Black Widows is about three sister wives married to Blake, a Mormon man who is obsessed with preparing for the end of the world. Although they are spiritually married to Blake, none of the sister wives particularly like each other and their differences are glaring. When Blake ends up dead and the police suspect murder, the sister wives (Rachel, Emily, and Tina) have to work together and look for clues to clear their names.

The sister wives narrate different chapters of the book which leaves the reader second guessing who may have committed the murder every time the chapter changes. With unexpected twists and turns, this book is a must-read for mystery and thriller fans.

Three wives of a polygamous husband all must work together to figure out who murdered him in this mystery.
Rachel, Emily and Tina are three very different women who live on a remote property in Utah with their husband, Blake, who has decide to live a plural marriage. When he goes missing one day and then is found dead, the police get involved and all three women are a suspect. Rachel, the former FLDS member, Emily the quiet one and Tina, the former addict, all have reasons they could have done it and secrets from their pasts they don't want known. But who is a killer?

This was a different take on the usual wife finding husband's killer trope, and delivered a surprise at the end. I thought the pacing was a bit off and seemed stretched out at times as the book went through all three wives' point-of-view - there were over 100 chapters. But it's ultimately an interesting story that entertains.

One husband, three wives...and apparently he's on the look out for a fourth wife! Could that be why polygamist Blake Nelson is dead? Did jealousy take over one of his wives?

One thing we do know is they are all suspects!

Told from the perspective of each of his wives, their pasts are revealed prior to entering this plural marriage. All three of them are untrustworthy and they are all suspicious of each other but Blake had secrets too and uncovering these might just lead us to the killer.

A well paced read with short snappy chapters and slow reveal twists that kept me very intrigued and eager to find out how this was going to end! With each wives POV, I kept changing my mind on who the killer actually was and the unexpected ending was a winner for me!

Be warned some of the contents may be difficult for some and include sexual assault including of children, incest, infant death and abuse.

<i>Black Widows</i> offered the reader a glimpse into life in a plural/polygamist family - and a murder inside those sacred walls.

Blake was dead. And found on his secluded property (not even shown on a map), where his three wives, Rachel, Emily and Tina were the only ones home. So who did it? Who killed their husband?

There were many secrets slowly revealed about each wife and their relationship to their husband throughout this novel. Quinn does a masterful job of weaving through the minds of each wife and the history of the LDS Church practices. I found the build-up to be well thought out and some of the twists to be quite the surprise, but others just felt “off” for the story itself.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS Landmark & Cate Quinn for providing me with an advanced copy of Black Widows in return for an honest review.

The story covers life in a polygamist lifestyle and the abuses that occur for many women & children.

Blake Nelson and his three wives; Rachel who was the original wife, Emily, who is the youngest and unprepared to be a wife and Tina who is everything that the other 2 are not.

The three sister wives get along to a point but there's some serious jealousy amongst them.

Blake is found dead and the three wives are suspected of killing him. He had enemies outside the marriage and
there are plenty of plot twists that keep you guessing as to who killed him and why.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

Black Widows tells the story of Blake Nelson and his three wives. Blake and his wives live on a hidden stretch of land in Utah. His first wife, Rachel, is quiet, obedient, and mysterious. His second wife, Emily, is scared and naive. Finally, his third wife, Tina, is rebellious and volatile. When Blake’s body is found, suspicion automatically goes to the spouse. However, in this case, which one?

Black Widows has an intriguing premise, but unfortunately, this book was not for me. I came back to it multiple times hoping that if I was in a certain reading mood, I would enjoy it more, but I did not. All of it comes down to the length. It is very difficult for me as a reader to “live” in this dark of a story for 432 pages. The characters are (intentionally) very polarizing and I could not become invested in their side of the story. I feel readers who enjoy very dark, slow burn crime fiction will enjoy this one. For readers like me who love the fast-paced, twisty thrillers, this one may be too long and drawn out. The synopsis compares it to The Dry and The Wife Between Us and, in my opinion, it leans much more towards The Dry.

