A new beginning …

After Patrick Miller died, his wife Stephanie and teenaged daughter Amy were devastated. Everywhere they turned, memories of Patrick overwhelmed them. Stephanie, a climate scientist, found a new position and she and Amy moved to remote Whisper Island, Washington State. Stephanie had a friend on the island: her best friend Jen lived there with her husband Mark and baby Zach. Amy was not happy about the move, but Stephanie hoped things would settle and that Amy would make friends at her new school.

But things start to go wrong. Stephanie’s work as a climate-change scientist attracts social media attention. Stephanie becomes the target of an active trolling attack: her work is attacked as is her personal life and then Amy is bullied at school. Stephanie’s house and car are vandalised. Who is behind these attacks, and why? There are only two policemen on Whisper Island, and their limited assistance is further constrained after a murder on the island.

The murder has certain characteristics of a particular serial killer, and the FBI become involved.

There is a lot happening in this novel. Sustained social media attacks by a troll farm on both Stephanie and Amy leading to pressure on Stephanie to withdraw from a Senate Committee hearing. But that does not bring an end to the attacks. The sustained trolling brings out the worst in some and now Stephanie has drawn a killer’s attention.

I could not put the novel down as it built towards its gripping climax.

If you like sustained suspense in a story with multiple twists, then I can recommend this.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Very captivating with amazing character development. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Psychological thriller with an unusual storyline.Some good characters but some not very believable ones. Didn't hold my interest.

Professor Stephanie Miller, age 39, is saying goodbye at her husband’s grave. He had been a brave soldier fighting in many skirmishes, but killed in a car accident. Staying in North Carolina is too difficult for her so she and her daughter, Amy, age 14, are moving to Whisper Island near Seattle. Having taught at the University of North Carolina for many years, Stephanie will not teach at another university in Washington state. Amy is not happy about the move, but Stephanie has a good friend, Jen, who lives on the island and she looks forward to being close to her again.

As a climate change scientist, Stephanie has been selected to be part of a group with the government on how climate threatens national security. However, a night of grief after her husband’s death ended up with photos being taken and now there are people out there trying to ruin her life. This is carrying over to Amy which is stressful for both of them. But when her friend is violently murdered, Stephanie is shocked and terrified.

There is a serial killer on the loose and the local police have finally been able to pin the murders together. Social media has begun to destroy Stephanie’s life as government leaders put her in the middle of their climate controversy. This soon makes her and Amy targets in the evil mind of a murderer. Can they stay safe or is there person out to get them?

This is a tense, nail-biter book that is also quite gruesome so prepare yourself. It kept me turning pages and wondering if these two females would be able to escape the evil of a maniacal mind. My only problem was the statement that climate threatens national security. That really had me rolling my eyes. But, if you are looking for an edge of the seat thriller, grab this one. Once you get past the climate nonsense, you are going to enjoy this. As an aside, I will add that this book cements why I avoid social media other than Twitter to share my reviews of books.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

British-born author L.A. Larkin's new crime thriller is set on Whisper Island in Puget Sound, Washington. She has created a chillingly dark backdrop for a thriller that addresses some really terrifying issues. Social media can make or break any of us. It is powerfully destructive.
The novel is full of tense, hold-your-breath moments and keeps one in suspense about the serial killer at the heart of the plot with clever twists and misdirection. A thriller that is never less than thrilling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
I did not love this book. It was ok, but it seems like there was a lot of stuff happening that made no since to the story. It wasn't anything that made you say "well I don't see that coming" There was also a character that should have had a bigger ending. For what he went through, I didn't think there was any compassion.

I was granted a free copy of this text by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was much different from what I was expecting, but the cyberstalking subplot made it work in new ways. The summary advertising the book should probably be revised to better match the story.

