Talking to Strangers
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4.2 • 41 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Detective Elise King’s investigation into a woman’s murder is getting derailed by a reporter who insists on doing her own investigation in this nail-biting mystery from the author of Local Gone Missing.
When Karen Simmons is murdered on Valentine’s Day, Detective Elise King wonders if she was killed by a man she met online. Karen was all over the dating apps, leading some townspeople to blame her for her own death, while others band together to protest society’s violence against women. Into the divide comes Kiki Nunn, whose aggressive newsgathering once again antagonizes Elise.
A single mother of a young daughter, Kiki is struggling to make a living in the diminished news landscape. Getting a scoop in the Simmons murder would do a lot for her career, and she’s willing to go up against not just Elise but the killer himself to do it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Barton's artful sequel to Local Gone Missing, Det. Insp. Elise King competes with journalist Kiki Nunn to solve the murder of a Sussex hairdresser. King has just returned to duty after breast cancer treatment when she's called to Knapton Wood, where Karen Simmons's strangled corpse has been discovered. Before her death, Simmons ran a singles group called the Free Spirits, and King immediately sets her sights on the men Simmons was dating. Meanwhile, newspaper reporter Nunn catches wind of the murder, and her interest is piqued—she'd interviewed Simmons for an article about the Free Spirits the week before. Sensing the story might earn her a promotion, Nunn doggedly chases down leads, stepping on King's toes in the process. Also in the mix is Annie Curtis, one of Simmons's clients, whose eight-year-old son was killed years ago in the same place as Simmons, prompting Annie to wonder if the murders might be connected. Barton effortlessly toggles between each woman's viewpoint, maintaining suspense as she builds to the plot's devastating resolution. Fans of Mark Billingham's Tom Thorne novels will devour this.
Customer Reviews
Great Read
Nice twist at the end. I sorta suspected it.