Fiona Barton series #2: DI Elise King

Readers of my book reviews will know that British authors of crime and psychological thrillers are the staple of my fiction-reading diet. Fiona Barton is one such author. She started her writing career as a journalist, covering notorious crimes and trials for a bunch of daily newspapers. Barton is not the top of my author list, but I still find something to like in her stories. I'm not blown away by her books, but I feel quite satisfied when I've finished them. Of the two series Barton has penned, the DI Elise King is the one I prefer as Elise is a much more interesting and relatable character. You can also read my review of Barton's other series, featuring journalist Kate Waters.

Local gone missing | Published June 2022 | Read September 2024

I rather liked Local gone missing. I've read it twice now! DI Elise King is the central character. She lives in a small British seaside town near Brighton. Elise is on medical leave while she recovers from breast cancer, and she is struggling to regain her health and her confidence. Elise becomes involved in a local enquiry after drugs are found at its annual music festival that put two people in hospital and see a local man go missing.

I loved Elise! I found her authentic and relatable. I also loved her nosy neighbour, Ronnie, who becomes Elise's unofficial sidekick. Ronnie is in her 60s and has lived in the town for ages, so she knows all the secrets. She becomes an invaluable source of support for Elise and their friendship was fun to read. I also loved the way a 60-year-old was portrayed as clever, creative and an asset to Elise.

Dee is one of the townspeople who plays a key role in the story. Dee is battling to make ends meet as a housecleaner as her former drug-user plumber husband is out of work. Dee has access to people's homes and lives, cleaning her way around the town and remaining largely unnoticed.

The book worked for me because I warmed instantly to Elise, to Ronnie, and to Elise's detective partner, Caro. The story is quite complex. There's a huge cast of characters, all with threads woven together that often go back to past mistakes. I didn't guess what was going on and I liked that (too many characters and sub-plots to do so!). The ending is twisty but believable, as long as you can accept that so many people in a small town could be so intimately connected.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Talking to strangers | Published August 2024 | Read March 2025

Detective Elise King is back at work, although still dealing with the recent trauma of her breast cancer treatment. I loved Elise in the first book in the series. Elise is empathetic and dedicated to her job, and she's a character I warmed to from the outset. Barton avoids the quirky detective trope and makes Elise relatable and authentic.

The case that Elise is leading in Talking to strangers involves the murder of Karen Simmons on Valentine's Day. Right from the start, the case exposes the perils of online dating. The men in Karen's orbit are a bunch of nasty misogynists who use dating apps to stalk and abuse women. Elise has to wade through all that horror and manage a local reporter, Kiki Nunn, who is on the trail of Karen's killer in search of a career-changing scoop.

I gave Local gone missing four stars, for Elise and for the intriguing and complex story. I've only managed three stars for Talking to strangers. Let's talk about what I liked first, though. Elise. I'd definitely come back for more of Elise even if this second book in the series wasn't as good as the first. I liked the way Barton links the two books together around the topic of Elise's health, painting a realistic and thoughtful picture of her return to work and chemo-induced brain fog.

The premise of Talking to strangers is interesting, exploring the online dating scene for women over 40. I liked the way Barton delves into that world, creating male characters whose actions were believable without making them cartoonishly evil. Karen's quest for love is handled sensitively and I give props to Barton for not making her seem sad and pathetic while tackling the important topic of victim blaming sensitively. The story has multiple layers and twists. Red herrings abound, and although I figured out part of the story, there were still some surprises.

OK, so now for the reasons for my 3-star rating. The first is the writing. I hadn't noticed it in previous novels, but Barton goes mad with the dash in Talking to strangers. I found that super distracting. There are so many places in the book where a full stop needs to end the sentence, not a dash, and then another sentence needs to begin. It might sound picky, but the overuse (and sometimes incorrect use) of the dash really did affect my reading experience.

I loved Ronnie, Elise's nosy 60-year-old neighbour, in the first book, but she is underdone in Talking to strangers. Ronnie made for a fun character in the first book. She has lots to offer Elise in the way of friendship and support, and her knowledge of the town gossip is invaluable to Elise's detective work. More of Ronnie, please!

While I liked journalist Kiki, the addition of this character takes the spotlight off Elise. I would have preferred more detective work from Elise rather than Kiki attempting (and often succeeding) to solve the case for her. Having chapters dedicated to both Elise and Kiki didn't work for me. Kiki needs to be more of a sidebar to provide vital information to Elise, not another main character. I also found Kiki's story a bit jarring when it takes a different turn after she inserts herself into the local dating scene as part of research for her story. These actions move the case (and her story) forward but things go horribly wrong and then Kiki ends up serving a different purpose in the story. The inclusion of yet another main character (and chapters devoted to her story) further lessens Elise's involvement in the book and makes the case more predictable. Barton did a much better job of leaving subtle clues in the first book that kept me guessing right until the end.

I'll still be back for more, as Elise is a character I'm keen to keep reading about in future stories.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