Friends Keep Secrets by Benny Blanco
Album Watch
Friends Keep Secrets (stylized in all caps) is the debut album by American producer Benny Blanco,...
VenturianTale
YouTube Channel
GREETINGS, FELLOW ADVENTURERS! My name is Venturian. I seek out adventures wherever they may be...
Blood Trail
Book
Game wardens have found a man dead at a mountain camp-strung up, gutted, and flayed as if he were...
In Paris With You
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Eugene and Tatiana could have fallen in love, if things had gone differently. If they had tried to...
Dean (6927 KP) rated Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) in Movies
Oct 22, 2021
There's not much depth to the plot and it's over before too long. Still an enjoyable watch.
A Bluebird in My Heart (2018)
Movie
Attempting to lead a quiet reformed life, an ex-con finds refuge in a motel run by a single mother...
Poison Pen
Book
"IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED." Those were the words on the suicide note found near Lindsey...
Mothergamer (1607 KP) rated The Wheel of Time in TV
Jan 3, 2022
Merissa (13592 KP) created a post
Nov 24, 2025
I really enjoyed Barton's previous novel, The Widow, and I have to say that THE CHILD did not disappoint. It's hard exactly to describe her books, but they have some sort of power over you, drawing you into their narrative and making it difficult to come back to reality until you've reached the end. Much like THE WIDOW, we're presented with a cast of disparate characters-not all of whom are particularly likeable. I hadn't realized, for some reason, that THE CHILD would feature Kate again--a journalist we previously met in Barton's earlier book. I found Kate a much more engaging protagonist this time around: she came across as more human and flawed.
Otherwise, the novel focuses on timid, depressed Emma and her difficult relationship with her mother, Jude, who kicked Emma out of the house at the sixteen. Each woman has a turn at the narration, as does Angela, who is still reeling from having her baby stolen from the hospital (and never found). Barton does a skillful job weaving their stories together. Everything unfolds in bits and pieces as the tale progresses in the eyes of each of our narrators. For me, it was extremely riveting: just as one shocking piece came out, another one would fall into place.
Barton also gives us an excellent look into the journalism business, with a focus on how Kate writes her stories, with a strong emphasis on real (face-to-face, non-Internet-based) research. We see firsthand how the current social media craze is affecting the newspaper world. It's refreshing, as we get to basically see a crime/story solved, yet not necessarily through the lens of a typical police drama.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I figured out parts of it as it went along, but found it to be a very compelling read. Definitely worth picking up.


