The title "The Widow"s Secret" would lead you to believe the widow has some deep dark secret that will be revealed. Maybe the secret is the name of the brothers. The Woodrow brothers in the e-arc I read were named Wayne and Michael. Those are the names I'm using in this review.
Leona and Wayne celebrate their anniversary with a hiking trip. Wayne falls from a cliff and only his backpack, bloody shirt, and a tooth are found. Leona is devastated as she and Wayne were deeply in love. She has to break this news to Wayne's brother, Michael, who has never liked her. Michael accuses Leona of killing Wayne. Michael's wife Chelsea defends Leona and tells Michael he is upset and not to blame Leona. Chelsea begins to check up on Leona and make sure is doing okay. After Michael still does not budge on blaming Leona for Wayne's accident, Chelsea invites Leona to dinner so they can work things out. Leona arrives to find the front door open. Leona walks in and no one appears to be home. Leona finds Michael on the floor, dead from a bullet wound. The police arrive and Leona is accused of the murder.
The rest of the book plays out almost like a comedy of errors. Leona does not make the best decisions. You really have to suspend belief to accept that anyone would handle these situations the way these characters chose to handle them. This is a quick read for anyone not looking for anything too stressful or detailed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

2.5⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley for an Arc.

One line summary : Anniversary hike becomes a nightmare when the husband falls off the cliff leaving Leona in a mess.

The plot summary: Wade and Leona are celebrating their 5th anniversary and decide to go hiking in the Appalachian trail. For Leona, who loves hiking, this soon becomes her worst nightmare when Wade falls off a cliff never to be found. She moves on trying to accept her husbands death while her brother-in-law keeps throwing accusations of murdering him at her. And soon after things get messier than she ever expected them to be.

My thoughts: I have giving bad reviews to books but I did not enjoy this as much as I wanted to. The premise was promising but the execution lacked so much. Plot was predictable and that’s usually fine by me since I read too many thrillers but the writing style was poor. It assumes the reader is dumb and explains the same thing multiple times with different wording, which gets annoying. And Leona is the worst and the stupidest protagonist I have read in a book. Sometimes reading about her wanted me to throw my book across the room. But I was reading on my Kindle so I couldn’t!

My recommendation: I personally did not enjoy this book and would not recommend it highly. But if you are looking was a predictable mystery for a light read, you can consider picking this one up.

Wade and Leona Woodrow will celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary by hiking part of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. Leona can hardly contain her excitement for the long weekend. She thought Wade had forgotten their anniversary. Little did Leona realize when Wade announced his surprise that Wade planned more surprises for his wife than she could have ever imagined.

Marketing for the novel indicates it is “a gripping psychological thriller with a chilling twist.” For this reader, it was a quick read of women’s fiction. With that perspective, I enjoyed it. The intensity of Leona’s feelings did not connect to her actions; at times, her actions did not connect to her emotions. That disconnect became a flatline rather than a compelling and/or chilling thriller.

Thank you to Theo Baxter, Inkubator Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

#TheWidowsSecret #NetGalley

This book had a good premise but I found it predicable and a little boring. Note that the character names in the version of the book I read differ from what is in the synopsis. The story centers on Leona and Wayne who have a seemingly perfect marriage when he disappears on a hiking trip and she realizes that all might not be as it seems. Wayne’s brother, Michael, is convinced Leona causes Wayne’s death and will do anything to take her down.

Much of this book is repetitive and focused on Leona’s inner thoughts. I found myself skimming some pages because of this. I also felt that Leona was very immature and naive and so not make decisions I thought normal people would make. The other characters seemed one dimensional to me- I couldn’t figure out what made the various relationships work of why Wayne’s brother Michael hates Leona because he thought she was a gold digger when she made it very clear she came into the marriage with her own money, and Michael’s own wife didn’t seem to have done so. The twist in the story was interesting but I saw it coming from the get-go.

