I received this book "The Good Widow" from Netgalley for my honest review.

A great suspense novel. I did enjoy reading this book - like stay up late reading type book. Police officers show up at her door, her husband has died along with his - mistress - in Hawaii? um he was supposed to be on a business trip in Kansas. The story will take you on twists and turns and you never know what you will find in the next chapter.

A real page turner couldn't put it down, characters are well developed and the plot moves along nicely

A husband, Jack, is on a business trip and dies.in an accident. His wife Jacks is waiting for his return. There is an accident and Jack dies, but he was not alone. There was a woman in the car with him, Dylan. Dylan's ex fiancee, Nicks contact Jacks as he needs answers. Thus begins the journey to fill in the pieces, as they both have questions they would like answers to . They travel to Hawaii which was the scene of the accident. What will they find? Will they find the answers that they are seeking? Will the answers they seek be ones they would have not wanted to know? Read this book and find out. It has drama. suspense, twists and turns. Very good book. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

3/5 Stars

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Overall, it was a good novel, however, the "mystery/thriller" part of the book didn't really seem to start until almost 75% in to the novel. Although I enjoyed that the book was told from two perspectives and two time frames (before and after), I found some of the back and forth in each section a bit too hard to follow at times.

**spoiler alert**

Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher for advancing me a copy of “The Good Widow” by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke in exchange for an honest review.

A woman, Jacks (seriously? cue eye rolls), finds out that her husband, James, died in an accident in Maui alongside another woman, Dylan (another masculine name for a woman?), his mistress. He was supposed to be on a business trip in Kansas. She never thought her husband was cheating on her. She wants to know why he was in Maui and why he was with another woman. Nick is Dylan’s fiancée, who is devastated to find out that Dylan was in Maui with another man. Jacks and Nick decide to go to Maui to the hotel their partners stayed at, eat where they did and do the excursions they experienced, etc., all so they find out any bit of information about the cheating couple. A great concept except it fell flat like it was going nowhere. I kept reading and reading waiting for something shocking to happen but there was nothing. From beginning to end there was no blip on the radar. The story is told by Jacks and Dylan switching from “Before” and “After” the accident. This novel is described as “suspenseful,” a “thriller” and a “twisty page turner.” No way did I find it to be “suspenseful” or a “thriller”. A twisty page-turner? Nope. And the characters? Boring, mundane and flat. I couldn’t connect to any of them. I did think James was a shitty husband for the way he treated Jacks. Jacks felt guilty all throughout thinking that the secret she hid from her husband was a contributing factor to his death. Sorry, that’s a bit of a stretch if you ask me. If James really truly loved her he would never have treated Jacks the way he did or even let his mother talk negatively about his wife. A loving man would have defended his wife to his mother. If anything, I believe James used her. When reading Dylan’s story of her relationship with James leading up to the accident, it was as though the authors tried to make it seem like James was someone different, a part of him that she didn’t recognize and was a little afraid of with the end goal of making it suspenseful. Yet, nothing really came of it so where was the suspense. Even the story of Jacks and Nick getting together, it was quickly glossed over. Basically, nothing of substance stood out. I kept waiting to be shocked or at least surprised but it never happened. As for the ending, there was potential but unfortunately, I never thought it to be surprising or shocking probably because it was just as boring and flat as the rest of the novel and I thought the ending was tied up way too quickly. At the end of the day, one long boring story.

This book required a great deal of suspension of disbelief. I would still recommend it to a friend, but with the caution that it is likely to frustrate.

Jacks is about to have her world set on edge with the knock at her door and the arrival of uniformed officers announcing the untimely death of her husband. Further, he is not at a conference in Kansas, but vacationing on a Hawaiian island with his mistress, who was claimed in the same accident. From here, the story spools out into the meeting of those left behind the affair, their unlikely joining of forces to find answers, and an ending that I won't reveal but fell short for me.

