For her third novel, Fiona Barton puts Kate, her heroine, through the wringer and offers readers a chilling journey into the stifling heat of Thailand. *The Suspect*, published by Fleuve Éditions, will be released on January 9.
After their high school graduation, Alex and Rosie decide to go on a road trip to Thailand. Although hesitant and a bit worried, their parents allow them to go. But soon, the two girls stop communicating. The anxiety grows for Lesley, Malcolm, and Jenny. Is it a runaway? An abduction? Has there been a crime?
The matter takes a media turn when Kate Waters gets involved and exploits this story. The journalist loves nothing more than touching family stories that can make a good article; she also hopes to reconnect with her son, Jake, who has moved to Phuket.
Terrifying discoveries guide the investigation, but the local authorities are reluctant to cooperate. Kate decides to go to Bangkok, as do investigators Zara Salmond and Bob Sparkes, despite his personal turmoil, along with the girls’ parents. Kate does not know to what extent she will find herself personally involved in this case…
For this third adventure of journalist Kate Waters, Fiona Barton has decided to shake up her heroine and involve her directly in this new investigation. In this novel, the author varies the perspectives in each chapter, allowing readers to know the feelings and thoughts of the main characters. We follow Alex, who recounts her journey before their disappearance, then Kate, Bob, and Lesley, Alex’s mother, who describe the story from the girls’ disappearance onwards. The perspectives overlap, providing an insight into what really happened to Alex and Rosie. This alternation offers a variation of viewpoints and adds to the suspense effect.
In *The Suspect*, we find Kate Waters’ tenacity in making people talk and convincing them to testify in her articles, and she becomes very close to Alex and Rosie’s families. Until things take a turn and she becomes the center of attention, finding herself fleeing her journalist colleagues. This turnaround and reversal of roles is one of the novel’s strengths and helps to definitively connect with Kate.
With subtlety, *The Suspect* explores very current themes such as the role of social media and how young people use it, the parent-child relationships, but above all, the absence of certainty regarding children’s behavior.
With short chapters, *The Suspect* immerses the reader in its paradisiacal atmosphere turned nightmare, where the characters will have little respite; Fiona Barton successfully delivers this third installment dedicated to Kate, mastering suspense and psychological twists!
