I read this story in one setting and found it absorbing. I liked the characters, the plot, the writing style. I thought Jenna’s tragedy was handled more deeply and heartbreakingly in the first part of the book; although theoretically her grief felt devastating, my connection with her character was feeble (which is strange, because I wanted to know her family; the author made them all so real).
There’s no romantic relationship in the story, but I didn’t miss it. Instead, new strong emotional ties arise between strangers sharing different forms of grief.
I thought there were perhaps too many twists in Lars’ past and some inconsistencies, for example related to the character of Diane, but, all in all, this was a gripping story, set in a beautiful white landscape.

Jenna Shaw feels like she has lost everything and because of that feels as though there is no reason for her to go on. She picks a place to end it all, but is interrupted by the person who lives on the land and from there her life takes a wild turn. Lars, the man who finds her, has a past of his own and when his past becomes a part of the present and Jenna gets involved wheels start spinning and this book is such a great ride.

It takes a bit for this book to really pick up and for the reader to find out what all we are dealing with, but once the reader is up to speed this book doesn't let up. There are just a few glimpses into the past into Lars' back story and I almost wish there was more of that and maybe even a glimpse back into time into Jenna's story. She tells about her past, but I would have loved to have been taken there.

I will warn that it was weird to read this one during the summer at the pool. With a Minnesota setting and snow and ice, it felt a little weird to be reading at this time of year! I would suggest getting this one and holding it for a cold wintry weekend!

After finishing this book, like I do with most authors that I have read for the first time, I go on Goodreads and check out their backlist and I was so excited to read that Eliza Maxwell has three other books for me to check out. I will have to add those books to my ever growing TBR pile!

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Reclusive Lars Jorgensen is an unlikely savior. But when Jenna Shaw walks onto the ice of a frozen Minnesota lake, her intentions are brutally clear, and the old man isn’t about to let her follow through.

I really liked the pacing of the story. Loss, redemption, forgiveness, love and being able to live on and move through life's terrible tragedies.

3.5 stars

A interesting and captivating thriller. I picked it up based on the cover alone but enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend it any other thriller fans.

Favorite Quotes:

“They spend their whole lives walking away from you,” the kindergarten teacher had said on her little girl’s first day. “Your job now is to be there when they look back.”

“When the judge said, ‘For better or worse,’ I agreed quick enough.” Lars pinned her with his piercing gaze. “Nobody tells you how bad the worse can get.”

She marveled at his matter-of-factness. Was it an innate part of him, or was this what years and the grinding sands of loss did to a person? Shaped them into something smooth and hard and polished.

Hope was a frightening thing to rekindle. As impossible to control as a wildfire on a dry plain.

No matter how many years go by, the past never really lets you go.” She ran her hands up and down her arms, as if to ward off a chill. “It’s sewn in, like patches on one of my old granny’s quilts. You can run from it all you like, but it’s part of you. Goes where you go.

What exactly is involved in playing knick-knack, paddy-whack anyway? And why does it need to happen on my knee? The old man sounds kind of sketchy.


My Review:

I’m not exactly sure how to classify the genre of this exceptionally poignant and beautifully written book, it was a Contemporary piece with elements of Suspense, but it wasn’t a Thriller. In addition, I also noted considerable Family Drama, Women’s Fiction issues, mental illness, and an unsolved Mystery that spanned thirty years. With a regal wave of my well-manicured hand, I push all that to the side as I have decided I want new categories of Brilliant, Ingeniously Crafted, and Extraordinarily Well-Written.

Eliza Maxwell has word voodoo. I was quickly pulled into a disquieting and often uncomfortable vortex of unresolved issues and unsettling events, and oddly enough, I didn’t want to crawl back out. The characters were many and all were irreparably fractured, some hanging by a thread, and most were not always likable or admirable. Yet by the end of this uncannily insightful and maddeningly paced story, I understood that they had each been existing with and working at living through a long series of harrowing events as best they could, and I adored every single one of them by the time I arrived at the epilogue. I seldom cry but this eloquently evocative tale moved me, my eyes stung with an unusual wetness while my throat burned and felt constricted on several occasions. The storylines were brilliantly crafted, tautly written, and hard to quit as they were fraught with addictive tension and prickling intrigue. Sigh, my abused and bruised coronary muscle needs a rest, I believe I’ll be hitting the TBR for a comedy next.

A very emotional story that drew me in from the beginning. It was very well written and held my interest throughout. I wasn't sure if I would like it because of the sadness, however when Jenna unexpectedly meets Lars after trespassing on his property, the two lost souls slowly find healing from each other.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read an arc of this book. Also congratulations are in order to the author Eliza Maxwell on this much deserved 5 stars book.