What a winner for the fan of suspense and thriller. Jack's gets a visit from police informing her that her husband James died in an accident in Hawaii. He was with another woman who was pregnant. He was supposed to be working and Jacks is in shock. When Nick visits demanding to know why his fiancé died with James she is even more confused. What a wonderfully written story. Your emotions are everywhere and with each turning page you start down another path of wonder. The best thing I can say is WOW. Be prepared to miss dinner.

Excellent psychological thriller. Some good twists and an engaging storyline that keeps you interested throughout. Likable characters, although they are flawed, they are still sympathetic. I loved the relationship between Jacks (didn't like this nickname) and her sister.

The Good Widow

It's bad enough that 'Jacks' has just been told that her husband has suffered a fatal car accident, but she also discovers he wasn't alone...

This was a real treat to read and I think it's the perfect holiday read! The Good Widow is a truly gripping mystery thriller that is a real page turner. It's well written, evocative and the twist at the end will leave you open mouthed! 4 stars from purplebookstand.

Great novel. It has a bit of everything!! I highly recommend it.

Excellent book. Great storyline and wonderful main characters. I would recommend this book.

3 1/2 Stars
An old plot with a new ending. While fairly predictable and a tad on the slower side, it still held my interest especially when the story finally picked up for the last 25%. Not a bad read, but lacked the Suspense I had hoped for.

The Good Widow was a difficult book to put down. I love that the main character was a teacher – go educators!- and how their long, predictable relationship was described. The details were spot on as the story unfolded, although she had this eerie calm about her and I would have been completely losing my shit…. possibly in a drunken stupor, but anyways…. Nick showed up at the perfect time and, although I had an idea some events would have occurred, I never guessed that ending. Overall, a heartbreaking, yet thrilling read filled with suspense that has the ability to keep you on your toes just waiting for what’s next!

Elementary school teacher Jacqueline “Jacks” Morales’s marriage was far from perfect, but even in its ups and downs it was predictable, familiar. Or at least she thought it was…until two police officers showed up at her door with devastating news. Her husband of eight years, the one who should have been on a business trip to Kansas, had suffered a fatal car accident in Hawaii. And he wasn’t alone.

For Jacks, laying her husband to rest was hard. But it was even harder to think that his final moments belonged to another woman—one who had left behind her own grieving and bewildered fiancé. Nick, just as blindsided by the affair, wants answers. So he suggests that he and Jacks search for the truth together, retracing the doomed lovers’ last days in paradise.

Now, following the twisting path of that fateful road, Jacks is learning that nothing is ever as it seems. Not her marriage. Not her husband. And most certainly not his death…

Cover Review:

The cover displays a stormy sky and waving oceans. It's scary and kinda off tone. I wouldn't have chosen to read it just because of the cover, but I would probably read the blurb and then realize that it actually sounds awesome!

Review:

The Good Widow was intriguing right from the very beginning. The first chapter itself raised so many questions...who? What? Where?

My favorite character was in fact Beth. I couldn't have imagined a better sister for Jacks. I loved Beth for always being there for Jacks, and then when she landed at Hana Airport? I fell in love with her all over again! Jacks would have been my favorite if she didn't have such an amazing sister (and if I didn't envy her for that!)

I don't know whom I hate most. It's a tie between James and Nick. They were both such 'bastards' as Beth would put it. I was so happy when Jacks and Nick kissed for the first time. I remember wanting to know what Nick was feeling at that moment, when he said sorry. Later I realized why that couldn't be. I hate both of them for damaging Jacks' life so badly. I don't know how she'll be able to get over it all.

The ending totally wrecked me. I mean, it was nice to know that James had been reading those letters. But again, it gave birth to so many new questions. Was James rethinking? Had he planned on breaking it off with Dylan? Would things have ended up differently if Nick hadn't intervened?

There were so, so many questions.

I guess it's clear from the level of my involvement into the story that I absolutely loved it! It was one of the most amazing books that I'd ever read.

5 stars for characters like Jacks & Beth, and a plot that left me yearning for more.

