I wasn't sure at the start if id get into this book, everything seemed very rosy and Kate seemed very smug and a bit annoying with her "perfect life" and it seemed to me she was judging others. But I soon got into the story and it rapidly changed! I knew there would be a twist at the end but I definitely didn't guess how it would turn out! I liked Donna, Kates friend, she seemed a bit more realistic, but Kate was a bit hard to warm to at times but she got there in the end!

Wow, what a twisty turny thriller!
I loved the way the small village inhabitants lives were intertwinned and unfolded. Some of the language irritated me a bit as it made converstaions feel a bit contrived but thats just me, the characters were interesting the story moved at a decent pace, I did work out some of the storylines and I wish a bit more depth around the disappearance of Matilda was given as I feel this weas a great part of the story.
A solif 4 stars for me and a definite ""must read"

K.L. Slater’s “The Widow” is a domestic mystery set in a small, modern-day English village. Readers seeking thrillers told from multiple points of view and with lots of twists, turns, and surprises will probably find something here to enjoy.

Kate and Michael Shaw and their six-year-old daughter Tansy live happily in the village of Lynwick. Michael manages a large rural property with several homes for an elderly widow. Kate works part-time as a teacher’s assistant at the local elementary school. The family is popular in the village and has good friends. But when a young woman living in one of the houses managed by Michael goes missing—the third such person to disappear from the village over the years—their happy life begins to unravel. Will Kate be able to solve the mystery of those disappearances and save her family? Or will she be judged a criminal and lose her reputation and the village’s esteem?

Author K.L. Slater writes well. Her descriptions are evocative, and her dialogue is realistic. She does a good job portraying village life and the relationships between various characters. And for the most part, she keeps her readers guessing. The answers to the mystery are surprising.

However, notwithstanding the twists and turns, I did find parts of the novel predictable and other parts repetitive, especially in the beginning. During the first half of the story, I found myself saying, “Okay, I get it already. Let’s move on.” At other times, I found the characters somewhat unrealistic and their actions and reactions not entirely credible—more in service of plot and coming to a specific result than portraying real human emotion and behavior.

So, there’s good and there’s not-so-good here. All in all, a three-star performance.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for making an ARC available to me. The foregoing is my independent opinion.

Always a good read from this author.
Although I didn't love it it still pulled you in. And had the twists. More of a whodunit than an actual psychological thriller.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Another great K.L. Slater novel!

Quick paced and easy to read, I flew through this book. I saw some of the twists coming, but it was enjoyable nevertheless.

I look forward to reading more from this author.

Wow...this author is on a roll; her third book that I have read this year and I am as bowled over by 'The Widow' as I was with 'The Marriage' and 'The Evidence.'

Life as she knew it came to a halt for Kate Shaw and her daughter Tansy, when her husband Michael stepped in front of a lorry, after being questioned and implicated in the missing case of an immigrant woman, Suzy Boros. Suddenly, Kate finds herself a pariah in the beloved community that she was part of for the past twenty years. To preserve his memory as a good man in her daughter's eyes, and to bring justice to Michael, Kate sets off on her own to clear her husband's name.

I'd call this book less psychological thriller and more of a whodunnit. While the whole suspense element was intriguing, the denouement was found wanting. Kate's reaction at the end, IMO, felt rather tepid, in light of the events that led to her husband's death. Still, it's a good day for the mystery lover in me when the author manages to surprise me with an unexpected climax.

Overall, a twisty mystery that keeps you engrossed till the very last page. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Another new K.L. Slater book, I get so excited when I see a new book of hers coming!
Like all her other books, this is fast paced, twisty, suspenseful and well written. The characters are well developed, although not all likeable (Suzy, eurgh!)
If you are yet to read a K.L. Slater book, you need to, and not just one, go to her back catalogue and read them all.

Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for a copy of this Arc.

A twist I didn't see coming. From the prologue, I was hooked!

This is the first book by this author I've read, but I can say without a doubt it won't be the last.

Thanks, Bookouture for providing this title on NetGalley.

I love all of Slater’s books and this one did not disappoint!
A family torn apart by tragedy, quite a way into the book, when Kate becomes a widow. She is supported by Donna, her best friend, whilst also looking after her 6 year old daughter and Alexs, a boy in Tansy’s class whose mum Suzy has seemingly vanished into thin air. What connects all of these women?
Told by different narrators at different time frames helped me to enjoy piecing today when the clues as the story unfolded with twists and turns.
Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

Kate and Michael and 6-year-old daughter Tansy are the perfect family living in the village of Lynwick in Nottinghamshire. When an accident happens, and Michael is mowed down by an articulated lorry. People in the village say he killed himself over the guilt of missing Polish woman Suzy, who is new to the village. Suzy is a very attractive woman, and she came to the village with her son Aleks.
But Kate knows that her husband wouldn’t do such a thing and she goes out of her way to prove it. But when a body is found at a police dig on the Wadebridge Estate Lynwick in Nottinghamshire where her husband has worked for twenty years, the police think he is the prime suspect and the villagers start their tongues wagging and things don’t look right for Kate as the villagers start going against her.
Thank you once again Bookouture for a copy of The Widow by K. L. Slater. This is another entertaining read from the author. It has a gripping premise but had a lot of going on in this book and a lot of different characters in the story, which I thought that it wasn’t a bad thing but felt a little heavy at times. But the conclusion of the story made up for it. 4 stars from me.

