Talking to Strangers
Play sample
  • Published: 6 May 2025
  • ISBN: 9780552175876
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

Talking to Strangers

Formats & editions
Paperback
6 May 2025
Tr. Paperback
19 Nov 2024
EBook
25 Jul 2024
Audiobook
15 Aug 2024
Hardback
15 Sep 2024
Pre-order from…
Amazon Booktopia Dymocks QBD Readings Your Bookstore Abbeys Boomerang Find local retailers Find local retailers Collins Fishpond Gleebooks Harry Hartog Kinokuniya Robinsons The Nile Mighty Ape

A phenomenal, unputdownable return to form from the author of the record-breaking Sunday Times bestseller and Richard & Judy Book Club pick The Widow.

Three women. One Killer.
Talking to strangers has never been more dangerous...

When forty-four-year-old Karen Simmons is found lifeless, abandoned in remote woodland, journalist Kiki Nunn is determined to beat every other reporter to the story.

And she already has a head start. Just days before Karen’s murder, Kiki interviewed her about the highs and lows of mid-life romance. Karen told her about the expensive gifts and the starlit rendezvous. About the scammers and the creeps...

While police stay focused on local suspects, Kiki starts to write the definitive piece on one woman's fatal search for love. But she will soon learn that the search for truth can be just as deadly...

  • Published: 6 May 2025
  • ISBN: 9780552175876
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

About the author

Fiona Barton

Fiona Barton's debut, The Widow, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been published in thirty-five countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, was a Sunday Times bestseller. Born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives in south-west France.

Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards.

While working as a journalist, Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and she developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. Fiona interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery, and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most . . .

portrait photo of Fiona Barton

Also by Fiona Barton

Local Gone Missing
The Suspect
The Child
The Widow
See all

Praise for Talking to Strangers

Fiona Barton is a brilliant storyteller, a master of plot and character. I absolutely loved this smart, twisty novel!

Shari Lapena

PRAISE FOR FIONA BARTON

:

In the community of Ebbing, Fiona Barton has created a town full of suspense and a cast of characters with so many reasons to keep secrets buried deep. A dark and twisty read.

Nita Prose

A fab, twisty-turny mystery

Sun

[A] spine-tingling, twisty thriller

Woman's Own

Fiona Barton is perceptive, empathetic and a talented writer.

Daily Express

Barton treats her broken characters with such compassion that I wanted to reach into the pages and hug them.

Liz Nugent

This novel hits home. And it hurts. Tapping into very real fears faced by all women at some time in their lives, it delivers a terrifyingly real and addictive story.

Sharon Bolton

PRAISE FOR TALKING TO STRANGERS

:

Another fiendishly plotted crime novel from Fiona Barton, highlighting the grubby underbelly of the dating scene. I predict a bestseller.

Penny Batchelor

This latest from best-selling Barton is a twisty and highly satisfying nail-biter that will have her fans and new readers alike burning the midnight oil.

Library Journal

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.

Publishers Weekly

Tense and full of reveals and twists. This compulsively dark mystery is a joy to read. Fiona Barton never disappoints!

Lesley Kara

Well imagined, cleverly plotted and with a completely surprising final twist.

Marsali Taylor

Another red-hot thriller from the author of The Widow and The Child.

My Weekly

A blisteringly good, miss-your-stop read that raises some timely issues such as online dating, violence against women and victim blaming. Fiona Barton at her best.

Diane Jeffrey

Gripping.

Bella

A classic twisty crime thriller.

Heat

A disturbing mystery that grips like a serpent.

Daily Mail

A chilling read.

The Sunday Times

With engaging characters and great storytelling, you'll want to binge-read this.

Sussex Life Review