One Needle in a Hell of a Haystack: The Child by @figbarton @TransworldBooks

I am THRILLED to be kicking off December with a review of The Child by Fiona Barton! Thank you so much Transworld and Anne Cater for inviting me to be part of this blog tour!

Title: The Child
Author: Fiona Barton
Publisher: Transworld Books
Date of publication: December 1st 2017
Format: eARC
Number of pages: 364
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When a paragraph in an evening newspaper reveals a decades-old tragedy, most readers barely give it a glance. But for three strangers it’s impossible to ignore.

For one woman, it’s a reminder of the worst thing that ever happened to her.

For another, it reveals the dangerous possibility that her darkest secret is about to be discovered.

And for the third, a journalist, it’s the first clue in a hunt to uncover the truth.

The Child’s story will be told.

One plot, several voices, a hell of a book.

Here, you have my review!

Just kidding! Did you really think I would be able to shut it when I have found a new great book?

Fiona Barton’s first book has been the first story I bought after having read another blogger’s review, and sadly, I haven’t been able to read it yet! So when the lovely Anne Cater offered me the chance to discover the author with The Child, I jumped on the opportunity.

I thought I was prepared. I was wrong.

One baby. I could handle it, right? But from the start, there was something different from all the other missing children stories. The opening gave me goose bumps. The perfectly acute writing acted like a magnet, bringing every character to life, every word building the setting all around me.

99% of the time, I need to like at least one character to be able to relate, to enjoy, to feel a story, but this time I can affirm I didn’t need this element to be trapped in a story, to my delight, and watch lives unfold in front of my eyes.

Funny how I divide my life into blocks of time. Like I was different people. I suppose I was. We all are.

Feelings were definitely there! The Child is the story of different stories mingled together. Everyone gave me different emotions. Fiona Barton put me in the shoes of strong women, scarred mothers, lonely daughters, determined journalists, sadistic men! I was all of them. She even succeeded in keeping me interested about a baby! For me, babies cries, poops, and that’s it. But The Child tugged at my heartstrings and the author showed me how to care about them!

Multiple narrative voices are a fantastic way to give layers to your story, but boy, Fiona Barton gives the exercise another meaning!

While each one deserves to be discussed, I particularly enjoyed spending time with the journalist, Kate. I’m a sucker for journalists reminding me why I hate what I see on TV and in newspapers these days, while at the same time whispering in my ear that I’m a bit of a hypocrite, as I do read those stories, I like to know the happenings of the world. I am a part of the voyeurism wheel that the medias feed daily. It doesn’t mean it’s good, it doesn’t mean everything is black or white. I won’t make another reference to The Newsroom, but I’ll say Kate gave me a lot to think about the role of journalists and I truly appreciated she was a multi-dimensional character, despite her saying she loathed dogs!!!

Now to the plot… One baby. One baby and I was unable to tear myself away from the story. I am used to authors using several threads leading to the same big shocking ball of revelations. Fiona Barton took one element, one tiny thing, and build such a web around it you can’t see through it until the final chapters. I did find out the ending twist before reaching the end, but disappointment was not around. Satisfaction, sadness, a heart full of contradictions. This is what the story left me with. I could see every pieces of the puzzle, turn them into my head, and when it clicked, I exploded! Fiona Barton digs deep into what makes people do what they do, think what they think, and what makes them who they are. She is not afraid to put them in the worst situation, but it never feels overdone. This is real life trapped into pages. It’s gripping, horrifying, totally addictive and absolutely stunning.

Without empathy, without feeling someone’s pain, how could you tell a story like that and capture the truth of the situation?

The Child paints a gray world through a riveting writing style and a masterfully weaved plot.

You can find the book online now!

Don’t forget to check the other stops on the tour, you don’t want to miss a thing!