Fiona Barton is a successful author who has led an interesting life as a journalist before turning to writing novels. She has worked for various prominent newspapers such as the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, and Mail on Sunday. Barton's work as a journalist has earned her recognition and awards, including Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards and a National Press Award.
After many years of working as a journalist, Barton decided to use her experiences and insights to begin writing novels. Her fascination with the wives of accused men and their knowledge or lack thereof regarding their husbands' crimes inspired her to write her first novel. She spent many years working on stories about trials and crimes as a journalist, which fueled her desire to explore this topic further. In 2008, Barton left journalism to work with threatened and exiled journalists, which gave her even more material to work with.
Barton's debut novel, The Widow, became a bestseller in the UK and the US and has been published in 36 countries. It has also been optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, was also a bestseller in the UK. Barton's novels draw from her experiences as a journalist, and she has a keen interest in observing people's body language and verbal tics. She enjoys writing about those on the periphery of high-profile criminal cases, as she finds them the most intriguing.
Barton was born in Cambridge and currently resides in Sussex and south-west France. She enjoys the peaceful life in France, where she writes in bed early in the morning, with only her cockerel, Sparky, crowing in the background. Barton's career has taken many surprising turns, from being a journalist to working with threatened journalists, but her passion for storytelling has remained constant. She is currently working on her second book, much to the delight of her fans worldwide.