This book was SO good! The emotions of Lars and Jenna, the pain they suffered was so well written I cried through a lot of the book. There were twists and turns that kept you guessing until the very end.
If you are looking for an emotional mystery this is the book for you!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story. I even had a tear at the end. I was shocked by certain events in the book I didn’t see coming. I thought I had it figured out but boy was I wrong. I would definitely recommend this book.

Highly recommend this book. The story is heartbreaking, there are lots of twists to keep you guessing. Well written with relatable characters. Will be looking for more books by this author!

I absolutely loved this gem of a book. it was heartbreaking and triadic but also a a story that tugged at your heart and gave you hope..Eliza's writing was great and I enjoyed all the characters . I give this a 4.5 stars

** I have received an Arc for a honest review!! **

This is my very first book I have read by this author and it definitely won't be my last!!

Really kept my interest throughout the book! Its so captivating! What a great page turner!!

Highly recommend!!

The Widow's Watcher opens with Jenna Shaw driving her minivan into a cold town in Minnesota. She doesn't particularly care for where she is going, as her mind is set on one thing- ending her own life. Still grieving her family's loss, she doesn't see any other end to her misery.

When she decides to walk into a frozen lake, it leads to a serendipitous meeting with Lars Jorgensen, a reclusive pensioner who lives in his cabin nearby. Lars and Jenna are surly to each other at first, viewing each other as nuisances. Unbeknown to Jenna, Lars has also been where she has. He knows the despair of having to lose your family and live in the wake of it, all too well.

Lars could teach Jenna about surviving her grief, and finding purpose in life again. Jenna could be of significant help to Lars in finding out what happened to his family. From wanting to do nothing with each other to being unlikely friends, the duo set out on a path of redemption together. Their friendship could unravel a mystery that has hurt Lars for decades now.

What follows of course is a tale of healing, of overcoming grief, and of forgiveness. Readers get to see much of Jenna's inner monologue- as exchanges between her and her subconscious, voiced by her daughter Cassie. These parts were particularly moving, portraying an all too realistic picture of what Jenna lost. As a reader, you get to experience a part of the heartbreak she did. I couldn't help but crying over her story.

The Widow's Watcher isn't an easy read- it is a tearjerker, making you feel all the emotions you hope you never feel. (And yet life makes sure you do go through those emotions!) It is a story of resilience and hope, and it is worth engaging with.

I'm sure I have said it before, but I rarely cry when I read books. Once in a while a book comes along that hits me right in the heart. The Widow's Watcher is one of those books. Jenna Shaw has been dealt an incredibly crippling blow. With one phone call, her entire world has ended. But fate puts her in the path of the one person who may be able to help her find her way to the other side of grief.

This book was gut wrenching, sad and emotionally draining. I think I spent the first 40% of the book with tears in my eyes. But, I couldn't put the book down. My heart hurt for Jenna. I can't imagine anyone surviving the amount of loss that she did. I was rooting for her the whole time. Her savior, Lars, had his own loss he had been dealing with for years. Once the truth of his story was finally revealed, I spent the last 30% with tears in my eyes. This story is like one of those tear-jerker movies that leave you exhausted from a good cry. But it's a good exhausted. I loved this book. I loved the feeling of hope that I was left with and I loved the ending.

I won't spoil the story. Just go read it. It's worth the emotional ride. I know this will be in my top 10 books of 2018.

This is a truly great story that is beautifully written. It starts out following Jenna as she is coping with a personal tragedy and how she is trying to reconcile that on her own. Then we meet Lars, who at first glance seems like a curmudgeon, but as you get to know him and his family he is a sweetheart of a person who's own life was full of sadness and mystery. The two strangers find one another and Lars and Jenna end up changing each other's lives as they work together to come to terms with their own tragedies. To me this book was about never giving up hope and it made me believe in humanity again. I can't wait to read more books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Eliza Maxwell and Lake Union Publishing for a free electronic ARC of this book.

I loved how real and raw the relationship was between the two characters that have been held prisoner by grief. The author wrote this story in such a way that I could not only empathize, but sympathize with the characters. I definitely recommend this one!

This turned out to be quite a different story from what I was expecting. I thought it would be a thriller with some action. However, it turned out to be a deep, emotional read which I immensely enjoyed.

The Widow’s Watcher by Eliza Maxwell is set in the cold, freezing mountains of Minnesota. It is winter; the ground is covered by snow and the lakes, frozen into ice. Jenna walks into a small town, broken with no will to live. In the town, she meets Lark, an elderly, equally broken man with a past that haunts him. As the blurb mentions, Lark’s children have been gone for years. There is a lot of mystery surrounding their disappearance and it is unclear whether they are alive or dead.

