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Book Review - The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (movie tie-in)

Title: The Snowman (Harry Hole Book 7) Author: Jo Nesbo Edition: Movie Tie-in Rating: 5 stars  'The Snowman' was the book that ...

Monday 1 February 2016

A little bit about me...

Hi, my name is Cal and I'm a reviewer based in Birmingham, UK.
I'm married with two grown-up children and a daughter-in-law. :) I'm a full time carer to my daughter, Kirsty, and nanny to 6 beautiful grandchildren - 3 step-granddaughters, 2 grandsons and 1 baby granddaughter. Sadly my oldest grandson was stillborn in July 2012, but will always be a part of our family and will live within our hearts forever.
I'm a huge fandom nerd, beginning my online fandom life way back in 2000 with the Buffyverse. These days Outlander and Game of Thrones are my big fandoms of choice, although I do dip my toes into other fandoms from time to time, including Jessica Jones, Bates Motel, etc.
I'm ecstatic to have The X Files back on my TV screen, as I was a huge fan back in the days before the Internet took over the world. Mulder and Scully, oh how I've missed you!
I love reading and am rarely seen without a book or Kindle in hand! Favourite authors include Jo Nesbo, Kelley Armstrong and Jack Finney. My book reviews can be found at Cal's Blog (calturnerreviews.blogspot.co.uk), Amazon UK, Goodreads, LJ, FB and Twitter.

Book Review - The Widow by Fiona Barton

Title: The Widow
Author: Fiona Barton
Release Date: 14th January 2016
Rating: 3.5 stars

A disturbing 3.5 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who gave me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There's no doubt that 'The Widow' is an extremely well written book, but for me the subject matter was just too disturbing. I knew very little about what the book was about when I started to read it, but once it became apparent it was about the abduction (and possible murder) of a 2 year old girl, I knew that I was going to find it a very difficult read.

There are twists and turns to keep you guessing, but in all honesty I found it hard to stomach the different scenarios that would come to mind. I had little sympathy for any of the characters, other than the mother of little Bella, but even that was put to the test at times.

'The Widow' does, however, highlight the importance of Internet security, especially where your children/grandchildren are concerned. An important lesson to be learnt and taken heed of there, I feel.

But even though the disturbing story of child abduction wasn't for me, I still have to acknowledge that it's a very well written book and some people will react very differently to it than I did. I know it has had many rave reviews from people, but for me 'The Widow' was just too disturbing and the final pages made me feel physically sick to my stomach.

3.5 stars.