Thriller readers like things dark. Whether it’s mystery, suspense, or speculative, we expect bad things to happen to good people, for death and despair. But Fiona Barton’s latest, Talking to Strangers, may be the bleakest thriller I’ve ever read. Barton, British author of The Widow (reviewed here) and The Child (reviewed here) creates strong female protagonists and puts them in tough situations. In Talking to Strangers, she implies there’s no real escape.
When 45-year-old single hairdresser Karen Simmons is murdered on Valentine’s Day in the woods of the British hamlet of Ebbing, the case lands with detective Elise King. (Elise and Ebbing were also featured in Barton’s Local Gone Missing.) On her own after being dumped for another woman, and still recovering from a cancer fight, Elise thinks Karen’s murder is related to her use of dating apps and running a local singles group. Reporter Kiki Nunn, a single mother with a teenage daughter, thinks the murder is her chance to make a name for herself on the web site she reports for, and tries to infiltrate the dating scene to find the killer. And Annie Curtis, who used to live in Ebbing, is haunted by memories of her son Archie, who was killed 15 years ago in those same woods. The young man accused of killing Archie committed suicide, but what if he was actually innocent?
At first, Talking to Strangers reminded me of Mary Higgins Clark’s take on dating strangers: Loves Music, Loves to Dance. But as the book unfolded, the similarities waned. The singles in Ebbing seem more interested in the hook-up culture than in meeting a partner, and Elise and Kiki find a private chat room run by men celebrating their conquests. Could one of them have murdered Karen? Many in Ebbing believe she “asked for it” by having one-night stands. Even the men in her singles group look down on her.
The book overflows with suspects, and both Elise and Kiki are in danger as they investigate all the men who could have killed Karen. Elise, overworked and scared that her cancer treatment has dulled her instincts, finds comfort in a new male neighbor, while Kiki is drawn into the same apps that seduced Karen. The women’s vulnerability and loneliness is heartbreaking. And as Annie reinvestigates her son’s murder, it slowly becomes clear that her husband might have a connection to Karen’s death as well.
The women in Ebbing are surrounded by men who are killers, cheaters, liars, misogynists, or perverts. The wives cannot trust their own husbands; the single women are prey. These men clearly hate women, and their disgust is apparent on every page. (A speech by a man who blames his cheating on his wife’s love for their children is particularly loathsome.) The book ends on an especially dispiriting note, implying that the behavior is passed on and worsens through the generations.
Elise King is a strong protagonist, and she’s well supported by characters like Kiki and other (female) locals who populate Ebbing. I hope that if Clark decides to continue Elise’s story, she shines a light on some of the brighter corners of Ebbing as well.
Thanks to Berkley for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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