If I had to sum up my feeling about this book, I would have to say it is "not quite..." It is not quite suspenseful - I figured out the "secret" that Dylan alludes to at the beginning of the book within the first couple of chapters. The ending does not end up where I thought it would, but truthfully, I didn't feel any building suspense. It left me feeling like it was "not quite" finished at the end; there were several things that were not really wrapped up. The dual storyline has the reader going back and forth between the present day, and also looking back on Dylan's relationship with James and their last day together, but does not take you up to what actually happened.

I did not really connect with Jacks - I don't have much of an idea who she is other than someone who recently lost her husband, and had in the past omitted telling her husband an important fact, which drove a wedge into their relationship. Obviously, James and Dylan were being deceitful, so it was hard to justify their actions and develop a connection to them. Nick seemed like an extraneous character. As a result, I could not find myself getting very invested in their stories.

I wanted to like this, I just have not been able to get there...

Posted on: https://readingbetweenthepagesblog.wordpress.com/
Date: 06/28/2017

This book is a quick, easy read (less than 300 pages) that gets your attention right from the first chapter.

Jacqueline “Jacks” Morales is a 4th grade school teacher and husband James is in sales. James travels a lot and has been having an affair, unknown to Jacks, with Dylan. Dylan Matthew is a 24-year-old waitress who is engaged to be married to Nick Ford, a fireman. The lives of these four dramatically changes with a simple knock on the door.

“Are you Mrs. Morales? Wife of James Morales?”

The book is told from the perspective of the two women, Jacks and Dylan. I really enjoyed how the story unfolds by alternating the chapters: Jacks Before, Dylan Before, and Jacks After. I found it to be a fresh approach in storytelling. I really like that is was strictly told from the point of view of these two women, not the men in their lives.

The first two-thirds of this story is about love, loss, betrayal, the search for answers, and closure. In the last third of the book the suspense picks up, the story becomes more intense, and I flew through it to see how it would end.

I didn’t love, nor did I dislike this book; it was a good book. With a large part of the book taking place in Maui, it made the perfect poolside read. I’m glad I read it and look forward to reading future books by these two authors.

Thank you NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke for the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest opinion.

Books that are written by author collaboration generally fall into 2 categories: they are either a disjointed mess where you can tell more than one person had their hand in it (the screenplay for the new Mummy movie immediately comes to mind) or the dual creativity is blended so well you can’t tell multiple voices have been blended together to create one piece.

Thankfully this falls into the latter category rather than the former.

Liz and Lisa have created an intriguing suspense filled novel but that theme is so subtlety woven throughout this work you often find yourself wondering how these various plot points are going to be answered but the authors manage to provide everything you need to enjoy it in a binge worthy way.

The Hawaii setting created a nice contrasting tone to an otherwise dark storyline of 2 people meeting under terrible circumstances; their significant others are not only dead but had apparently been having an affair with each other.

You will surely want to read through to the end as the last pages will have your fingers glued to the paper in an ending you never saw coming.

This might be the best sneaky book I have read in a while. I was happily reading along, watching Jacks (Jacqueline) and Nick struggle to learn why their respective partners were having an affair and died in Maui but little twists kept popping up. Some of them were more intriguing than others, but combined it kept the book moving along and me engaged. The story is told by Jacks (present time) and Dylan (past). The women both disclose how they met and fell in love with the male in common, James. Frequently I wondered why we weren’t getting the male point of view, but the method worked well. Affair aside, James wasn’t a likeable character. I’m not sure if that was intentional or my own feeling. Maybe he was written that way so as to cast Nick in a better light? But seriously, the guy was already a fireman and was helping Jacks through her struggles dealing with James’ affair and death. He didn’t need any assistance in the hero department. I loved how I would get comfortable with the situation and then something new would pop up. In that manner the story was well laid out. The one issue I did have was the female’s names. Why give them both predominantly male names?

I was really excited about this book, and couldn't wait to dive into it. However, what I expected wasn't exactly what I got. I thought that it would be a nail biting, page turning thriller. What I got was a good setup for thrills, then kind of a romance, and a halfhearted thriller finale.

This was a quick read, and it was a perfectly good book. Just not what I had hoped for, from the description and even the cover.