audio cd
Published Feb. 16, 2016 by Penguin Audiobooks, Penguin Audio.
"Following the twists and turns of an unimaginable crime, The Widow is an electrifying debut thriller that will take you into the dark spaces that exist between a husband and a wife. When the police started asking questions, Jean Taylor turned into a different woman. One who enabled her and her husband to carry on when more bad things began to happen. . . But that woman's husband died last week. And Jean doesn't have to be her anymore. There's a lot Jean hasn't said over the years about the crime her husband was suspected of committing. She was too busy being the perfect wife, standing by her man while living with the accusing glares and the anonymous harassment. Now there's no reason to stay quiet. There are people who want to hear her story. They want to know what it was like living with that man. She can tell …
"Following the twists and turns of an unimaginable crime, The Widow is an electrifying debut thriller that will take you into the dark spaces that exist between a husband and a wife. When the police started asking questions, Jean Taylor turned into a different woman. One who enabled her and her husband to carry on when more bad things began to happen. . . But that woman's husband died last week. And Jean doesn't have to be her anymore. There's a lot Jean hasn't said over the years about the crime her husband was suspected of committing. She was too busy being the perfect wife, standing by her man while living with the accusing glares and the anonymous harassment. Now there's no reason to stay quiet. There are people who want to hear her story. They want to know what it was like living with that man. She can tell them that there were secrets. There always are in a marriage. The truth--that's all anyone wants. But the one lesson Jean has learned in the last few years is that she can make people believe anything. . ."--
I'd have liked this book a lot better if it weren't so predictable. I knew who was guilty from the very beginning. I also wasn't shocked by anything, and I didn't really like any of the characters. I didn't notice any twists, and really, this could have done much better as a novella, or a short story.
I agree with the other reviews that this isn't really a mystery, as the perpetrator and their motivations are immediately obvious. However, I did enjoy how the characters interacting, often with competing goals, progressed the story. As it goes on, more psychologically disturbing aspects of the crime and Jean's marriage are revealed. They aren't exactly twists, but the deeper you go the more dreadful you feel, giving this book a sense of building anxiety. I quite liked it overall, but it's more crime fiction than mystery/thriller.
Page-turner. I think people who liked Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train would probably give this 4 or 5 stars. I'm giving it three because I thought it was solid, but I don't want to confuse it with great literature.
I was browsing the available audio books on Overdrive and remembered seeing The Widow being shelved by a few of the people I follow on Goodreads. I didn't know what it was about except it was in the mystery category and that was good enough for me at that moment.
The story was interesting and engaging. For anyone who is hesitant about reading it for fear of graphic descriptions of crimes, have no fear, there aren't any. The POVs switch between several people who are involved in the crime and the investigation so there's a lot of information to absorb but it never felt overwhelming. This isn't a fast-paced "who dunnit" but more of a slow reveal.
I definitely enjoyed the book but didn't feel any sort of urgency in reading it. I could have easily set it aside and probably not thought about it again. The widow was certainly …
I was browsing the available audio books on Overdrive and remembered seeing The Widow being shelved by a few of the people I follow on Goodreads. I didn't know what it was about except it was in the mystery category and that was good enough for me at that moment.
The story was interesting and engaging. For anyone who is hesitant about reading it for fear of graphic descriptions of crimes, have no fear, there aren't any. The POVs switch between several people who are involved in the crime and the investigation so there's a lot of information to absorb but it never felt overwhelming. This isn't a fast-paced "who dunnit" but more of a slow reveal.
I definitely enjoyed the book but didn't feel any sort of urgency in reading it. I could have easily set it aside and probably not thought about it again. The widow was certainly an interesting character. I would have liked to have spent more time in her head. I wanted to get back to her whenever another character's POV took over.
If you're looking for a lighter mystery that deals with potentially upsetting themes but doesn't go into graphic detail, this might be for you.
