, The Widow, which also featured Kate Waters, was a critical success. I suspect this one will be also. It should especially appeal to readers who enjoyed Gone Girl. It’s not my style though: it feels needlessly protracted –there’s too much filler prose—and under suspenseful to me. Also, the plot seems unrealistically complicated. I know it’s done to build suspense, but still ….

Unfortunately, I judged this book by the cover and blurb, and bought it in a burst of excitement. My expectations were high as I opened to the first page, after spending $26 on hopes of reading something that sounded epic. I nestled into my bed, opened the first page, and barely made it through the first sentence. Then I bogged through the first chapter, and I hated everything about it. If there was an editor involved in this book, he or she failed both the reader and the author. If there wasn't an editor involved, then there should have been.

Seeing as I paid $26 for this, I may try to angrily bog through the rest--rolling my eyes the entire time--but I doubt it.