I enjoyed the setting of this book and the description seemed to be quite interesting especially since it mixes up politics crimes and cybercrime. It felt like watching some episodes of NCIS New Orleans.
I can’t say I got attached to any of the characters, I liked that Stephanie gets so much well deserved time with her teenage daughter and they learn so much about one another.

A few twists and turns, some predictable some very unexpected, a slower start for my liking and maybe a bit too much talk about politics but an interesting and enjoyable experience overall.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Widow's Island' by L.A Larkin.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for L.A Larkin, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 3rd June 2021.

This is the first book I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching beaitiful cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'An absolutely nail-biting thriller from bestselling author, L.A. Larkin. Perfect for fans of Rachel Caine, Lisa Regan and Gregg Olsen'. I am a huge fan of Lisa so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue and 83 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Washington, USA 🇺🇸.

This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonists are Stephanie Miller and Special Agent T.J Samson. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

This book is very well written with good descriptions that help you feel and see everything that is going on. The synopsis and cover suit the storyline perfectly.

This book is quite fast paced and filled with action. There is so much going on that it kept me thinking and trying to work out who was doing what throughout. It is filled with secrets, family, tension, suspense, lies and murder and the storyline is scarily realistic, especially the environmental aspects. I would have never guessed who was doing what and I was shocked by a certain person. It seems to be getting harder and harder to shock me so a very well done to LA Larkin for managing to do this.

The characters were well defined, realistic and many were likeable. I loved watching Stephanie's personality grow and develop throughout and loved how strong she was by the end. I also enjoyed the fact that Amy is such a strong character and I enjoyed watching their mother/daughter relationship grow. I also really liked Samson and Campbell's characters especially.

Overall a very well written, fast paced and action packed thriller

Genres covered in this book include Mystery, Thriller, Suspense and Psychological Thriller amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Rachel Caine, Lisa Regan and Gregg Olsen'.


369 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Well, I must say I definitely was NOT expecting the newest five star read, Widow’s Island by L.A. Larkin! The blurb of this story does NOT do this book justice. I admit the blurb kind of left me underwhelmed to say the least. It sounded good on the surface, but when I finally picked up the book to read, holy hell, I was engrossed from the first chapter. So much so, that I had to finish it immediately!

Stephanie and her daughter Amy are still not over the death of war hero Patrick, Stephanie’s husband and Amy’s father. Looking to get away from all of the memories, Stephanie and Amy head on out to a remorse island in Washington, but the island is not all it is cracked up to be. Stephanie is the target of a smear campaign. Does it have something to do with her being a scientist? Does this smear campaign have something to do with her important work? Not only is Stephanie’s name being dragged through the ringer, there is also a killer who has set his sights on her and she is now his newest target. Will Stephanie be able to save herself as well as her daughter in time?

This story really has it all. It pulls you right in and hits you on many fronts all leading back to Stephanie and her daughter, Amy. Stephanie is taking a beating in more ways than one which would make any person crumple under normal circumstances. I’ll admit Stephanie may not be the strongest heroine and when it comes to fight, flight or freeze, she definitely finds herself more on the “freeze” side of things. Amy on the other hand pays attention, is angry with her circumstances, missing her father and may not always have the best relationship with her mother. But, when push comes to shove, Stephanie learns how to step up and protect the only person she has left in the world, her daughter Amy.

I love a book with a good killer in the story and Widow’s Island has it in spades. This killer is evil, organized and downright evil and frightening. Many of the scenes can become quite graphic and even I had to shudder a time or two. This killer is definitely very very creepy and I loved it!

Widow’s Island by L.A. Larkin is not a book you will want to pass up. If you love an intense story filled with many twists and turns, then you will definitely want to give this one a read.

