Was a good book, but a little bit confusing, once I got the flashbacks into the past down, I was able to keep up. It was a quick read that included love and marriage, deception, cheating, and death. Betts was a nut bag and should've gotten a worse taste of her own medicine than she actually did! The ending was a twist that I did not expect!

Told in alternate view points, this the story of Betty Lou Abbot, or Betts, and how she came to be a widow in a big house in the town of Whispering Pines. Betts met Jack at a medical conference in New York, they married quickly and returned to his hometown of Whispering Pines. Within a year, Jack is dead and the entire estate is left to Betts. Now, she is engaged to Ian and operating an illegal therapy clinic in her basement. But things are not what they seem at the Gadleigh estate - not with Betts, not with her clients and definitely not with Detective Stahl, who doesn’t trust Betts a bit.

Twisty and fast paced, this is an easy, quick read. But, because it was a novella, I felt the end was rushed and rather jumbled. McKinney definitely kept me on my toes though!

I loved this domestic thriller! A counselor runs an illegal therapy office out of her basement. Every character is hiding something. This book was around 180 pages so the author wasted no time getting down to business. After I post this, I will be researching (and downloading) all other books by this author!

The Widow of Weeping Pines was a dark, dark, dark book. It was a very quick read, and I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it!

Betty Lou is a doctor/aspiring writer who moves from NYC to the quiet, tiny town of Weeping Pines (where it’s always grey and everyone knows everyone’s business). When Betty Lou’s husband dies of a heart attack, she stays in Weeping Pines, and ends up opening an underground psychology clinic in her basement. She’s content, despite it being completely illegal.

The plot line jumps from 5 years ago in New York, to 3 years ago, when Betty Lou’s husband is dying, and to present day, where Betty Lou is at odds with her fiancé, is tangled up with a local detective, and may have an unhealthy obsession with one of her clients.

Buckle up for this delightfully dark story!

I flew through this book; read it in one afternoon. What an interesting combination of narrator views and a bizarre story. Now I need to find more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

If you like mentally unstable women and a quick read you will love this book. The story takes place in present day and flashbacks to earlier periods in her first marriage. I thought the characters were a fun break from my work day however they did not have enough depth to make me care about them after the book was marked complete on my kindle.

It was a fun quick mystery to burn through on a rainy day and you’re stuck inside or perhaps waiting on a turn and burn flight in the airport. The plot was easy to follow which is an aspiring writer is telling her story as to how she murdered a bunch of people almost died herself then wound up in prison writing her best seller. I hope for her sake that then book did in fact reach the best seller list.

There were some times that I wanted to start seriously thinking about the plot holes. I get that the woman was mentally unstable and behind on her medication or not taking it at all at times but you mean to tell me that she didn’t know her husband faked his death and half the town was in on it and she continued to live in this town without suspicion or one person unable to control themselves showed someone form of hatred toward her?

That aside I am grateful for netgalley loaning me a copy to read and review and I would definitely recommend this book to others who are a fan of jock fun crime mysteries to kill some time!

The Widow of Weeping Pines by Amanda McKinney. This is a tangled web between Betts Abbot a therapist and aspiring author, Jack Holden her husband, Carmen Marquis a well known author who returns home and Detective Nicholas Stahl. This is not a very long story. It is well written and to the point. The author feeds you tidbits from the past to explain the present. I would recommend this book and I would like to read some more by this author. Thank you NetGalley for letting me review this book.

