[b:The Suspect|39699779|The Suspect (Kate Waters, #3)|Fiona Barton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541352170l/39699779._SY75_.jpg|61335353]

Gap Year from Hell

This is my third book by this author and I have to say as much as I enjoy a good thriller, I found this one to be a bit predictable really good read but it didn’t have me guessing like I would have liked. The story unfolds 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? Are they safe what really happened? 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 but think of her own son, whom she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling. As the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think I have enjoyed other books by this author, including the recurring appearance of Kate Waters, the journalist. She feels like an old friend, and her first-person narrative personalizes her perspective even more. But how does the addition of Kate’s own son, Jake, add to the intensity of the story? I liked the short chapters and the switching between parents, detectives, and journalists…giving us an emotional layer we might otherwise lose in the mix.
While the detectives, parents, and journalists are revealing their stories, we see flash backs of the girls in Thailand, and with each page, we see that danger has been lurking from the beginning. Will I continue to read books by this author yes? I do however hope that the next one leaves more to the imagination.
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Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Fiona Barton still has the touch in this latest Kate Waters mystery. We become a little more acquainted in Kate’s personal life while she is investigating a story of how two girls go missing during a trip to Thailand. During a series of plot twists, Kate becomes part of the journalist’s fodder and experiences what it is like from the other side – knocks on your door day and night, having to hide from the press, and looking over your shoulder all the time.

One of Barton’s hallmarks is that some of her characters are unreliable narrators. Sometimes you don’t find out who is unreliable until you have finished half the story, other times it is painfully obvious. THE SUSPECT is a tale that shifts your perspective on the reliability of a character multiple times. Are the good guys really good? Are you supposed to read between the lines of one girl’s email to her best friend, or is she just sharing her innermost thoughts?

Set in the UK with flashbacks of the girls’ trip to Bangkok, the story unfolds as Kate ingratiates herself with the girls’ parents and tries to uncover what happened to them. Once certain details come to light, Kate is removed from the case and becomes a pariah. The author leads you down a path that makes you certain you know the truth…then swiftly changes the course of your journey.

More sensual tension simmers between Kate and Detective Bob Sparkes, despite the fact that his wife is expected to die from cancer within a few months. His character is wonderfully written, full of conflict, regret and fatigue.

The parents of the missing girls are all rage and accusation, blaming each other even as they cling to the small hope that their daughters are still alive. They turn on each other like vipers, then close ranks against the journalists who seek to create a story out of their pain.

The seedy atmosphere of Bangkok’s underworld is a perfect setting. If I were a parent, I would never want my daughter taking a trip there, regardless of how many friends she had with her. Some other reviews note that there is really nothing good mentioned about Thailand; I feel that is to make the story a bit darker and have the actions of the characters appear insidious.

I’d be interested to see if Barton includes some of the characters from this book in a future one. This was definitely an enjoyable read. ( )

My favorite thing about suspenseful thriller stories is that I can’t stop reading or listening. There are so many moving parts to a story that it unexpectedly takes me in different directions with complex characters. My experience with The Suspect by Fiona Barton is no exception.

Kate Waters is a journalist. And, she’s pretty good at her job. Two 18-year-old girls, freshly graduated from high school, decide to take a gap year backpacking in Thailand. They arrive in Bangkok and immediately, things do not go as planned. When their parents do not hear from them as scheduled, they contact the police in London and the embassy in Thailand. Kate Waters covers the story. Ironically, her son left home two years ago to spend time in Thailand. There is...

I have photos and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog ( )

THE SUSPECT is the very first book I've read by Fiona Barton. I didn't know that this book is the third in the Kate Waters series. However, I found no problems reading this one without having read the previous books. Actually, it made me more curious about the previous two books.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!
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The Suspect, by Fiona Barton, tells the story of two missing British girls on a Thailand gap-year adventure. When teenage Alex and Rosie don't call home as scheduled to hear their exam results, both sets of parents know something's wrong. Sure, they might just be hungover on a beach somewhere or exploring rural Thailand out of cell-phone range, but... Journalist Kate Waters, who's looking into the story, also has a young adult son who wandered off to Thailand to find himself, and is very rarely in contact with his family.

The story covers an investigation in the UK and in Thailand, so if you've doing the PopSugar challenge, and looking for a book set in multiple countries, try The Suspect. There are a few familiar characters from The Widow, but I think new readers could pick this up and read it as a standalone. The story blends police-procedural sections, what leads the reporters are following, and flashback scenes of what actually happened in the Thai guesthouse.

full review on my blog (contains mild spoilers for The Widow!) ( )