Fiona Barton is back with her follow up to The Widow which I really enjoyed but I was disappointed in this one. It is told mainly from the alternating perspectives of three women, Kate, our intrepid reporter, Angela and Emma.
The remains of a newborn baby are discovered during the demolition of a house. It is clear that the baby were buried sometime ago. Kate smells a story and needs a big one, knowing in the cut throat world of journalism she is only as good as her last story and her last big story was the Widow...
Angela on the face of it has it all, a loving husband, two grown children and grandchildren but back in1969 her first child was abducted from the hospital shortly after Angela gave birth, baby Alice, as she was named was never found. Her disappearance haunts Angela to this day. When Angela hears the news of the remains of a baby being discovered she wonders, could this finally be her baby Alice?....
Emma is a neurotic woman who works from home as a ghost editor. The discovery of the baby's remains deeply disturbs her as the remains were discovered on the street where she lived as a teenager, and brings up memories of her childhood that she would much rather forget...
Fiona Barton weaves the tales of these three women but frankly it moved at a very slow pace. I found Angela and Emma boring. And you could see where a significant part of the plot was headed and even though there is a twist in the ending which did surprise me, it was still unsatisfying.
I do like the feisty character of Kate though and hope she comes back, with a better plot.
