For Jenna Shaw, life has become unbearable. She has lost everything, a husband who adored her and her three children in a terrible plane crash. As Jenna walks out onto the ice of a river, knowing that she will end it all, on old man, Lars Jorgensen sees her from his cabin. He knows what she intends to do, he has seen and experienced tragedy, he knows the face of it. Lars pulls her from the edge of her decision and an unlikely friendship starts to develop. Jena does not want his help nor his friendship but the two start to bond and share the grief they both have within their lives.

Lars is no stranger to loss and tragedy. His children all except one son were stolen from him, gone without a trace, his wife confined to a mental facility having no idea what happened to the children on that fateful day. As their friendship and care for one another increases, Jenna resolves to find out what happened to the children and perhaps find the ability to help herself.

This is a novel of forgiveness, love, and loss. Can one forgive themselves for things said, acts committed, and the guilt one feels for being left behind? Can love and care be found among strangers and can two totally different people find that love can bring them to the closure they so desire? Can they cope with their loss and find that they can survive and life can be found to be hopeful and loving?

Thank you to Eliza Maxwell, Lakeshore Publising, and NetGalley for providing this reader with an advanced copy of this book .

Publishing date: May 20, 2018

Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness. (Marianne Williamson)

I found The Widow’s Watcher to be so engrossing and fascinating. The need for redemption and forgiveness is ever present as two unlikely but emotionally similar people seek relief from the guilt that haunts them.
When grieving wife and mother, Jenna, encounters Lars Jorgensen, an “old bastard” she is at her last straw, her emotions shredded by the tragic deaths of her entire family. Lars has his own haunting past of a wife and two children that disappeared and only his mentally unstable wife returned.
Together Lars and Jenna form a conflicted bond and alliance. She is determined to find the truth behind the disappearance and he is resolved to find a way to help her survive the life that lies ahead without her family.
It is a touching novel, often haunting, about two lost souls attempting to find delivery and peace.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 rounded down.

When I first started The Widow's Watcher by Eliza Maxwell I was a little apprehensive because I was really in the mood for a good thriller/mystery, and I wasn't getting a mystery vibe from the beginning of the book. However, as the book went on I got more of the mystery that I had been hoping for and really ended up loving it!

The Widow's Watcher is about a woman named Jenna who has suffered an unbelievable tragedy, and an older man by the name of Lars who hasn't had the best go of things himself. Jenna ends up on his lake in the middle of a brutal Minnesota winter only to get taken in by him and caught up in a decades-old crime revolving around his wife. The two form an unlikely friendship that I absolutely loved reading about. Lars is quite the old curmudgeon who reminded me quite a bit of Ove from A Man Called Ove. He's very brittle around the edges but his heart is in the right place, and he really ends up being quite the match for Jenna (don't worry, not in a romantic way!).

I loved that The Widow's Watcher was based in my home state of Minnesota. Even though the town itself is fictional, it still mentioned quite a few places I was familiar with including the city I went to college in. I love when I can relate to the setting of a book, so this was a plus for me.

It hooked me in from the very start, and between the flow of the writing and the super short chapters, it made for a very fast read. This book isn't all that long (less than 300 pages) so I think it is a good choice for someone looking for a shorter book they could read in one day.

I felt like the book was more about the emotions than the actual mystery that takes place. Even though the mystery is a good one, I got more caught up in the characters and the emotional aspects of both Lars and Jenna's stories than the mystery itself. The end had me in a puddle, so just know that you may cry!

Final Thoughts: Even though I own all of her books, this is the first novel I have read from Eliza Maxwell. I think her writing is very good with excellent flow. The wording may be a little "simple" for an adult book (at least from what I'm used to), but I think that helped a lot with the readability for me and the speed at which I was able to read it. This book wasn't quite what I had expected it to be, but I still ended up loving it, and I definitely think it is worth checking out (I also can't wait to read her other books now). I would recommend this book to anyone who maybe isn't so much about the mystery, but the emotional connection they can get from the book and its characters.

The Widow's Watcher in 3-ish words: Satisfying, Relatable, Tear-Jerker

Some readers may find The Widow's Watcher a bit overwhelming. It is a great but tragic story that reaches those places where we ache and weep and grieve with every unveiling of a devastating event, a suffocating truth.

The widow, Jenna Shaw, is indeed watched. She is watched by two men, Lars and Owen, father and son who also have suffered unspeakable loss. Though they are strangers, their stories are so intertwined as to capture the reader from the beginning and take us along on this incredible journey of forgiveness and healing.

