The Widow
A Novel
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4.3 • 1.5K Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • John Grisham is the acclaimed master of the legal thriller. Now, he’s back with his first-ever whodunit, even more suspenseful than his courtroom dramas, as a small-time lawyer accused of murder races to find the real killer to clear his name.
“A classic, compulsive, taut and thrilling novel from one of the great storytellers of our time. The Widow is John Grisham at his irresistible, unforgettable best.”—Chris Whitaker, author of All the Colors of the Dark
Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it.
Once he hooks the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack. When she is hospitalized after a car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.
Simon knows he’s innocent. But he also knows the circumstantial evidence is against him, and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. To save himself, he must find the real killer….
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A struggling lawyer must prove he is innocent of murder in this twisty legal thriller. Morally questionable lawyer Simon Latch thinks he’s finally hit the big time when he lands wealthy widow Eleanor Barnett as a client. But when Eleanor dies under mysterious circumstances, Simon realizes he’s on the hook for her murder—a crime he must solve if he wants to clear his name. A master of courtroom drama, John Grisham ventures into whodunit territory here, slyly setting up his broke protagonist with an expert touch and carefully weaving clues and misdirection into the intricate plot about Simon’s dream-turned-nightmare client. Even if the small-town lawyer’s motives are less than pure (with Simon facing a gambling problem and a ruinous divorce), Grisham’s rich, emotive characterization makes us sympathize with him and shows us how even the most morally ambiguous character can grow. The Widow is vintage Grisham, ensnaring us in the legal system’s process and refusing to let us go.
Customer Reviews
Slow start, Strong Finish.
First 20 or so chapters set up the story. It began to feel like 50 chapters. Then the story took off around chapter 30-35. … it felt like 10 chapters and went quickly.
Typical Grisham Surprise that is so satisfying.
Not up to his standard
Rarely do I find a book by Grisham that I have trouble putting down. Not so, this one. It wasn’t until the last hundred pages or so that I got swept up into the book.
A gripping story
By far the best Grisham novel Ive read in a long time. I could not put it down and finished it in two days. I highly recommend it!