Overall, the story held my interest but the lack of dimension in the characters and the predictability didn’t make this one memorable for me. I’d give it 2.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Leona and Wade are celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary with a weekend away. They both love hiking so they Gino several trails. While Leona is taking pictures at a stopping point in the trial, she hears a scream and turns around to find Wade gone. Search teams are called out but Wade cannot be found. Leona is devastated. While Leona is grieving, Wade’s brother makes her life miserable by calling her a killer and demanding the inheritance she received.

Leona is an extremely relatable character. She is living a terrible life without the love of her life and his brother is making it worse. I was hooked on this story from the first chapter. I felt for Leona and her situation. When the police and Leona start uncovering secrets I was shocked at what they found. I loved the way the story unraveled and will definitely be reading more by this author!

I had high hopes for this book. The synopsis drew me in, and I felt like it had the potential for a good read.
Now, whilst reading, I thought this was a debut novel from Baxter… especially as his brother’s books are listed in an “if you like this, try these” instead of Theo’s. So, I assumed, but I was wrong. As I was reading, I did make allowances for it being a first book.
I felt like the premise of the story was good but that it wasn’t quite meaty enough. I wasn’t gripped by it in the way I expected it to be. I hate saying that I predicted the outcome, but I really did. I won’t give anything away, but I’m not sure there was anything I genuinely didn’t see coming. This makes me sad… and sorry!
The characters were okay, but again, I wasn’t madly drawn into any of them.
For me, it almost felt a bit forced. I’m my notes, I have written, “it feels a bit wooden”. I know that is a comment usually saved for on-screen acting rather than anything written. However, it just kept coming back to me as a feeling.
Although I wasn’t a fan of the book, I did see a glimmer of hope. For me, the dialogue and story padding (for want of a better word) let this book down. I think that if these two things were a bit more polished and tightened up a bit, Baxter’s future books could be much more intriguing to read

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for an early copy of this book in exchange of an honest opinion.

New author for me and I wasn't too sure about it at first. It seemed kind of slow to start but it soon picked up pace. With a few twists thrown in it ended up being a pretty good read

I really liked the idea for this book. Unfortunately, the writing style was confusing and it was harder to get into. I did end up doing some skimming. I enjoyed the beginning but with the big twist being revealed in the middle of the book it could be dragged out.

Unoriginal and boring. A 'twist' you could have seen miles away. Maybe good for beginners mystery readers...I skimmed a lot...

Married couple Leona and Wade are celebrating their anniversary with a hike when Wade falls.

As a die-hard thriller fan, the premise of the book was interesting and the plot shows promise.

However, it took alot to suspend belief throughout. The writing felt simplistic, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but did make it feel rushed. There was also a lot of, what felt like, unrealistic elements. For example, the police investigation, Leona's involvement with this, the therapist's opinions, and certain character's reactions to situations. Lastly, while the plot was enjoyable, it was too predictable without "padding" and could have gone deeper.

All in all, it's by no means the worst book I've read, but not the best.

Ok, I can see why this book has low ratings, there were obvious issues with it, from writing style to the outline and sequence.
However, these imperfections were actually the reasons I liked the book!!
.
First of all, the plot isn't mystery/who-dunnit-it type, from the very beginning you actually start to understand who the bad people are and realize what they did.
The fun for me was how entertaining it was, the fast paced storyline and engaging chapters were what hooked me.
.
For the writing style, it was so simple and basic, like, English beginner level, which was a turn off for some people, for me though, I wasn't annoyed with it, it actually made it easier for me to run through it faster.
.
I liked the characters enough, sometimes Leona was getting on my nerves with her reactions and thought process, but hey, we may need to cut her some slack for what she is going through.
The other characters were a little plain, but not boring.
.
Now, some of the things I didn't like were:
1) Michael's behavior after Wayne's death, it was written as if he was a cartoon character madly angry with someone, didn't feel natural to me.
2) the weird dynamic between Chelsea and Michael, I couldn't understand how she was able to stay with Leona all the time, while her husband was threatening Leona left and right.
3) most of the "plan" in the second half was too convenient to be true, I didn't like how dumb they were, psychopaths aren't dumb, right?
4) I wasn't a fan of how quick Leona had a mindset change after she knew the truth, it wasn't possible she was that levelheaded then.
.
So basically, if you're a seasoned thriller fan, this book isn't probably for you.
The book is really good for some quick fun reading, kind of palate cleanser (thriller edition)
.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I had a hard time getting into this book, but I did like the MC. The thriller aspect could’ve been more fleshed out in my opinion, and it was a little predictable, but overall I enjoyed it! I’m a diehard thriller girl though.

