Fiona Barton explores the perils of talking to strangers (online)

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. I've made a post on Barton's work to date: the Kate Waters series and the first Elise King novel. Here's my review of her latest novel, the second book in the Elise King series. 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.

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 Local gone missing, 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 involves the murder of Karen Simmons on Valentine's Day, exposing 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 linked the two books together re: Elise's health, painting a realistic and thoughtful picture of her return to work and chemo-induced brain fog.

The premise was interesting, exploring the online dating scene for women over 40. I liked the way Barton delved into that world, creating male characters whose actions were believable without making them cartoonishly evil. Karen's quest for love was handled sensitively and I give props to Barton for not making her seem sad and pathetic while tackling the topic of victim blaming. The story had multiple layers and twists. Red herrings abounded, 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 went mad with the dash in Talking to strangers. I found this super distracting. There were so many places where a comma needed to end the sentence, not a dash, and then another sentence should have been made. It might sound picky, but it really did affect my reading experience.

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

While I liked journalist Kiki, the addition of this character took 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. I'd rather Kiki was 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 took a different turn after she inserted herself into the local dating scene. This did move the case (and her story) forward but things went horribly wrong and then Kiki was serving a different purpose in the story. The inclusion of yet another main character (and chapters devoted to her story) further lessened Elise's involvement in the book and made 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: ⭐⭐⭐