-
Access Our
Best Book Club
Books of 2025!
by Fiona Barton
The author of the stunning New York Times bestseller The Widow returns with a brand-new novel of twisting psychological suspense.
As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it's a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?
As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss.
But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn - house by house - into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women - and torn between what she can and cannot tell…
"Starred Review. Startling twists - and a stunning, emotionally satisfying conclusion." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Barton's second well-plotted outing, with its sustained tension and believable characters, is an excellent addition to the popular psychological thriller genre. Readers who liked Barton's first novel, Paula Hawkins's The Girl On a Train, and Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl will love this." - Library Journal
"Barton's second missing-child story is a gut-wrenching tale of narcissism, cunning predators, and bare-knuckle survival. Predictable moments? Yes, but fans of character-driven investigations will prize these women's well-drawn paths to resolution over plot twists that may be anticipated." - Booklist
"Barton flirts with melodrama at times but pulls back and allows her characters to develop into fully realized, deeply scarred women whose wounds aren't always visible. This is as much a why-dunit as a whodunit, with the real question being whether it's possible to heal and live with the truth after hiding behind a lie for so long." - Kirkus
"Clever and compelling. You'll love The Child." - Clare Mackintosh, international bestselling author of I See You
This information about The Child was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Fiona Barton is the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow and The Child. Fiona trains and works with journalists all over the world. Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards.
At times, our own light goes out, and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
