"I have strawberry-blond hair, shoulder-length because if I grow it any longer, I am mistaken for Gollum's stunt double."

The author's style of writing had me hooked from the beginning. I was sold from chapter 1. This is a super quick read.

Betts is a narrator that you love to hate. Honestly, I'm not sure if we like anyone when it comes down to it. Everyone has secrets they are trying to hide and you are just waiting to see who is going to unravel first. McKinney took her time building up this interesting character, but the ending seems rushed. I liked the ending, but could've used just a bit more story.

thrilling and well written, the widow of weeping pines clutched me from the first sentence, and did not let go until the final page! amazing read!

The mind of a bored housewife can be a dangerous thing. Betty Lou Abbott is holding onto a dark secret that no one in her small Pacific Northwest town expects. Labeled as a newly engaged widow, readers might assume her life is finally starting to look up following the unexpected death of her husband as she moves on in the pursuit of a new life. But that couldn’t be more far from the truth. Get ready for this book to grasp hold of your attention from the first page and hold on to it tightly, as you’re taken on a wild ride of unexpected twists and turns.

Betty Lou (Bets) is a wannabe author, a widow whose husband died of a heart attack and left her a mansion in his hometown, and a therapist who now runs an illegal clinic from her house.
When she suspects her fiancé, Ian, of having an affair with one of her clients, she stalks her. Local detective Nicholas suspects that Bets had something to do with her husband's death, and so is investigating her. Carmen, the client, has a lot of secrets in her life.

This short novel is full of very unlikeable and clearly disturbed characters . Bets is the archetypal unreliable narrator, and I wasn't sure what was really going on for most of the book. A big plot twist wraps up this very quick read. Told from multiple points of view, it was certainly an interesting read, but I struggled to care enough about most of the characters..

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for access to this text.
Initially, I found this one hard to follow and get into. I spent the first 40% questioning what was happening. It took until that point for me to get into it all. I then spent the last 60% asking what the point in any of it was. There was no suspense as very little was left for the reader to piece together. It was very much a lot of telling rather than showing. This made it hard for me to engage with and stay interested. Not to mention the fact that the mental health representation in this book is poor, reinforcing the stigma that exists regarding mental health. The author seems to reinforce every single negative stereotype there is.
The plot was promising but far too rushed and squashed into a short book at 190 pages. If it was longer, the events and details could be fleshed out allowing for possibly a more enjoyable read. Although short with an (initially) intriguing plot, I feel that the story I read could be told in 50 pages with just as much detail and feel like less of a chore to get through.

This was a crazy and quick read. I enjoyed the writing and short chapters really moved the story along. The characters are all just terrible people but ended up being a great read.

I give it a rate of 3.8 stars!

The story in itself is intriguing and kept making me come back to learn more as we uncovered something, another was still kept in the dark until the very end.

I ended up hating every character except surprisingly for detective Nicholas stahl as his motives were actually decent and not like the other which I felt were kind of not logical.

As for the writing it was truly incredible and made me interested that long (which in itself is a miracle as I find myself bored quite quickly) but something I didn't like about the writing was the way things were more described than showed. I would have loved if we could have things showed to us rather than told it could have made it was more interesting! Otherwise I have nothing to say about the writing.

Thanks to Netgalley, HH tisevich and the Author for my complimentary copy!

The Widow of Weeping Pines is a twisted domestic thriller. This is book one of Mad Women series, based on the publication date listed in Amazon. The story is mostly told in the present and also the past. It is also told from several points of views, but Betts is primarily the larger part of the story.

Betty Lou Abbott, goes by Betts. She claims she is a Doctor (therapist) and an author. The book begins with "Sometimes I wish my husband would die. Do you ever feel that?”. She then proceeds to tell us why she wishes he was dead.

Jack Holden and Betts have moved to Weeping Pines, Betts hates it there. Jack, decided after being a successful doctor he wanted to retire and move back to where he grew up. Betts opens up an illegal office in the basement and sees clients as a therapist.

Jack has died about 3 1/2 years ago. Betts inherited a significant estate and is now engaged to another man that she has no intention of marrying. Betts is a working alcoholic and is convinced her fiancé is having an affair with Carmen, a famous writer and her client.

Nicholas Stahl is the local detective who makes random visits just to annoy Betts. Nicholas is also Jack's godson who feels that Betts did something to the will, so he inherited nothing.

I have to say there is nothing likeable about any of the characters in the book. Jack is a man on the prowl, Betts is an obsessed drunk, Nicholas is shady, Carmen is not honest. Okay so none of them are honest and they all have secrets of which I could care less. I wish this had been a better story, I read it as fast as I could just to finish it. I should have divorced myself from the book just as Betts should have divorced Jack.