A chilling prologue is only a brief introduction to the tense action that follows in this crime thriller.
I’ll start by saying I don’t know if I agree with the “crime” part of the identification. While crimes were committed (and some pretty heinous ones) I would say that is more thriller.
Anyway, Stephanie Miller has moved her daughter to a secluded island in Washington to try to get a fresh start. Right from the beginning, it is obvious that there is going to be conflict surrounding her job.
She’s a climate scientist. And we all know what a touchy subject that can be. Shortly, horrible things about her appear on the internet, her daughter is taunted at school, and her life is pretty much destroyed.
Does it actually have to do with her job? A government contract? Is it politics in general? And what (if anything) does it have to do with the prologue?
Let’s just say there is a lot going on.
I found the sections involving the internet/cyber aspects to be especially interesting. It’s pretty well-known how prevalent troll farms are, but there was good detail here that illustrated how morally bankrupt some people can be.
I did find the climate aspect to be a bit off-putting as there were a few times where it felt preachy. And of course, the evil right is once again painted as “science deniers” which was annoying, because it’s such a lopsided perspective.
But I guess you have to have bad guys somewhere.
It takes a while for the author to get around to the connection between the prologue and the rest of the story, and at times it seemed to wander a bit far afield. I wish some passages had been a bit tighter.
There were also some good red herrings and a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming so those were a nice surprise.
I think it was a good read – I just wish it had been more focused and less preachy in places. But it was still a page-turner and the things I didn’t enjoy might not bother other readers.

Widow’s Island is a tense psychological thriller about a mother and daughter desperate to escape their past. Stephanie Miller is a climate change scientist and mum to her teenage daughter, Amy. Her husband, Sergeant Major Patrick Miller, dies and her work puts her in the news headlines, so she relocates to Whisper Island, a small place off the coast of Seattle, Washington from Fayetteville, North Carolina with Amy, 15. The move means Stephanie will be living near her close friend Jen Wrobel and she has accepted a teaching role at Washington University. Stephanie is also the leader of an important project that had run for the past few years on the effect of climate change on national security. Then Stephanie and Amy come home to find graffiti has been daubed on their garage doors, and start receiving threatening messages.

This is a captivating and deeply disturbing thriller with a modern touch including cyberbullying, murder, secrets, lies, stalking, politics, social media, terrorism and more. It's chock full of tension and there are explosive moments throughout. A gritty read that will keep you guessing. Well worth a look.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This intense page turner is written predominantly from the perspective of University professor and war widow Stephanie Miller. Struggling to cope with the death of her beloved husband Philip, she decides to go along with her best friend Jan's suggestion and move to isolated Widow's Island with her teenage daughter Amy. Stephanie is hoping that the move combined with her new job plus a exciting opportunity involving the Pentagon and American government will be the fresh tart that they both need and will hopefully reignite their formally close relationship. But she has hardly had the opportunity to settle into her new position when a unknown enemy starts spreading rumours and lies about her online. A campaign that over time intensifies until eventually her daughter also becomes a target, only Amy is not only bullied online but also at her new school where she had already been struggling to settle and make friends. I think some readers would probably label Amy a brat due to her attitude and behaviour but I felt a lot of empathy for her. She was still struggling with her grief over the death of her dad and had been relocated to a isolated island where she didn't know anyone so she didn't have any support system to comfort and support her. Meanwhile, Stephanie's life and career was falling apart around her and just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, something horrific happened that shocked her to the core. There was time when I could fully understand Amy's frustration with her mother, for a apparently highly intelligent woman,she did come across as a bit of a mouse at times but then she would do something really surprising and make you respect and like her again.

Interspersed throughout the story was chapters that were voiced from the perspective of the twisted, narcissistic individual who was organising the campaign against Stephanie and Amy. This person was a seriously unlikable individual but why was this person targeting Stephanie and is far were they prepared to go to achieve their end game? Could this person simply just be a puppet who was dancing on the end of someone else's strings? These parts of the story were seriously chilling and it was quite scary how swiftly and easily Stephanie's life was torn apart by her tormentor with the help of the faceless people who shared all the lies and rumours on their social media sites.

