The Suspect

The New York Times bestselling author of The Widow returns with a brand new novel of twisting psychological suspense about every parent’s worst nightmare…

When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight—desperate, bereft and frantic with worry. What were the girls up to before they disappeared?

Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth—and this time is no exception. But she can’t help thinking of her own son, whom she hasn’t seen in two years, when he left home to travel. 

As the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even when it seems far away, danger can lie closer to home than one might think…A GLOBE AND MAIL BESTSELLER

“Utterly engrossing . . . I lived inside this book for two days—and I’m still thinking about it. Superb!” —Shari Lapena, #1 internationally bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

“Edge-of-your-seat suspense.” —Glamour

“Barton’s Kate Waters is the real deal. . . . A great binge-read.” —The Globe and Mail

“A nail-biting tale of missing teens and the parents who worry for them. Fiona Barton’s first two novels, The Widow and The Child, were international bestsellers. . . . . The Suspect deserves equal success. . . . Expertly written. . . . Barton’s characterizations are exceptional.” —The Washington Post

“In The Suspect, Fiona Barton mixes universal truths with a thrilling tale.” —USA Today (3½ out of 4 stars)

“In Barton’s expert hands, The Suspect transcends the typical to become something more: A gripping psychological suspense about the changing relationship between parents and their grown children. . . . Masterfully written, expertly plotted, and skillfully paced. . . . Using her exceptional storytelling skills and her keen insight into the minds of each of her characters . . . Barton creates a twisty mystery that packs a serious emotional punch.” —Bustle

“Barton is a stunning storyteller. Her career as a journalist has helped make this story terrifyingly real. Every turn of the plot feels authentic and very scary.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“The exceedingly twisty tale . . . will test Kate, and her painfully conflicting loyalties, to the limit. Barton’s many fans will be rewarded.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“[A] tense, character-driven exploration of expectations and independence.” —Booklist
 
“A stylish, beautifully written and perfectly pitched thriller that will have you racing to the denouement.” —Cara Hunter, international bestselling author of Close to Home

“Intelligent, insightful, and compelling. A clever, twisting whodunnit that delivers an emotional punch. I loved it.” —C. L. Taylor, international bestselling author of The Missing
 
“A fast-paced whodunnit with heart, characters I feel I know and a deliciously dark twist.” —Gillian McAllister, international bestselling author of Everything But the Truth

“Fiona Barton has taken a nightmarish scenario and woven it into a dark and twisty tale. . . . This is a novel with real heart and a thoroughly surprising and thought-provoking ending.” —Lesley Kara, author of The Rumor

Praise for The Widow
A #1 Globe and Mail Bestseller
An NPR Best Book of the Year
One of The Wall Street Journal’s 5 “Killer Books” of the Year
One of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of the Year

“If you liked Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, you might want to pick up The Widow. Engrossing. Suspenseful.” —Stephen King

“A twisted psychological thriller you’ll have trouble putting down.” —People

“Barton knows how to ramp up tension.” —The New York Times Book Review

“[A] twisty tale. . . that will blow your mind.” —Oprah.com 

“A smartly crafted, compulsively readable tale.” —Entertainment Weekly

“The ultimate psychological thriller! . . . The ending totally blew me away.” —Lisa Gardner 

“[Barton] delivers the goods. . . . Richly character-driven in a way that is both satisfying and engrossing.” —The Washington Post

Praise for The Child
An NPR Best Book of the Year
A Bustle Best Thriller Novel of the Year

“Tense, tantalizing, and ultimately very satisfying. . . . One of the year’s must-reads.” —Lee Child

“An engrossing, irresistible story . . . and an absolutely fabulous read.” —Shari Lapena

“Startling twists—and a stunning, emotionally satisfying conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A lightning-paced, twisty story with an ending so surprising you might have to read it twice.” —Good Housekeeping

“[An] intriguing, twisty tale. . . . Nothing and no one is who they seem in this evocative puzzler.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

 “A tense and rightly written tale that keeps the reader engaged and entertained. . . . A page-turning whodunit.” —USA Today

“This being a Barton thriller, there’s more to pretty much everything than meets the eye.” —The Boston GlobeFIONA BARTON is the New York Times bestselling author of Local Gone Missing, The Widow, The Child, and The Suspect. She has trained and worked with journalists all over the world. Previously, she was a senior writer at The Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards. Born in Cambridge, she lives in England.The Reporter
 
SUNDAY, JULY 27, 2014

 
The call comes at three a.m. The jagged ring of the bedside telephone tearing a hole in our sleep.

I reach out a hand to silence it. “Hello,” I whisper.

Static whispers back to me. I press the phone harder to my ear. “Who is this?”

I feel Steve roll over to face me, but he doesn’t speak. The hissing static fades and I hear a voice.

“Hello. Hello,” it says, searching for me.

I pull myself up and switch on the light. Steve groans and rubs his eyes.

“Kate? What’s going on?” he says. “Who is this?” I repeat. But I know. “Jake?”

“Mum,” the voice says, the word distorted by distance—or drink, perhaps, I think uncharitably.

“Sorry I missed your birthday,” it says. The line fizzes again and he’s gone.

I look at Steve.

“Was it him?” he asks.

I nod. “He’s sorry he missed my birthday . . .”

It’s the first time in seven months that he’s phoned. There’ve been three e-mails, but our eldest son told us early on that he wouldn’t be contactable by phone. Said he was freeing himself of all the stress that constant calls would bring. He’d stay in touch with us.

When he last rang, it was Christmas morning. We’d hoped he would be there with us, pulling crackers and making his lethal mulled wine. We’d suggested and then pleaded by e-mail, even buying a plane ticket when he seemed to weaken. But Jake had stayed away, managing only a ten-minute call on the day. Steve had answered the phone and spoken to him first while I hovered beside him; then he’d asked to speak to his little brother, Freddie, and finally to his mother.

I’d hugged the phone, as if I could feel the heft and warmth of him, and tried to listen, not talk. But he’d remained distant as the seconds counted down in a phone booth somewhere and I’d found myself turning inquisitor.

“So, where are you now, love?” “Here.” He’d laughed.

“Still in Phuket?” “Yes, yes.”

“And are you working?”

“Yeah, sure. Doing this and that.” “But what about money?”

“I’m managing, Mum. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“Well, as long as you are happy,” I’d heard myself say. The coward’s way out.

“Yes, I am.”

After I’d put the phone down, Freddie had put a glass of prosecco in my hand and kissed my cheek.

“Come on, Mum. He’s fine. Having a brilliant time lying around in the sun while we’re sitting here in the slush and rain.”

But I’d known deep down he wasn’t fine. His voice had become wary. And that nervy laugh. He didn’t sound like my Jake anymore.US