Although this read may not have been for me, I have seen many great reviews from other readers. I will still be checking to see what Cate Quinn’s next mystery is, as this one has an excellent premise and well-developed characters.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blake is dead. Suspicion is cast eventually on all three of his wives. Yes, he’s a polygamist who lives in Utah on a remote farm. Rachel, the matriarch of the group although there aren’t any children, cans food, prepares the meals, is a good Latter Day Saint, but has a big secret. Emily, the youngest wife, is naïve and silly. Tina hails from Las Vegas, has a colored past and can easily fall back into a life of drugs and depravity.

Was Blake shopping for a fourth wife? Did he plan to make a giant land purchase, one he didn’t have the money for? Both good reasons for one of his wives to do him in.

I agree with the reviewers who found the first half of the book riveting. However, then it got tedious for me. I did finish reading it, but I think the whole thing could have been shorter and not so repetitive.

The characters and the setting were well drawn. It was their various motivations that seemed long and drawn out with a clue sprinkled in long before the revelation of what that motivation was.

Blake is dead, 3 wives at the center of the investigation! When it comes to women, Blake has got them. 3 wives who are each very different. Wife #1, Rachel, your traditional Mormon. Wife #2, Emily, shy, timid, not someone you would associate with a plural marriage. Wife #3, Tina, a recovering addict who worked in the sex industry.

All 3 are under investigation of the murder of Blake. They don't necessarily like each other. They are all suspicious of each other.

Blake Widows is a slow burn, drama filled thriller, that will leave you on the edge of your seat! It is told in 3 POVs, so you are able to really dwell into each of these womens current situations and also their past. This also made the characters more relatable.

It does touch on some hard topics. Polygamy, cults, abuse, prostitution, addiction, and religious fanatics. It all adds to the storyline and makes it that much more addictive!


You never quite know which way its gonna go! Full of twists and turns, to keep you guessing until the very end.

Thank you to SourceBooks and Cate Quinn for sending me a free copy for a honest review!

Three wives - one DEAD husband - who wouldn't be intrigued by that line!?!

A dark look at the past of three totally different women - brought together by one misguided man. The story told from the point of view of the three wives - twists and turns and has you guessing every bit of the way till the we final reveal! Did not see that coming!

Great story, well written - definitely a page turner and easy read. I truly enjoyed this book.

This was not what I was expecting at all. I was intrigued at the beginning with Blake being murdered and which wife did it. As the story went on it go very busy and had a lot going on. It was hard for me to keep track of what was relevant or not to the story.
The ending was shocking of who killed Blake. Kinda of upset though since I thought I knew who did and had an idea based off the cover.
It was very dark and unsettling with Rachel’s past. I was not expecting that information to come up in this story. However it can be true during this day.

One husband, three wives - what could possibly go wrong? Rachel, Emily and Tina live on a remote property in Utah with their husband, Blake Nelson, in a plural, Mormon marriage. Blake goes out fishing one day and doesn’t return. His body is discovered with certain injuries and the police suspect murder. Naturally the wives become suspects as clearly one of them must have killed him, after all who else could it have been? But which one?

What follows is a superbly crafted story with many layers. Every time you think you are close to the answer another layer is peeled away. The story is told from the POV of the three women and you get to know them quite well. You think. They are all three very unreliable narrators! Rachel,is the first wife - a devout Mormon, very modest and ‘nice’. But Rachel’s story, for she grew up in a cult, is really quite dark. Emily - the second ‘sister-wife’ is a seemingly naive teenager (19 years old) who, having been raised as a strict Catholic, has some adjusting to do in the Mormon religion. And Tina - the third sister-wife is a former drug addict and prostitute from Las Vegas who met Blake in rehab where he volunteered. The women don’t exactly like each other and tensions simmer.

So while the women are all being subjected to police scrutiny, they are also suspicious of each other. Who can they trust? You get the picture! While this was not a fast paced, nail biting thriller it WAS a very character driven drama, mystery, thriller. There weren’t that many characters so we dived deep into the stories of the three women. What I thought the author did particularly well was to give them each a very distinctive ‘voice’ which came across as very authentic. There was never any doubt as to which of the wives was narrating. I became quite fond of all three of them as the book progressed.