Jenna Shaw has a plan. She has made up her mind. She is resolute. She will do this. Lars Jorgensen cannot believe the sight before him, a woman on the ice - in the ice - on the lake right outside his cabin. What ensues is a compelling story, pulling us along with clever, sometimes witty, and always illuminating insight into very painful places.

Prolonging her departure, in order to watch her for just a little while, Lars shares his own grievous past with Jenna who, after deep reckoning within herself, begins to put together pieces of the mysterious puzzle that has haunted Lars and his son Owen for nearly 30 years. This in itself is enough. The story could end here, happily even, but the inclusion of the housekeeper's involvement in the Jorgensen's life borders on a perimeter that may better have been left untouched. Or perhaps have been included in a different book. Ihesitate to call attention to the fact that it is too much for me. It is truly a well thought, well executed story. Perhaps I had grieved so much, first with Jenna and then Lars and Owen, that the added grief was just too much for me personally.

The Widow's Watcher comes to rest at realistic place, one with some sense of peace and of hope. It is a story of love, forgiveness, and redemption. I highly recommend it and appreciate the opportunity to have read it.

The Widow's Watcher is an interesting read that deals with death and grieving in a realistic, heartfelt, gut-wrenching way. I must admit I was confused about what was going on and had to restart the book to see if I had missed something, but once I figured out what was going on there was no putting the book down. I particularly enjoyed Cassie's voice telling Jenna how to construct a novel and watching the relationship between Jenna and Lars unfold. The Widow's Watcher would make a good book discussion title and/or movie.

Wow. The Widow’s Watcher is a book full of feels. Happiness, sadness, despair, hope - Eliza Maxwell manages to cram all of these plus so much more into this novel, and I absolutely love every bit of it. The characters all jump off the page, and the plot twist is crazy good - and unexpected! Thanks to the publisher for the ARC of this amazing book.

Eliza Maxwell hits one out of the park with THE WIDOW WATCHER.

A tale of the bond formed when two lost souls find strength and redemption in one other.



Jenna Shaw has lost everything in one tragic moment.  Hopeless and defeated, she sets out across a frozen pond to meet the darkness.

Lars Jorgensen has spent half a lifetime in the shadows of an unsolved crime that took two of his children from him, and put his wife in a mental institution.  The curmudgeonly and reclusive Lars spots Jenna on the ice and stops her from ending her life, despite her determination to rid herself of guilt and grief.

Lars is undeterred by Jenna's resentment for putting a halt to her plan, and the two form an unlikely friendship as she learns about his past and works to help solve the mystery of his missing children, all the while working through her own guilt and grief.  

The twists and turns as Jenna begins to unfold the mystery of Lars Jorgensen's missing children bring the story full circle and face to face with the truth, and learning forgiveness.  It is a roller coaster of emotions and satisfying tale of redemption.  Highly recommended to those who love a mystery with a lot of heart.

She was suffering from a loss, and so was he. She was ready to end it all, but he refused to let her.....

Jenna Shaw is suffering from losing her entire family in an accident. She has coped the best she can, but she is ready to let everything go, and join her family in death. She hears her daughters voice in her mind - but nothing from the remainder of her family - just her teenage daughter giving her advice, and questioning the choices that she is making.

Lars is suffering from a loss of his own. He has covered the grief over the many decades that have gone by, but the memories are still there. He does the best he can to cope, but at any moment, the memories can rear their head.

Jenna shows up next to his house, thinking that she will walk out into the lake and just end everything, but Lars catches her and refuses to let her kill herself. Instead of bringing her inside, he leaves her on his porch, in a frigid Minnesota winter. When the tow truck driver finally shows up, she is in for an even bigger surprise. Owen forces his dad to take Jenna in until he can get her van fixed, and neither of them is happy with the situation. As the days go by, a truce is formed, and little by little a friendship begins to form.
As their stories unfold, they both find that they are burying secrets, and perhaps the other can help them get through the pain. Lars asks Jenna to use her skills as a journalist to see what she can uncover about his family and the mysterious disappearance of his children. Jenna is hesitant to do so, but she does not want to let Lars down. As she begins to dig into the families past, she discovers that there is more than one secret lurking, and the truth just might destroy the fragile older gentleman's heart...

Oh, my goodness... get ready for a book that is going to make you ugly cry more than once. I laughed, cried, got frustrated, and then cried some more. As a mother, I could feel the loss that Jenna was going through, and the pain that Lars had kept all these years. I devoured this book in one sitting.