I really enjoy KL Slater’s books. Each one that I have read is quick moving and entertaining throughout. The Widow is no exception. The beginning of the book, when they were setting up the story/mystery, was a little cheesy and unrealistic, as was the ending. However, I flew through the middle and could not stop reading. Another solid read.

The Widow
K.L. Slater
Pub Date: November 12, 2021
Bookcouture

A completely gripping psychological thriller from the author of the number one bestseller The Marriage. If you like Gone Girl, The Girl on The Train, and The Wife Between Us then you will love The Widow.
Thanks to Bookcoutoure and NetGalley for the ARC.
This genre seems to be well-liked at our library. This will be another good book that will fly off the shelves.
4stars

The majority of the time, I do love K.L. Slater’s books, but at the moment, they seem to be a bit hit and miss. When picking up one of her books, I used to know I was in for a treat, but now there is no such guarantee.
This, unfortunately, was a little in between the hit and miss scale and was just ok. It was an enjoyable enough read, and I quickly got through it, but it was quite forgettable. I didn’t get around to writing this review straight away, and I’ve just had to reread the blurb and other people’s reviews to jog my memory. That’s not a good sign if a book has made no impact on me whatsoever.
The prologue was, I think, the best bit of the book as it draws you in right from the start with the middle of the story. It was all very intriguing; what had been found? And what had the wife been through to appear so downtrodden? Even though I liked the prologue, I was not too fond of the whole chapter being repeated later on when the story caught up with it; that felt like a bit of a waste of my time to have to reread it.
Kate wasn’t an overly likeable character, and her actions were quite frustrating. Considering the length of time she’d been married, her reaction to her husband’s death was very flat. Even more so when everything is revealed, and we find out why he died and what had caused the sequence of events. It was all a bit non-sensical.
So, overall, not the worst of Slater’s books that I have read, but I know she can do better. She is writing quite a lot each year at the moment, so maybe they are just being rushed through without the time needed to really hone the story and make it perfect?
So just a three-star read for me.

I'll read anything from K.L. Slater so I dove right in to this and loved it! Really enjoyed the twists and storyline. Would definitely recommend to any thriller lover. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy!

I had the absolute pleasure of of being approved by NetGalley to read this book - coming out Nov. 11, 2021.
I have always enjoyed this author and this time was yet again no exception! All the twists and things to unravel were incredible! You keep thinking you know and you understand but not until the very end does everything you thought go right out the window! I couldn't read this fast enough - so many shocks, heartbreak and even frustration sometimes. Absolutely adored this!

I give this 4 / 5 stars easily!

I always look forward to anything from K.L. Slater. This was another great one. From page one I was drawn into this fast paced psychological thriller. Twists, turns and thrills up to the very end. Fantastic plot with absolutely amazing characters.

This is definitely another bingeworthy read by one of my favorite authors, K.L. Slater. Katie and Michael Shaw, along with their 6-year-old daughter Tansy, seem to be living the good live. Michael is caretaker of Wadebridge, a home with several cottages that are rented out, owned by eccentric Irene Wadebridge. Newcomer Suzy Baros and her 6-year-old son, Aleks arrive from Poland and gets a job at Wadebridge helping Irene. Suzy is very attractive and the local women seem to be very jealous of her. At the Christmas lighting celebration, Suzy goes missing and eventually fingers point to Michael. There are a several different story lines going on which kept me guessing about what the outcome would be. Author K.L. Slater did a great job tying everything together at the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very interesting page turner in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic page turner by K.L Slater. The story develops well and it kept me guessing throughout.
I’d recommend for anyone who is a fan of domestic thrillers or K.L Slater.

This book kept me guessing from the beginning, it was well written as usual and I always enjoy books from this author. The characters were mainly good although I wasn't keen on them all.

I can thoroughly recommend this book and thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book.

“What would you do if someone you’d known for nearly twenty years, the father of your child and a loving, caring man, turned out after his death to be a monster? Would you default to denial? Would you make excuses? Would you lie … in order to protect your child?”

These are the author’s words from the book notes, and are the questions that ended up inspiring this book - I can’t think of a better way to describe the situation that Kate Shaw is in. Happy mom, wife and friend, her life is turned upside down when a woman in town goes missing, the police re-open a case about another missing person, and her husband is killed in a traffic accident after speaking with the police about both.

Was it an really an accident though, or was he trying to be hit? Regardless, Kate is now a single mother, struggling to explain all of this to her young daughter. As the police investigate further, she starts to realize it’s possible that her husband was not the sweet and loving family man she’d always relied on him to be. Fearful of her daughter finding out not only that her father is dead, but that he may have hurt others, she has a choice to make: be honest with the police about what she knows, or fight to keep her husband’s name clear.

Kate was a great character, even if at times I wanted to shake her for being so stupid. Really though, what would anyone else do in her same situation? It’s not a choice anyone would want to make. The ethical and psychological impacts of her choices affect more than just her and her daughter - they affect an entire town, and even people in another country.

This was a great read, and I really enjoyed the ride. It had a few big shocks, and the ending was done very well. This was my first time reading this author, but now I’m interested in more! A solid four stars for an entertaining thriller that will keep you both engaged and guessing until the end.

(Thank you to Bookouture, K.L. Slater and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)