I enjoyed reading about the friendship between these two characters. The story is told through their POVs in alternating chapters with Jenna’s being the main narrative. I was curious to know what happened to Lark’s children. There are hints of a crime having taken place but details were sketchy. At the same time, I wanted to know how the two characters would survive the darkness that was threatening to consume them.

This turned out to be a heartbreaking story. The cold mountains were perfect in setting the somber mood for the narrative. The character development was done so well that it was easy to connect with each of them and get invested in their story. As I have mentioned, there was also some mystery that enhanced the suspense bit of the story. All these elements added to the beauty of this narrative making it a captivating, well crafted story.

The Widow’s Watcher has a refreshingly original storyline. It deals with the aftermath of loss, both short term and long term. The author shows us how two people, each racked with guilt over a devastating loss, can help each other and pave a path for possible redemption. There is little to laugh about in The Widow’s Watcher, yet the characters and the story in this poignant drama will just draw you in and make you care!

**The Characters and Story of The Widow’s Watcher**

The two main characters, Lars Jorgensen and Jenna Shaw – both protagonists – could not be more different. One is male, the other female. One is old, the other middle-aged. One suffers from loss from years earlier, and the other a recent tragedy. When they first meet, quite accidentally, they can’t agree on anything. Due to an automobile breakdown and a somewhat remote location, they end up spending the next few weeks together under one roof. As they very slowly get to know each other, they realize they share a profound bond: tragic loss. In different ways, they each blame themselves for either their loss or their unwanted survival.

I think there are enough flaws in these two characters that each of us can relate to them in some way. I love a good character-driven story! Don’t you?

As the story progresses, a surprising friendship forms. Jenna shows an interest in Lars’s mysterious past, and local law enforcement reopens the cold case. Down the literary rabbit hole we go, and the conflict relentlessly builds all the way to the climax!

**Technically Speaking**

I didn’t notice many SPAG errors in this book. Great job to all involved in the editing.

If you’re partial to great character arcs in a novel, this one is for you! The changes in both of these characters between the first and last pages are pretty dramatic, yet believable. They don’t change on the outside, of course, but inside, down deep, the changes are profound. I can’t tell you what the changes are, of course. You’ll have to read it for yourself.

There were enough switchbacks in the plot to satisfy my need for action in a story, and the author kept my interest from beginning to end. I previously reviewed Eliza Maxwell’s The Unremembered Girl, and the pacing in this story was similar. There will come a time, about two-thirds through the story, when you just can’t stop reading! In my case, I would only stop when my eyes could no longer stay open.

Eliza Maxwell is a very talented writer who obviously knows her craft inside and out. I look forward to reading more stories by Eliza Maxwell!

(I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.)

Well done. Jenna and Lars didn't know it when he saved her from the ice but they are going to save each other. Both have had incredible loss and grief but somehow they've kept going. Now Jenna will use her skills to help Lars hopefully find two of his children who have been missing for many years. This nicely written novel might remind you, as it did me, of a similar very real case in Maryland of two of the children of a mother with severe mental illness. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The Widow’s Watcher is full of mystery and secrets. A poignant tale of lost and hopeless lives. This book is about the loves, joys, sorrows and connections of each life. Reminds us of how decisions we make impact us and others. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading other books by this author. Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for making this book available to me.

From the story's gripping first chapter to its full circle conclusion, I was completely transfixed by the frozen Minnesota setting and the crushing grief that bonds together two seemingly unlikely yet broken individuals. It is through this unusual friendship that Jenna and Lars begin to heal. I was so captivated by their relationship that it was hard to say goodbye by the end. Each character within this cast is so fully developed, complicated, and highly relatable that they jump off the page and into your heart.

These are the kinds of stories I live for! Ones that you can't help but place yourself within only to question your own preconceived responses to quite a lot of gut-wrenching scenarios. But far from being thrown in for shock value, this discomfort enables the author to skillfully and tenderly walk with the reader to coax out very real and intentional feelings. While incredibly heartbreaking at times, the story offers a sense of hope and redemption throughout that leads to a touching and satisfying feeling of closure.

Discovering the truth for Lars about his children provides purpose for Jenna in the wake of her tragic circumstances, while also crafting an immensely thrilling mystery. Many chapters would end on cliffhanging revelations causing the pages to fly by as I desperately hurried to find out the facts. Additionally, without spoiling anything, I was also blown away by the author's ability to create a truly fascinating inner voice for Jenna, which simultaneously showed how very much alive she was and could be despite how numb she had become while also providing some much needed comic relief to what would otherwise be a somber story.

Overall, this is a gem that has a little something for any reader to enjoy and highly recommended! I can't wait to dive into Maxwell's backlist as I anxiously wait for her next book!