First I have to say thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishers for this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book starts out with much sadness and continues all the way. It’s a book so worth reading and shedding tears for. It had me from the start and I could not put it down. I read all day yesterday and today only stopping to cook and take a shower. Well sleep too but that is beside the point.

Two lost souls brought together due to so much loss and sadness. Two that would never have given each other a second look before. Not a love story at all. But full of a kind of love that will last forever.

Jenna came to Minnesota for one thing and only one thing. She was on a mission and was so determined to see it through that nothing was going to stop her.

Lars is an old man who has known so much loss and was not going to let Jenna do anything to ruin his pond and mess with the rest of his life.

They are drawn together in a way that will keep you wanting to know more. Wanting to know what happens next. Who did what and why. They each blame themselves for what life has given them. Jenna just wanted to die and Lars just wants answers of his own. But what will happen when those answers are finally there. Will they be able to live with the details of what happens.

This book will certainly make you cry. I don’t remember ever crying this much during a book but I promise it is worth it. It’s one that will pull you in and take you on a ride you won’t soon forget. The ups and downs will make you dizzy. Not a love story of the conventional sense but a story full of love.

I read The Unremembered Girl by this same author and loved it but this one is way better. It’s a heart wrenching, tender, broken story of family, love and loss.

A five star book for sure.

Ms. Maxwell seems to write books that can’t quite stick to their expected genre. Theoretically this book is a mystery but page by page it is so much more about the people. Interesting and engaging characters! Jenna just wants to die. Lars isn’t really living. And when she tries to end it on his almost frozen lake, the two collide. Fighting the Minnesota Nice stereotype, Lars wants nothing to do with Jenna other than for her to not die on his lake. But thanks to a broken down van and Jenna’s inquisitiveness, the two begin to thaw towards each other (pun intended). Meanwhile Jenna begins to learn about Lars’ broken past and his missing children. This is the mystery. But this mystery is secondary to a wonderful story of friendship and forgiveness. The well-crafted characters will stay with you after the last page.

The Widow’s Watcher is a character driven story with two main characters who have suffered a tremendous loss. These two characters bond over a shared understanding of guilt and grief.
Lars is a grumpy crotchety old man who lives alone in a cabin along a lake in Minnesota. Jenna is the lonely widow contemplating her choices in life while standing on Lars frozen lake in the middle of winter.

Told in the third person perspective it’s read like I’m watching a movie. I felt like the observer viewing these characters lives from my seat on the coach. I like the dialogue between Jenna and Cassie it made me feel like she was still apart of the story.

Lar’s is blatantly and bluntly forthcoming with honesty. He was so matter of fact with his words almost abrasive at times, yet those words served a purpose at reaching Jenna. Lars is the friend Jenna didn’t realize she needed at this moment in her life.

This is beautifully written story which focused on surviving, forgiveness, and healing. You can feel the grief and loss emanate from these characters.
The story delves into each of these characters sadness of losing everything that mattered to them in life. It’s not just one characters loss or guilt it’s a culmination of them all. Each character had a story to tell. Together they formed a united front to help heal each other. All these story’s were intricately woven together.

There’s a steady pace of information being delivered. The characters behave in unexpected ways to help create this unique storyline. The unpredictable twists and turns made this book a page turner. There were
elements of regret, guilt, and fear that added to the growth and development of the characters and the story.

The lake became a place of forgiveness, a place to rest loved ones, and a place for new beginnings.

From the beginning, the story had me hooked. I was immediately drawn in by curiosity and then fascinated with the characters. Each time I felt I was familiar with where the tale was taking me, a small turn of events took me somewhere new. The story remained believable and was heart wrenchingly honest.

I was immediately drawn into this story by the characters. Larger than life and absolutely recognisable, it was impossible not to be captivated by them. Once the mystery of the Jorgensen family was unveiled, it was near impossible to put down.

Jenna, in such pain from the loss of her family that she couldn't see a way out of the darkness; Lars, nursing a broken heart in more ways than one; Owen, doing his best despite the secrets he kept; Audrey, lost inside her own mind, holding the key to a decades-old mystery inside herself.

All the characters, large and small, were real and relatable. When the mystery deepened, I was totally invested. The end was more than satisfying and had me teary-eyed (a rare feat these days).

A great read, highly recommended.

The Widow’s Watcher is a mystery thriller and a good one too. It shows us the story of a grieving mother and the lengths she will go to quiet the pain. Destiny has a way of getting in her way though.