There was also chapters that followed FBI special agent T.J.Samson and his partner Detective Candace Greig as they searched for a serial killer who had evaded capture for twelve years. Samson was a fantastic character, a really likeable nice guy and my favourite character in the book. But why had the FBI suddenly appeared on the island? Could a deadly killer really be hiding there in plain sight? Will Samson be able to uncover the truth before the twisted individual claims another victim?

Wow....just wow, OMG, this is a perfectly paced,at times chilling page turner that hooks the reader in, keeps you captivated and glued to your kindle. Some parts of the story were so intense that I found myself at the edge of my seat and I'm certain that if I was in the habit of biting my nails, I wouldn't have any left. The cast of characters were a mixed bag of realistic individuals, many of whom were untrustworthy and not who they appeared to be. I would love to watch a film adaptation of this unputdownable, addictive thriller. Worth far more than five stars and very very highly recommended. This is definitely going to be one of my favourite reads of this year.

Though the blurb talks of a serial killer, the story is more about cyber bullying and it’s aftermath. The killing is more like an addition towards the middle of the story and the author trying to bring the two plots together. If the plots were taken to parallel conclusions I feel it would have been better.

This is the first time I've Read anything by this author and I enjoyed this novel.

Stephanie and her daughter Amy decide to move to a remote island after Patrick dies. Things don't go to plan and things happen.

This story had me hooked from the very first page to the ending. The suspense was on point and kept me on the edge of my seat.

I loved this psychological Thriller and will definitely read more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley, author L.A. Larkin, and Bookouture for giving me a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
3 stars
Trigger warning: graphic murder scenes.
If you ever wonder what it would be liked to live with the consequences of cyber bullying, this book is for you! Widow’s Island is an intense psychological thriller about a mother and daughter desperate to escape their past but naturally, it comes back to haunt them in the most terrifying way possible. Who is trying to destroy Professor Stephanie Miller's career? and Who followed them to the island?
The author did a wonderful job creating a creepy atmosphere that had me wondering what was going to happen next from the unknown threats and the serial murders that are taking place all around Professor Stephanie Miller and her daughter. The pacing and the writing kept the story moving very quickly. The characters were not overly developed, but the author provided enough background information that had me hoping for the best outcome for Professor Stephanie Miller and her daughter. The book introduces a wide range of topics ranging from bullying, cyber stalking, troll farms, doxing, social media, climate, and politics. The ending was completely unexpected and very satisfying! Overall, if you are looking for a book that with keep you up at night, then this book is for you. I will be looking out for more books by this author!

Samantha is a young widow who is still grieving the loss of her husband whilst trying to engage with her difficult teenage daughter. She decides they should move to a small island off the coast of Seattle to attempt to come to terms with their grief and hopefully regain their relationship.

Stephanie accepts a position at a university and as a high profile scientist has also been approached by the government, a request that her husband was very proud of. Then things start to go awry, starting with her becoming the victim of cyberbullying.

It's a creepy read and the murder descriptions were a little much for me. Also, I felt it very frustrating at times; it's quite drawn out and gosh! but there's lots of jargon.

I'm afraid it wasn't really for me and so, overall, I found it to be a 2* OK read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

