Cover Image: The Wicked Widow

The Wicked Widow

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Member Reviews

Beatriz Williams is always a must read for me but I've got to admit that this series hasn't been my favorite. I did enjoy the Ella chapters the most. I listened to the audio version as I read the eBook and thought the narrator did a great job.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 26 October 2021

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This is the third novel in the Wicked Coty series. In this series, the characters are very unlikable. However, there is a lot of drama arms intrigue. I recommend this fans of Kate Quinn, Rebecca Rosenberg, and Renee Rosen!

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Two women, two time periods. flappers, prohibition, and dark gangster life encircle "Gin" Kelly in what was to be a respectable marriage.

Ella, situated in more recent times, is in a semi-respectable relationship. She talks to her octogenarian aunt who reveals secrets that Ella explores. Things grow uglier and uglier as layers are unfolded.

Opulent wealth - the upside and the downside - are prevalent elements encircling this delicious book.

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The latest installment in the Gin / Ella adventures kept me on my toes, as always! This book had several more twists than the last one, and I absolutely loved the last quarter of the novel! I hope we get to see what happens now that the safe has been opened! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

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I was super excited to read this as a Prohibition-Era historical fiction. I didn't realize it was 3rd in a series and I found it difficult to follow. The story line was inconsistent to me, jumping from action to slow to action. I also couldn't connect with the more contemporary story line and the main character's odd story line and having a breakup and getting a new boyfriend while pregnant. It seemed so unrealistic to me.

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Review will be posted on 11/11/2021

It's 1998 and Ella Dommerich is pregnant except (if readers remember from The Wicked Redhead) things with her husband, Patrick, aren't good. She is moving in with her boyfriend, Hector, who is pretty much the perfect boyfriend despite her very complicated circumstances. Ella is having a tough go with morning sickness, but despite that, things are looking pretty good. Her Aunt Julie asks for her help by investigating Senator Frank Hardcastle, who is a presidential candidate. Aunt Julie has it against him for something he did to their family years ago. Then readers travel back to 1924 and are reunited with Geneva Kelly who lives in the townhouse that Ella and Hector currently reside in, but many years previously. Geneva, otherwise known as Gin, is married to Oliver Marshall and things are looking up since we last saw her, except for the fact that Louis Hardcastle, a bootlegger, blames Oliver for his son's death as Oliver is a Prohibition officer. Cue all the drama, especially as Ella uncovers some Hardcastle family secrets. The third installment in The Wicked City series, The Wicked Widow by Beatriz Williams, will most certainly keep fans of the series flipping the pages.

Gin is one of my favorite feisty heroines. I have really enjoyed following her adventures in The Wicked City series. You can always count on Gin to be bold, entertaining, and she will always get the job done. She makes for an action-packed book. However, in The Wicked Widow, readers get this from Gin, but they also see her a little more vulnerable as things don't go as planned for her life. Her husband, Oliver, is in trouble, and this time there isn't much she can do.

The Wicked Widow is a dual timeline novel shared between Ella and Gin. Readers fast forward many years to the late 90s and revisiting Ella's story. While she isn't nearly as adventurous as Gin, her story is still an interesting one as she is not only pregnant with her philandering husband's child and living with a new boyfriend, she is also knee deep in a mystery surrounding the famous Hardcastle family. Her Aunt Julie has her do some digging and they uncover more than enough secrets.

The Wicked Widow is action packed. It has romance, bootlegging, Prohibition officers, mysteries, and wealthy family drama. I hope that Williams continues Gin's story, because I think there is definitely more to explore. If you are new to The Wicked City series, I recommend it to fans of historical fiction that enjoy feisty and outgoing heroines who will keep you glued to the book.

So, are you a fan of Beatriz Williams? Have you read The Wicked City series? Let me know in the comments below.

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This is the third tale featuring prohibition era Gin Kelly and she is as sassy as ever. I love this character. It is great to have a strong female protagonist instead of a damsel in distress. If anything, she is the swashbuckling hero saving at risk males. Delightful! The parallel tale of modern day Ella who is researching the illusive redhead of the past is enjoyable. I especially love the way Beatiz Williams brings in characters from her various books as supporting players. It makes for a very fine web of storytelling.
This is an impartial review of an advanced reader copy provided by NetGalley.

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The Wicked City series gets more addictive with each new addition. The more attached I get to Gin Kelly and her no-nonsense, hardscrabble ways, the faster I flip pages and the harder the books are to put down (or to pull out my ear buds).

What I think I love most is that all of Beatriz Williams’ books are interconnected. Characters that are the main subject of one novel are a secondary character in another. I frequently use the family tree on Beatriz’s website to remember who is who and which book they were in. So, although you’re getting a different story, you’re also catching up with an old friend. I already can’t wait to see what happens in Book 4.

Thank you SO MUCH for the opportunity to read and review. Link to Instagram post from 10/27/2021:https://www.instagram.com/p/CVizopgrI0n/

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The redhead is back. Gin Kelley is back in the fourth book of the Wicked City Series. I am entirely hooked on Beatriz Williams and love that she keeps bringing back a character that I love. Gin Kelley is one of those characters that once you read about them you crave knowing more. The Wicked City Series is her story. Each book is a read alone but the story ends with more to tell.

The dual timelines were perfect. Each time had their own story, but they intertwined perfectly. I liked that I did not have to guess as to what the connection was. Ella’s story and her willingness to help Aunt Julie find out the truth about the family was so interesting. I liked that even though it is more current there is still history being shared and discovered.

Both characters had very interesting love lives. I loved Gin’s husband and how they lived an interesting life, their life was not boring, and I was kept on my toes wondering where they would go next. Ella’s husband was a trip, not in a good way, and her relationship with Hector kept me guessing at if they could find a way to be together forever.

I am so very excited for this book and more to come in this series. Gin Kelley has more to share.

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I was thrilled to be back in the world of the extended Schuyler clan and on an adventure with Gin Kelly. I am impressed, as always with William's ability to write such distinct voices for her two narrators. Although she does this in many of her books, it is strongest in the Wicked series.

As fun as Gin Kelly's story is, I find myself more invested in Ella's tale even more. Perhaps that's because I am obsessed with Aunt Julie, and I love the dynamic of Pepper and Vivian as middle-aged and fabulous. Also, I kind of love the chaos that Patrick brings to the story. I never know what he's going to do next!

I give this 3.5 stars rounded to 4 because while I loved this book, it does lack a bit of a plot. The adventures sort of roll one into the next and the endings are always a little bit too cliff hanger-y in this series. It is as though the novels end three-quarters of the way through the book. I'd love each book tied up just a smidge neater. That said, I am anxiously awaiting the next installment of the Wicked novels.

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The Wicked Widow is the third book in The Wicked City series by Beatriz Williams. A captivating historical fiction series full of genealogy and family histories. Each book in this series is better and juicier than the last.

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This continues the saga of two women decades apart, a technique Williams manages so well. Appalachian-raised Geneva "Gin" Kelly is a prohibition era flapper in New York City who falls for a sexy prohibition agent. Now married, their lives are complicated by a vast prohibition crime syndicate seeking revenge, as well as Gin dealing with family, both hers and his, and others out to ruin their happiness. The second woman is Ella Dommerich, a forensic accountant whose marriage has just spectacularly ended. Set in 1998, in this volume the now pregnant Ella has a new man, sexy Hector and settled with him in the house once owned by Gin. Her work has led her to mysterious crime in her own family history going back to prohibition times. Williams expertly weaves the various threads from the two eras, and as usual add characters from her other novels--a nice touch that I particularly enjoy. This is a fun, engrossing read, highly recommended. It has been promoted as volume three of three in the Wicked City series but she has left a lot of room for another volume and that would be welcome.

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Beatriz Williams is my favorite author and I was eagerly awaiting book three in the Wicked City series! Since it has been a few years since book two -- The Wicked Redhead, I recently listened to the first two books to get back in the Wicked City mindset and I'm glad I did! If you want to read this book, I highly recommend reading the whole series.

I loved re-connecting with Ella and Gin! In this dual timeline we are back in the 1920s Prohibition with former flapper Gin Kelly as she marries Anson Marshall, a prohibition agent. When Anson's mortal enemy and the man in charge of a rum-running racket is murdered at a society funeral, Anson goes back undercover. Can they survive this? In 1998 we're back with Ella as her Aunt Julie has her digging up dirt on Senator Hardcastle to try to settle an old family score. How was her family connection to the mysterious redhead flapper?

This book had a lot going on and I was there for it. So many connections to the Schulyer family and I was so glad that Beatriz Williams has the family tree on her website. There better be a book four in this series since I felt like this ended on a cliffhanger and I want more of this series!!

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Wow!!!!!!!!!!! I love this series and following the juicy stories of our darling Redhead & her fellow decades apart girl Ella. If you love fascinating, gossipy books of the fascinating history then this series is surely for you. I highly recommend this book and series.

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This continuation of Williams' "Wicked" series alternates chapters between Gin Kelly and Ella who recently left her cheating husband, Patrick, and has fallen in love with Hector. Aunt Julie is back and feisty as ever; stirring up trouble involving the Hardcastle family,. A solid addition to the series, and it left me eagerly awaiting the next installment. Williams' characters draw one in, and I, personally, love the way all the characters in her books are threaded together.

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I loved catching up with Gin and Ella. This book finds Gin and Anson married but trouble finds them quickly! Ella is investigating the Hardcastles' financials for her aunt Julie. Also, Ella and Hector are still together and working on their relationship. I love the dual time lines, catching up with numerous characters, and how the 2 stories tie together. I hope that there will be more Gin and Ella in the future! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

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I need a family tree and Venn diagram of all these characters so that when I read this the second time around, I can revel in the delicious family sagas and drama.

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As one of my favorite authors, Beatriz Williams can write whatever she wants to and I will read it. The book is told in two stories one from the 1920s and one from 1998 that overlap each other and filled with suspense. It was a great "journey." Highly recommended. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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A new Beatriz Williams book is always such a treat, and I think The Wicked Widow is one of my favorites! There are a multitude of fun cameos and characters from so many of Williams' books about the Schuyler family. I definitely recommend reading the first two Wicked City books before starting this one, as well as Tiny Little Thing. Tiny's first husband's family, The Hardcastles, are key figures in both timelines of The Wicked Widow.

In 1998, Ella Dommerich is settling into pregnancy and a relationship with her musician boyfriend, Hector, who jets to LA to record a movie score. Ella and her ex, Patrick, start investigating the Hardcastles' dubious financial history at Aunt Julie's request. In the 1925 narrative, Gin and Anson do some investigating as well and find themselves once again at the mercy of some cut-throat bootleggers. I don't want to spoil any of the fun, so you'll just have to jump into the trilogy to discover why Williams' writing is the cat's pajamas! Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for the librarian preview. As always, I'm looking forward to buying the printed copy for my collection, and I can't wait to see what comes next!

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This is the third book in the Wicked redhead series and it's just as twisty-turny, unexpected, amazing story as the previous two. And I sincerely hope there is a 4th, so many storylines to tie up yet!

Told in a dual timeline story:

1925 -- Gin is back marries Anson, only to have him go back undercover after their honeymoon cabin goes up in flames. And not everyone is whom they seem, so many secrets and cunning diversions.

1998 -- Ella is adjusting to her pregnancy and living a domestic life with Hector, when he's drawn across country to score music for a new movie. And again, not everyone is whom they seem to be.

Its so fun to read these stories and see how all the pieces fit together and the storylines mesh. Genius!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

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