The Widow

Enjoyed the way the story was told. Kept us in suspense until the last page.

Was spellbound in the beginning but the book dragged on for too long. It spelled out the culprit from the start, which is fine, but without any mystery I found myself just waiting for it to wrap up. Very well written and excellent marks for style.

Spellbinding. You are never quite sure until the end how this will end

It took me almost two weeks to finish this book. I forced myself to get to the end of it. It had no twist or turns and was a book I could definitely put down. This was nothing in comparison to the girl on the train.

The ending just stopped so abruptly I didn’t even know it was over. Makes me not even want to try another story that will end in the same manner

I’m not a negative person, but this is overly long and has no twists at all. Easy to figure out and then you still have another 200 pages to read only for you to get to the end and say, “oh I thought so”. I love Stephen King, but someone must have paid him a lot of money for that quote that’s on the cover of the book. Girl on the Train is also referenced as a “similar book”, but that book surpasses this one by far.

Loved reading this book and the different perspectives. I loved following all the characters and truly getting to know them.

Excellent read!

It’s a difficult subject but well written. I read it in a day as I had to know how it was going to end. The reporter Kate is in at least one other book found at the end of this one another difficult subject. I’m going to follow this author.

There were slightly too many viewpoints and too many timelines in the structure that made it difficult to follow. Many parts were also too disturbing to enjoy, even for the mystery. The resolution also was not satisfying and I still was unclear on how it’d been resolved. However, the first half of the book was quite strong and engaging. Worth a read nonetheless, if you enjoy the psychological thriller genre.

One of those books I forced myself to finish because I paid for it. Wished for “more” the whole time I was reading: more plot development (don’t tell me you didn’t figure all of it out within the first 20 pages) , more character development (I couldn’t connect with a single one), more. . .twists? Intrigue? It read like it was supposed to be suspenseful when you actually knew what happened right from the start.

It moved slow.

I can't put this book in a category with others billed as psychological thrillers. It is unique. The story is complex and the characters are carefully and thoroughly developed. If you are looking for a quick read with a sudden surprise ending, this isn't it. It takes patience and thought to appreciate it. I loved it.

Took me a while to get through it. Pretty disturbing. Characters weren’t too likeable

It was slow and a bit different but still really good.

[I Won this book from the publisher via GoodReads. In no way did it affect my review, which is voluntary] "I think that the trouble is that she's been stuck between what she knows and what she wants to believe" This is a contemporary thriller told through the perspectives of the four main players in the story: Jean the Widow, Kate the reporter, Sparks the detective and Dawn, the mother. When the story opens, Jean has just become a widow with a quirky view of life. Her husband is involved in a contemporary issue that haunted him beyond the grave and the question becomes can anyone actually prove it? The psychology around his controlling the situation causes Jean a bit of a brake with reality, and effects everyone differently, which is why this is so fascinating. I was both compelled and horrified with this story, like an auto accident you gawk at across the interstate. You want to look away, but our nature makes it virtually impossible. And with the four separate voices, you get a bit of an overload of information that,when the conclusion appears, you have a serious book hangover.

Although the book had it's slow moments it definitely kept me guessing throughout. I thought the author did a good job taking a touchy subject and telling a story about it in a way that was not at all graphic or hard to read. Wish some of the middle had been exchanged for a more detailed ending, but overall I would recommend.

This book kept me reading - I thought I may have a hard time following but the suspense was amazing. It felt very real. Wish there was more to read!

The Widow was about Jean Taylor who recounted the day her husband was accused of taking Bella. Kate, a reporter showed up to interview Jean after her husband died hoping to get the exclusive story. The Widow was told in alternating POV's between The detective, the reporter, the widow, and the mother. The timeline jumped from 2010 back to 2006. Many characters were introduced since this was a detective story. Jean's husband had been suspected of a crime years before he died. Jean stood by her husband supporting him every step of the way even when the detective showed her his extra curricular activities. After Glen was gone the detective and the reporter hoped to get the true story about Bella. While this story built up this plot line I was disappointed at how slow the story progressed. Each chapter focused on developing the widow, the reporter, and the detective. The widow was played by Jean. Jean was the perfect wife to Glen who supported him when he was suspected of a crime years ago. The reporter was played by Kate. Kate was a mother and wife who found commonality with her interviewees. The detective was played by Bob. Bob took statements from witnesses trying to build a case with facts. Glen and Jean were peculiar characters. Jean was a door mat of a wife letting her husbands OCD tendencies rule her and the house. Glen was a closed off character conducting strange shenanigans behind closed doors. I liked the story but it began to drone on at times. Between the detective and the widow chapters and the timeline the story seemed to move at a snails pace. I found myself losing interest and patience. I began to dislike both main characters. Having their lives under the microscope did not help me formulate any better opinion of them. Nor did it aid in determining if they were lying. I did not find this detective story thrilling or suspenseful. I found it played like a memoir. I kept waiting for the interview by Kate the reporter, but instead I got a recount of events by Bob the detective. Piece by piece Fiona delivered the information, yet my only concern was the interview. In my mind I thought I was going to read the widow confess who took Bella in an exclusive interview conducted by Kate. Instead, the story went into extreme details about the detective work on building a case against Glen. Glen was an interesting character with a salacious lifestyle but it did not ease the pain I had for the long torrid details of his life.