Jenna’s husband and children were killer in a plane crash, a plane she herself should have been on with them. She decided not to go with them, but to stay and work instead. Her palpable guilt and pain tore my heart to pieces. It’s a pain that I hope I will never have to go through myself, our children are supposed to out live us. I saw what it did to my brother and who’s wife, it broke my heart… Jenna has drove around aimlessly, and believes she has finally found her final resting place, a place to quite the voices in her head. A beautiful lake hidden in the woods but fate stepped in, and a mystery man saves her. She was not happy abou it either.

The mystery man is Lars Jorgensen, he is a grumpy recluse, but he know pain and he and Jenna go round and round, but they share something even if they can’t see it. Lars has a soft side in him when it came to his ever sassy granddaughter, she’s a handful for sure. But she sure loved her grandpa. After learning about their family and what happened with his wife and children, I just fell in love with the man. He really a good man, and I have to say, I didn’t mind his grumpiness at all.

The other thing I enjoyed about this was the plot. Two very unlikely people lives being entertained together. Jenna’s journalism background is what Lars has learned about after she comes into his life and he believes she can possibly help him find some peace, that is if Jenna can stop being so bitter with him about saving her. There are a few more characters, but I am so afraid to take away from someone’s reading of this, but I have to mention that I adored them so much too. The parts they played were so important ad they played them well. It was such a great cast of characters!

While this was such a heartbreaking read in so places while reading it, it also had this message of hope that shone through that warmed my heart. (Have some tissue hadn’t) This is on author I will be looking for more from most certainly.

Is it possible to like the story, but not like the main character? If so, this book has found me in a strange spot. I didn't care for Jenna very much, but this tense read held my attention.

When two people who have experienced one of the worst nightmares a person can find each other, they form the most unlikely pair. Both broken; one old and one young; one newly battered; the other has learned to live with the nightmare; they reluctantly come together.
From the beginning, this tore at my heartstrings. I don’t want to imagine what they went through, but as the tale unfolds, Lars becomes the family that Jenna needs, and ultimately gives her purpose.
With twists and more than one unexpected turn, this story will keep you on an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end! This is a well-crafted story that will make you wonder what you would do in a similar situation.

Actually, 4.5 stars
Jenna is really struggling. After suffering devastating and total loss, she has got to the end of her tether so to speak so makes a big decision. She drives off and randomly stops by a lake. She then walks out onto the frozen surface of the lake. Lars spots her from his house and prevents her continuing with her goal. And thus a bond is formed which, despite reluctance from both parties seems strong. Lars has his own demons to fight, the loss of his wife and two of his children. And by loss, I mean disappearance; whereabouts still unknown. You'd think that a shared misery could assist the two to get on but they seem a bit too chalk and cheese initially. But there are cracks in both their armours and it isn't long before they start to rub along a bit better...
There is so much more I can say about this book. I went through all the emotions getting to the end of it, shouting at the characters a fair bit along the way too! I just know however that there was something special in their meeting, in the friendship that developed, something that was meant to be, against the odds. There was something more to it all than just a chance meeting of two people and THAT is what the book was all about for me.
There is quite a bit of sadness and loss in the story told herein but on no occasion did it ever get too dark and depressing. For me, there was always that small chink of light shining through, that little spark of hope. Oh, yeah, that and the often very funny moments as Lars and Simone sparked off each other which on occasion made me giggle and/ or shake my head!
As per usual, when I finish a book that I really enjoyed, I check the author out and am please to say that I have now added even more books to my already bulging TBR.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book did not grab me from the very beginning but once I got going, it was hard to put down. In fact, I had to start it over twice because I let a few days go by and as I read on, i wasn't connecting at all. I looked at the reviews and EVERY SINGLE REVIEW was 4-5 stars, nothing less than that. So I started over from the very beginning and I'm so glad I did!! The 2nd time "I got it"! Lars and Jenna are an unlikely pair and how they met makes you want to read more. This story is heartwarming, sad but has hope thrown in too. The author has a way of pulling you in and she does it so well. Highly recommend this one! I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Widow’s Watcher is well written and has great plot, characters and setting. I highly recommend this book,

From the moment I opened my eyes this morning, I was lost in Minnesota as a woman stepped onto the ice to rid herself of the ghosts that followed her and an older man with ghosts of his own rescued her.

The Widow's Watcher is a beautifully written contemporary family drama with a hint of mystery and a cast of loveable characters. Jenna and Lars seemed like a mismatched pair, but I loved how they interacted with one another and helped each other with the grief that held both of them captive. I became so entranced with the story that it came as a surprise when everything was revealed.