I absolutely loved this book.
I was drawn into the story from the word go and really felt for both Stephanie and Amy throughout the book.
Stephanie and her daughter, Amy move to a remote island to be closer to her friend following the death of her husband.
Stephanie can’t cope with the memories and Amy is causing her trouble, so she decides moving is a good idea.
She’s soon the subject of a hate campaign and the trolls really have it in for her.
Being a Professor and working on a climate change project, it seems someone wants this to be stopped and are trying to discredit Stephanie to get their way.
The death of someone close to Stephanie puts this on perspective until she’s then accused by the trolls of being a murder suspect.
Amy is then also targeted and life is spiralling out of control for them both.
There’s a real nail biter of a conclusion to this book and it really did have me on the edge of my seat.
I look forward to reading more of L.A. Larkin’s books as this was a real gem.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Widow’s Island is a tense and compulsive psychological thriller about a mother and daughter desperate to escape their past but naturally, it comes back to haunt them in the most terrifying way possible. Climate change scientist and academic 39-year-old Professor Stephanie Miller has recently been widowed after losing her husband, Sergeant Major Patrick Miller, and has decided to move away from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Whisper Island, a small place off the coast of Seattle, Washington with her 15-year-old daughter Amy. Stephanie has accepted a teaching position at the University of Washington and this bold move will allow her to be closer to her best friend from her college years, Jen Wrobel, who lives on the island with her family and far away from traumatic memories. Both mother and daughter were devastated to lose Patrick but the thought of living in the memory-filled house without him and staying in NC had become unfeasible. Amy was enrolled in the local school and Stephanie commuted to work via ferry over the straight each morning and evening. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly. But it was not to last. Stephanie had also been hand-picked by the Pentagon to lead an important project that had run for the past few years on the effect of climate change on national security. Soon she is due to present the findings in a report commissioned by the Joint Chiefs of Staff entitled: Protecting America: How Climate Threatens National Security. It must be presented in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee but little did she know a storm was brewing as climate change is a topic people are extremely passionate about. Those on the committee seek to undermine her work as well as embarrass her.

It isn't long before she becomes the victim of a targeted harassment campaign and Amy begins to be bullied at school causing her to become a truant. Steph is in shock when she receives a threatening message on social media from a total stranger. She is ostracised at work and understands that the powerful and greedy in the political sphere and the ones trying to discredit her have a vested interest in the oil and gas industry and use 'troll farms' to cultivate and spread their vicious rumours and baseless accusations as far and wide as possible. Shortly, everything she has worked so hard for over many decades crumbles but this is so much more than just an attack on her prominent status, it's an attack on her life. It feels like someone is watching their every move. A dead mouse is left on their doorstep and graffiti is scrawled across Stephanie's car. The aim? To terrify her enough to make her step down from the climate project. When Jen is murdered in cold blood allegations are spread by the media that Steph is the perpetrator and Amy's school life gets even worse. Jen's killing is reminiscent of a series of offings 10 years earlier. Can the FBI untangle the mess and put a stop to the intense and horrific harassment? This is a compulsive, captivating and deeply disturbing thriller with a modern theme featuring cyberbullying, murder, a serial killer, secrets, lies, gaslighting, stalking, criminal damage, politics, doxing, climate change, troll farms, social media and terrorism. It's palpably tense, endlessly twisty and there were some truly explosive moments throughout this gritty and graphic read. It will keep you guessing and I found it not only nail-biting but claustrophobic too. Highly recommended.

When Patrick died, Stephanie Miller was devastated, as was their teenage daughter Amy. The grief wouldn’t lessen, so leaving the familiar, memory filled home was necessary. Stephanie and Amy went to Whisper Island, Washington, where Stephanie’s best friend Jennifer lived. Jen and her husband Mark, an airline pilot, had not long had baby Zach, their miracle child, and were deliriously happy. Stephanie was pleased to be in their circle. Amy started at the local school, while Stephanie caught the ferry across the strait morning and evening for her job as a climate-change scientist.

As things went wrong in their lives – Amy bullied at school; Stephanie ostracised at work – and they were targeted on social media, it felt like the attacks were personal. The sense of someone watching; a dead mouse on the doorstep; graffiti on Stephanie’s car – it all became overwhelming. What was happening? Why was it happening? When murder entered their world, it added another dimension to their pain. Could the police and FBI find the killer? Find who was tormenting them?

Wow! Widow’s Island by Aussie author L.A. Larkin is another gripping, chilling and intense thriller which I loved. I have thoroughly enjoyed all this author’s books and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. The tension had my heart racing, especially as I came close to the end. Murder, serial killers, troll farms, the dark web – what a brilliant mix! Loved it! Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.