This book hooked me from the beginning. I could not put it down with the twists and turns and how the book would go from present day to back in time. Definitely look forward to reading more of her books.

I absolutely loved this!

I loved how it was written and, really enjoyed the whole psychological element of it.

You really do wonder who you can trust.
I always appreciate an atmospheric setting, and this had that without being too much.

It also had short chapters which again is a big plus and it wasn't a long book either at 162 pages.

A brilliant psychological thriller.
Highly recommended

This story mainly centers around Betty Lou (Betts) Abbott, a 39-year-old therapist and writer. Betts lives in the home, she inherited from her deceased husband, Jack. She met Jack in NYC and when Jack announced he was retiring, his second surprise was to move back to Weeping Pines. A town that isn't very welcoming to Betts. She is currently engaged to Ian, the town's dentist.

Betts quit her job as the school counselor and quite by accident found that there was a need for her services so converted her basement into a clinic.

Detective Nicholas Stahl has ties to Jack, whom he considered to have been his mentor. He makes surprise visits to see Betts, and comes across as being a hardnose.

While reading, this story kept me guessing since I was never really sure who was authentic and who wasn't. It was difficult to like any of the characters, each seemed to keep something close to their chest giving them an air of untrustworthiness. Trying to figure out who was on the up and up kept me reading, however, it was the ending that astounded me.

I requested and received an ARC from NetGalley via HH Tisevich and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

It’s a short book, Definitely not disappointing, you are captured and left wanting more 😊I can’t wait for more titles from the author

"Sometimes I wish my husband would die. Do you ever feel like that?" I don't usually feel this way, but if I had to judge a book by its first line, I'd say this line piqued my interest. Because of this one line, I was already half-convinced that this book was going to be something special.

What really happened when I started reading the book is another story. Amanda's writing in this book is so captivating that I kept turning the pages till I reached the end. While my husband slept peacefully next to me, I kept swiping the pages of a book where a wife had murdered her husband and was planning another murder of her fiance. If only my husband knew the kind of book I was reading, he would be terrified. Coming back to the book, there is no doubt that you would keep on reading this book because of the writing and because of the completely b@t$hit crazy characters. But would you like the book? The journey through the book was an experience because it had me guessing at so many different scenarios, but when I finished the book, I knew it was not something I actually really enjoyed.
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Thank you @netgalley for sending me this review copy.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

It was better than I thought it would be! The book is super short and I was nervous about how it would go and while I do think the ending was rushed and I wish we could've gotten more of a backstory on everything, it was incredibly enjoyable. I love messy characters and crazy plots!

I was a little nervous at first due to the length of the book, but I definitely loved it. The ending seemed rushed & left me wanting more, but overall I truly enjoyed this book. Can’t wait to get my hands on more books by this author.

I LOVE messy narrators and this was IT. Unlikable people doing awful things is probably my favorite genre and this did not disappoint. This was a fast read but full of twists almost every chapter. 10/10 would recommend.

This book was amazing . The plot was insane !! You will never guess what is going to be the end. It’s a book you ready very quick . The characters are are amazing . I loved this book I really recommended this book

It was ok. If you are looking for a quick read I recommend it. I wish it was longer so we could get more back story.

Betty Lou "Betts" Abbott has an illegal clinic in her basement where she sees psychiatric patients, even though she doesn't have a license. She is a widow, and the local deputy believes she killed her husband, Jack. When she begins to suspect her fiancé, Ian, of cheating on her with one of her clients, the story becomes even more dark and twisted. Who meant harm to whom? Who is the victim?
This is a very short book, 186 pages, but is very "Hitchcock" in its telling. I enjoyed the read.

This story follows Betty Lou, or Betts, a therapist and widow living in her late husbands hometown, one of her patients Carmen and Nicholas Stahl, the detective of Weeping Pines. Betts likes her booze and is conducting therapy sessions out of an office in her basement. She believes one of her patient’s, Carmen, is having an affair with her new fiancée. This is told from multiple POV and time frames, flashing back to give us insight on both Betts life with her late husband Jack and how her and her new fiancée Ian came to be. At under 200 pages, this was a speedy thriller and definitely captivating. For a short novel, the characters were well developed. Where this story lost points for me was with the twists. Twists are my favorite part of thrillers and I love when I can’t see them coming. That was definitely the case for this story… but this is also where the story lost me. The main twists were extremely unrealistic in my opinion and when the book ended, I had more questions than answers.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!