Just when I thought I knew what was coming next in the book, I was wrong! This happened to me at least 10x! I absolutely loved The Widow’s Secret and the perfect amount of twists it had. I can’t wait to read more from Theo Baxter!

“The Widow’s Secret” is a thriller/mystery by Theo Baxter. This is a new to me author, though apparently he’s the sibling of Cole Baxter, who’s also a thriller writer. From the “about the author” in this book, I thought this was Theo Baxter’s first book - apparently it’s not. Anyway, that little aside aside, I was surprised that although this book has been the most requested one on NetGalley, that it really wasn’t a suspenseful mystery/thriller. I figured out what was going on pretty quickly … and even who the mysterious stranger was (and the relationship). The idea for this book wasn’t a bad one, just that it needed some editing or some better suspense/drama? I found the brother-in-law’s attitude to be beyond over the top, to the point of being beyond immature. This book was a bit all over the place for me - although, as I noted, the plot wasn’t that bad a plot. It didn’t work but I don’t know if it was due to the easily figured out who-done-it and why or something else. I’d be willing to give this author another try, though, because this was a quick read - something I needed today.

Where can I start with this one? First off, I really liked Leona (our MC). It's not often that I really root for a character the way I did for her. That being said...she may be the most gullible MC ever! Even after going rogue once, and regretting it, she did it again!
This was definitely an engrossing story and I was anxious to see how it all ended. However, the "twist" had some problems. Part One, shall we say, was evident immediately. Part Two was evident practically the moment that character was introduced. So I did have it figured out very early, but it was still interesting to see how it all came together.
3 stars, liked it but didn't love it. I'd read another by this author.

I loved the idea of this book. What I got from this book, felt like half of a story. Personally, I loved Leona as a character and think that her grief and the way that it was written was nothing short of masterful. The description was something that anyone who has ever lost a loved one can relate too. Every other character fell flat. There was nothing in the book that spoke to the motivations of any other character - for example, Wayne, Chelsea’s Michael and Jeremy. How did Wayne and Chelsea’s relationship start and how did they manage to keep it a secret from Michael? We got no scenes of them interacting before Wayne’s accident and then are told they’re in love? What in Chelsea’s past made her thirst for money? Why is Jeremy the only person who believes Leona is innocent? I loved the book- I just felt as though the entire thing just needed more context. What I would have loved was another 100 pages of content.

I want to thank NetGalley and Theo Baxter for allowing me to read The Widow’s Secret before its release!

I loved this plot and was excited to dive right in, however, I ended up being very disappointed. The writing style was so difficult to read. And it felt like there was so !such missing from the telling of this thriller-- it was confusing, jumpy, choppy, one dimensional.

Some secrets are worth dying for, this secret is worth killing for.

Leona and Wade decide on a weekend hiking trip to celebrate their anniversary but only Leona comes home. Wade falls off the cliff edge and despite an extensive search only his rucksack and clothing are found. This results Leona becoming a very rich widow much to her brother in laws disgust. When he does too and her sister in law disappears things go from bad to worse for Leona.

I didn’t get on with this book at all and skip read the last 60%. The story had so much potential and that part I really enjoyed but the writing style wasn’t for me. The start seemed fairly chaotic and then the rest was too drawn out. Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Publication Date - 29/01/2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#TheWidowsSecret
#TheoBaxter

I really enjoyed this book after reading on netgalley. 4.5 I would rate this book.

The book was well written and easy to read.
It's an enjoyable story and kept me entertained albeit the book was a bit predictable but didn't stop me from liking it.

I felt I couldn't put it down until I finished it.

Would recommend

I'm not sure if it is me or what but I truly could not get into this book. I needed it to have more. More structure, more depth to the characters and plot line. Sorry for the negative review, but it is honest. Thank you netgally for this ARC.