Jacqueline "Jacks" Morales was FaceTiming her sister when a knock at the door changed her life forever. Her husband, James, was killed in a car accident in Hawaii. Jacks is confused because James told her he was going to Kansas for work. And she is devastated because James was not alone in the car, his girlfriend was with him. Jacks is dealing with her new normal when there was another knock at the door. This time it is Nick, the fiance of the young woman with James. He is just as devastated as Jacks and is really the only person who can fully understand what she is going through. They start up a friendship and soon find their way to Hawaii to retrace the final steps of their loved ones hoping to gain some understanding of what happened. And in the process, they start to have feelings for each other. The closer they get, though, Jacks starts to get a feeling that she is missing something important about what happened to James, will she be able to figure it out before it is too late?
I have been following Liz and Lisa since their early Chick Lit is Not Dead (now just a blog on their website) days. I was thrilled when they wrote their first novel and have followed their career with interest and excitement. You could say that I have been in inspired by their career. Having said all of that - The Good Widow was not their best effort. It started out strong, their first chapter had me intrigued, but almost immediately I had it figured out. I stuck it out and finished the book hoping that there would be some kind of twist at the end to prove me wrong, but no, I was right. The book starts out strong with Jacks finding out about the accident but from there it becomes very predictable. The book is told in alternating voices - Jacks "after" the accident and Dylan (the other woman) "before" the accident. You get to see both sides of the story and frankly, neither woman was perfect and James was a sleaze. I wish that we could have seen things from Beth's viewpoint. Beth is Jack's sister, but most often she was Jack's tether to reality. I did not find the book all that suspenseful, nor was I all that shocked by the ending. Overall, I was disappointed. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS
Bottom line - I have always been a fan of Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, but this year I think I would encourage you to read their previous works rather than their new release. I wanted it to be so much better, I wanted it to have me on the edge of my seat, but sadly The Good Widow was predictable in every way. Have you read The Good Widow? What did you think?
Details:
- The Good Widow by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
- On Facebook
- Pages: 300
- Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
- Publication Date: 6/1/17
- Buy it Here!
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