The Widow

Jean Taylor spent years as the dutiful wife of a man the whole country suspected of a terrible crime. She endured the stares of strangers and the anonymous harassment, and she kept her own counsel throughout. Her husband's death has now freed her from any duty to stay silent, and people are eager to hear what she has to say.

Journalists want to know what it was really like to share a home and a bed with him. Jean knows that every marriage holds secrets, and she has plenty she never told. Everyone says they only want the truth, but the years of scrutiny have taught her something useful: she can get people to believe almost anything.

Fiona Barton's debut is a psychological thriller that follows the aftermath of an unthinkable crime and looks closely at what a husband and wife may hide from each other and from the world. It suits readers who enjoyed Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train and like a story where the narrator's version of events can't be taken at face value.