I really enjoyed the book. When characters are so well portrayed I can really savour this sort of slow burn mystery. The book was little longer than average but I was still gripped and read it in one day. I have no hesitation in recommending this to fans of character driven drama and mysteries. Heck I mainly read thrillers and I still loved this. Thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Cate Quinn for providing me with a copy to review. My opinions are my own.

The book caught my attention with its synopsis of “three sister wives… one dead husband”. Wow! That really piqued my interest. A page turner written in multiple points of view, an easy read that I found hard to put down. A riveting story of secrets and consequences; the women in the story were beautifully complex.  Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to review an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Rachel, Emily and Tina don't have many things in common. They have different personalities and upbringings, but they do share one thing besides their mormonism: a husband.
When Blake is found dead with signs of extreme violence, the secrets of this unusual family come to light. Not only the polygamy and the extreme survivalist measures taking in the household, but also the deeply rooted motives that each of the three wives have to kill Blake.
Masterfully crafted, this novel has all the components to become one of the best thrillers of 2021. Great twists, different narrators giving their different points of view and a flawless storyline.
Would highly recommend it.

MY REVIEW: 3 Stars ⭐️

I absolutely love the cover, it and the synopsis is what drew me in! Unfortunately, I didn’t love the book as much as I would have hoped and I skimmed a bit of the book.

I loved the beginning but it did start to lag a bit for me. I loved the ending, hence the 3 stars as it wasn’t a bad book.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for a digital copy of this book.

Mel

This book is a mystery centered around who killed Blake Nelson. It was clearly one of his wives but which one? Blake has three wives all living together in a very isolated farm. The book is written from the perspective of the wives switching between them each chapter. Each wife is a very different women and each has cause to want the hubby dead. This book is an interesting look into Polygamy no matter your feeling on the subject.

Three sister wives and one dead husband is the best lead in. I am fascinated with polygamy so this was right up my alley. Blake has been murdered and each sister wife is a suspect. They are all so different. Rachel seems like the perfect first sister wife. She does all the canning, cooking, cleaning. Emily got into something she really had no idea about. She is someone who makes up stories to escape her reality. Tina is someone who is from a very different world, one of drug addiction and sexual favors. So who did it? The story takes us down a few different paths and will leave you guessing.

I enjoyed looking at the world of polygamy through three different lenses. I guess it would actually be more with the two officers in charge of questioning. There were some heartbreaking stories and I wonder how much of that really has happened in these cults. The three sister wives were fully fleshed out. The ending was perfect.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance copy of this book which comes out in February.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5
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A man has just been found murdered. He has three wives. The police are convinced one of his wives murdered him, but they aren’t sure which one.
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There are a lot of nauseating and appalling parts to this book, as you would expect with a story involving cults and plural marriage.
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This was a good story with a lot of components that I really enjoyed. I just thought it was too long. I feel like it could have been trimmed down by about 100 pages.

This was just okay. Lots going on but easy to follow. Became a bit drawn out about 2/3 of the way through. Just wasn’t for me. 3 stars. Just “meh”

The only thing the three women had in common was their husband. And, as of this morning, that they're each accused of his murder.

This book is quite the best thing I have read in some considerable time.

Every aspect of this book is striking.

The three main characters are so well written, they gradually unfold.

I loved it from beginning to end. I

I received a digital ARC in return for my honest review.

Blake is married to 3 different women, all very different. They are all content with this polygamous marriage, but that doesn't mean there isn't jealousy amongst the wives. They live far away from anyone else, and live to keep Blake happy. But when Blake is found murdered, will the wives turn against each other or form a stronger bond? And how well do any of them really know their husband?

This was an interesting read from a perspective I cannot easily understand. All of the characters are damaged in their own ways, which is why the relationships work I suppose. The end was a bit of a disappointment for me.