The shadow of doubt about a character is a disturbing factor in any thriller or crime novel worth its salt. Sometimes, the reader himself participates in a certain complicity with the writer, which allows him to glimpse beyond what the characters know about evil.
In other novels we participate in the same ignorance or blindness as any of the characters.
Both systems are equally valid to build a mystery novel, thriller or whatever, in order to capture the full attention and tension of the reader.
But there are extreme situations where you really end up suffering from the character and you're glad you're not him. The world of fiction offers many approaches, some of them extremely wicked and, why not say it, also captivating in its reading ...
If he had done something horrible, she would know it. Or not?
We all know who he is: the man we saw on the front page of every newspaper accused of a terrible crime. But what do we really know about her, about the person holding her arm on the courthouse stairs, about the wife next to her?
Jean Taylor's husband was charged and acquitted of a terrible crime years ago. When he dies suddenly, Jean, the perfect wife who has always supported him and believed in his innocence, becomes the only person who knows the truth. But what implications would accepting that truth have? How far are you willing to go to keep your life meaningful? Now that Jean can be herself, there is a decision to be made: shut up, lie or act?
You can now buy the novel The Widow, the latest book by Fiona Barton, here: