There’s no doubt that KL Slater is a wonderful and extremely talented writer. Her writing style is simply beautiful and it had me in genuine tears when we witnessed Michael’s ‘accident’.

However, this is one of those books where the back cover synopsis doesn’t quite match the actual body of work. I’m left confused as to whether I read it incorrectly or whether the book took a turn and I just didn’t notice.

‘Because to keep my daughter safe, the last thing I need is for people to start looking at me’

I genuinely thought this part was going to be the huge reveal. Ripping apart everything I’d been told and making me reevaluate what I’d studiously devoured. Sadly, this was not the case. The story is what the story is I’m afraid. And any developments are released so slowly that it is hard to believe anyone would be surprised.

I received an unedited version and as other reviewers have pointed out there are a few bloopers where the wrong name has been used by mistake. This does throw you a bit as you have to double check and mentally edit as you read but this is NOT part of the book review more just something that has been spotted (in a unedited version!!).

The characters are a little flimsy, whilst they have been given a lot of time and space to grow and develop I think you’ll agree that their reactions to certain elements of the plot quite bizarre! In particular, when the culprit is revealed and the characters have somewhere to lay the blame, all the anger and frustration. What do they do? Well they don’t call the police immediately. And when they do they leave a cryptic answerphone message and then settle down for a nice (and awfully British) cup of tea. I was so anger during these scenes. I couldn’t believe how forgiving these characters were being when their lives had been genuinely turned to mincemeat and spent chapters crying over it!!

All in all, this book just isn’t a good representation of the acclaimed author I’ve read before. It’s a weak offering of a story that could’ve (and should’ve) been some much more!

Thank to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

K.L. Slater is an automatic pick for me. I have devoured every book she has written and have loved them all. The Widow starts off with Kate, her husband Michael and their daughter Tansy living a happy life in their little village with supportive friends. When Suzy and her son Alek move into the village, Kate tries to befriend Suzy, who seems to be afraid of something or someone. Then Suzy disappears and for some reason the police seem to zero in on Kate’s husband Michael as knowing more than he is letting on. When Michael is hit by a Lorry and dies, Kate is led to believe that he was committing suicide because he was guilty. Kate is determined to prove her husband is innocent because he has to be! Doesn’t he? This is a wonderful multilayered story with many twisty surprises.

Complex domestic mystery that will leave you guessing until the very end. Slater has a gift in writing female leads that are somewhat naive and clueless and make a lot of bad and uninformed decisions, yet manage to muddle their way through difficult situations wondering what the problems are. Strangely addictive.

I really enjoyed this book. I have read all this authors books and this one did not disappoint. It was a book with plenty of twists and turns, I liked the way the plot unfolded and I found the characters relatable.

Many thanks to netgalley and K.L. Slater for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Told from lots of different points of view, this thriller from K.L. Slater has lots of twists and turns.

Kate and Michael Shaw have been happily married for over ten years and live in a small village where they are popular, with their little girl, Tansy, who attends the local primary school. That is until after a bad day Michael walks in front of a lorry. Suspicion has arisen in the village, and they aren’t supported by the locals, instead, Kate and Tansy are being driven out but we follow Kate as she tries to make sense of her life with Michael and her many unanswered questions and faces her worst fears.

The plot is really well written, at first, I wasn’t sure this was the book for me, the first couple of chapters didn’t pull me in the way they usually do but it picked up from there and I became enchanted, I needed to know what had happened and I can assure you it wasn’t what I had expected at first. Even when I did guess it didn’t quite turn out how I had imagined. The dialogue, of which there is a lot, is realistic as are the actions of the characters.

I found the characters to be well described and mostly realistic. Kate does appear to enjoy poor Donna’s poor relationship a little too much at times though she tries to be a kind, caring and concerned friend. I like the way the two friends drop everything to support the other in their time of need and care for each other’s children though there are many times when the relationship is strained, they do appear to get over it very quickly.

The ending was not what I had expected, I had guessed ‘who done it’ but not for the reasons stated and couldn’t have guessed how it was found out. Kate didn’t appear to be as relieved as I would have imagined and the ending for Aleks and Suzy was a little too easy and convenient, not quite as believable as it should have been.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thriller. Though not the best of the selection, K.L. Slater never fails to deliver!

I can hardly believe am saying this but this is my 15th Kim Slater book I have read and reviewed, it’s a no brainer I must enjoy them 😀 and this book is no different
To me ‘The Widow’ is more than a psychological thriller with elements of a ‘Whodunit’ and an all round proper ‘mystery needs solving’ book,all of this combined made for a really intriguing tale, so much so I wanted at times to rush on to further chapters to find out what had happened and solve the many puzzles that were constantly appearing ( I was good though and didn’t )
Some great characters to get involved with including a snack loving Policeman and a crafty arthritic pensioner mixed well with the village gossips ( who turned very nasty ) also we meet some Polish characters and it was interesting to read a little bit of their culture and how they view things before arriving in the UK versus the reality of some of their situations
This book has everything you could possibly want from a great read and I enjoyed every page right up to and including the exciting well done finish
Kim Slater writes a tense and gripping novel again and I probably always say this but this was one of my favourites to date!

10/10
5 Stars

Really gripping story. I could hardly put it down. K L Slater is one of my favourite authors.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read it.

Kate seems to have everything, a great marriage, lovely husband and child, and seems to be sailing through life. Things change when husband Michael becomes a suspect in the disappearance of a young woman, Suzy, who lives on the estate where he is the manager. Kate starts to doubt him when he denies knowing where the missing woman is.

This started off quite slowly, and almost blandly, I couldn’t quite like Kate, who initially came across as a bit smug, but as the story went on, she became a more rounded character, her fear for Michael and daughter Tansey more realistic and understandable. The tension starts building about halfway through the book as the investigation seems to be pointing only one way, with her safe world crumbling around her. Donna, Kates best friend, also has her own problems with her husband having a wandering eye. Donna sometimes comes across as being paranoid but as the story goes on, this is woven nicely into the plot. An enjoyable read, with a nice twist at the end and the plot lines neatly sewn up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5 ⭐️

This is my 3rd book by KL Slater, and I think I’m beginning to understand the way this author writes. The success of her thriller comes from the way she creates a page-turning narrative AND the information she chooses to omit. It’s like she knows what you’re assumptions are and she uses that to create her next move. And she doesn’t stop with one big revelation, she gives you one after another.

And here’s the big BUT..

In retrospect, the twists and turns are not really that surprising. And as weird or funny as this might sound, my huge problem came from realizing that these books (by her) that I’ve read and reviewed, I’ve requested the ARC simply because of how the blurb was written..
Only to be disappointed because that subject matter the blurb was talking about, wasn’t even the focus of the story. And for me, creating a blurb with a hyperbolic sentiment may undercut the reader’s confidence in the future books you’ll be releasing.

I get that blurbs are one of the biggest selling points of a book but my point is, I don’t care how many plot twists you throw in there, by all means be creative, but please try not to venture too much outside of the main reason I picked up the book - your blurb subject matter. Okay, yeah sorry for blabbering. I just had to get it out. 🤣✌🏻

Still, It’s an enjoyable read. So for readers looking for a thriller that will keep them on their toes, this is just the right read.

Another great thriller by K. L. Slater. Lots of twists and turns to keep one guessing till they get to the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published November 2021.

The Widow by K.L. Slater A slow start with a dual timelines and multiple POVs resulted in some confusion as to where the story was going. Kate, Donna ,and Suzy were going through intense emotional drama but the characters reactions were detached and restrained. The words were spoken but there was no engagement in their responses. It was an interesting premise with the different timelines in two countries. The mysteries were solved in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to preview the book.

Fantastically riveting story, I loved not knowing what was going on, as some books give you too many signposts. Great plot and multi layered characters. I was up until after 2 this morning because I had to finish it.

This is the first book I’ve read by K L Slater but I really enjoyed it and will be reading more. It’s a story about a woman who’s husband is suspected of wrongdoing when a lady in the village goes missing. It is though provoking, interesting and I enjoyed the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy.

Wow, what can I say? This book was so hard to put down, it was just so thrilling good. One of the best books I have read all year.Thanks to Bookouture, Netgalley and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I always love a good book my K.L. Slater and this one did not disappoint. There is a lot going on in this book, and the main character second guesses herself and how well she knows others throughout the entire storyline. A little predictable at times, there were definitely some surprises. The author crafts good characters all that are either likeable in most instances, or unlikeable when we need to not like a character.

The Widow is a decent read that kept me engaged but was not consistently thrilling or suspenseful. The first half of the novel was great and I had high hopes that this would be one of those rare 5 star reads for me. However, once you reach the 45% mark things start to slow, and in the last third of the novel the feel of the book changes from thriller to more of a scooby doo-esque mystery.

I don’t normally breakdown reviews into the good and the bad, but I was so conflicted with this novel, I can’t put my thoughts down in any other way.

Strengths:

Enjoyed the main character & setting. Slater does a wonderful job of making the village come to life for the reader
First half of the novel moves at a good pace
Slater connects all the mysteries back to one another
There are no loose ends left.
Weaknesses

The chapters featuring Jakub broke up the momentum and suspense in the book and didn’t add too much to the story.
Paul & Donna are the worst characters on the planet
The reveals at the end are a bit shallow & some hard to believe
the fact that the way in which Michael dies is outlined in the cover blurb even though the tragic event happens almost halfway through the novel is odd to me. It would’ve been a bit more suspenseful if we didn’t know exactly how Kate becomes a widow.
Overall, a good read that won’t knock your socks off but will keep you engaged.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced digital copy in exchange for a fair review.

The story is set in a small village, a close-knit community that is also not very friendly to newcomers. Kate Shaw lives with her husband Michael and her 6-year-old daughter. Loved and part of the community, they are happy but everything starts unravelling when a woman disappears. There are murmurs that Michael is perhaps responsible for that. Things spiral out of control and Kate finds herself and her family shunned by the community while Michael seems to have secrets that make her worry if he indeed is responsible for the tragedy that has come about. When two bodies are found, Kate finds her entire life crumbling but somehow she still wants to believe in Michael no matter what the police or the community want her to believe. The book is fast-paced and makes you feel angry at the community or feel bad for Kate. If you liked The Girl on The Train, you will enjoy this one too.

This gripping story has so many layers and clues to unpack. So much mystery, plus multiple story lines and characters, and add in different timelines too. Who can be trusted? What lengths will they go to keep secrets buried and protect their loved ones? There’s a lot of backstory that has to unfold before you get the twists and turns but it’s totally worth it!

Thank you so much NetGalley & Bookouture for the early copy!

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
Michael, a workaholic husband is accused of the disappearance of the sexy new neighbor.
A friends husband, with multiple affairs under his belt, has anger issues against Michael.
What does a wife do when the evidence starts piling up against her husband? She starts digging - and suddenly everything starts connecting with an unexpected ending!

Summary:
Young mother Suzy didn't have an easy time since she immigrated the UK from Poland with her little son Aleks. So when she goes missing at a public event, the whole uptight community suspects something sinister. Soon, her friend Kate's husband becomes the center of the investigation. Suzy did flirt with him, after all. So when he dies under mysterious circumstances, everyone suspects he felt guilty for what he did. But why did the police find a second body next to the one they suspect to be Suzy's? And what does Kate know?

My opinion:
I just love K. L. Slater's books, and this one was no exception. The Widow is a gripping thriller that kept me hooked, and I was desperate to find out what was going on. I liked Kate as a main character, and there was one scene that really made me cry - so better back off if the death of a parent is a trigger for you. I was taken aback by the twists and turns of this book, and, as always, K. L. Slater did an amazing job as far as character development is concerned.

This was my fifth book by K. L. Slater, and my favorite is The Marriage.

Parts of this book reminded me of:
- The Widow by Fiona Barton
- The Serial Killer's Wife by Alice Hunter