Betty Lou Abbet has the gritty honesty one only possesses one they no longer give a flying flip what others think, she also possesses the cunning kind of craziness that unless you’re paying close attention or know her well some may miss. Would we meet Betty Lou better known as Dr. Betts she is a widow to Jack in the fiancé to the local dentist. She is obsessed with a famous thriller writer who recently moved back to weeping pines her name is Carmen and she has been seeing Dr. bets in her illegal clinic in The Mansions basement. She also gets frequent visits from her deceased husband‘s nephew who is also the local detective. His name is Nick Stahl and he loves to stop by dropping little clues so Dr. Betts doesn’t forget he doesn’t think is uncle died from a heart attack or any other natural happening. Nick is also obsessed and ultimately the question is who is more obsessed Dr. Betts or Detective Nick… But wait there’s someone else obsessed. The third obsessed person is also very patient but he will not have to wait long. The story bills like a snowball rolling down a snowing mountain in the farther it goes the bigger it gets leading to a big catastrophe but who will be standing when it’s all over? This book wasn’t that long but it was really good I haven’t read the other books in the series and so it can definitely be red as a stand alone. I thoroughly enjoyed this book it is crazy wacky and it was lacking with some parts of the plot I think the goodness in other areas totally made up with that. I would definitely highly recommend this book if you love thrillers with a great mystery you’ll love The Widow of Weeping Pines. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The Widow of Weeping Pines
by Amanda McKinney

I am not sure exactly what to call this book – a murder mystery, a thriller – well, whatever. It is actually rather clever. The narrator, Betts, is a "Doctor" of psychology, practicing illegally out of her home. She has been diagnosed since childhood with various mental illnesses. She is the widow of the title.

The book presents many questions: was Betts' husband Jack murdered and if so, by whom? Is her patient Carmen (a successful author) having an affair with Betts' fiancé, Ian? Is Detective Nicholas Stahl – her deceased husband's protégé – trying to set her up for the murder of her husband? And how does Ian fit in to all this?

I enjoyed the author's plot twists right up until the end – but the last chapter left me confused as to what really happened here. I re-read it and still felt dissatisfied with the ending. I wish the author had been a little clearer between fact and fiction.

Don’t waste your money…
Better yet, don’t waste your time. Unfortunately, I did the latter. I should have known better when advanced reader copies were still being offered after the publication data, and I was approved within a matter of minutes.

From the first chapter, I was turned off. Actually, the dedication (yes I read those) left a bad taste in my mouth and gave me a glimpse at the author’s character and attitude. But because I’d received a free copy, I continued to read.

The main character is a “doctor,” and I say that in the loosest sense of the word. Extremely unlikable—she has a bad attitude about marriages and small towns. She’s dishonest, runs an illegal clinic on a cash-only basis to avoid the IRS, and consumes a large amount of vodka prior to seeing her “clients.” If that’s not enough do I really care she’s buying Monistat in the grocery store?

Really??? Give me a break.

It only got worse and I ended up skimming the last half of the book, not caring less what would happen. Trust me on this one. It’s not worth opening the pages and no more of this author for me.

HH Tisvich and NetGalley gifted me an ARC. This was a fun, quick, twisty read. Enjoyable! Three stars.

I enjoyed this book overall and I’ll recommend it to others looking for a quick novella. The use of the term clip vs magazine in the final chapter needs corrected. I didn’t think some parts of the book made sense, but it’s a book and not real life. It’s ok. Overall, it’s a good book.

The Widow of Weeping Pines can best be described as a bit unsettling… but I mean that in the best possible way!

In this story we have Betty Lou Abbott (Betts), who is a therapist who runs a clinic in the basement of the Gadleigh Estate. The Gadleigh Estate was left to Betts, by her deceased husband. Betts is also in the process of becoming a writer. She dreams of being a famous author one day. In the estate with Betts is her fiancé, Ian Bailey. Ian is also the town dentist. We also have Carmen Marquis, who is one of Betts’ clients at her clinic. We then have the town detective of Nicholas Stahl. Trust me when I say that between these characters, there is a lot of bizarre behavior going on! Who is crazy? And is Carmen having an affair with Ian? 😳

This was a fast read, which contained short chapters (my favorite), with lots of twists! This is a book that you can and will want to read in one sitting because you can’t turn the pages fast enough, and you need to know what happens next! I am so glad that I found this book as I am now looking forward to reading more books from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HH Tisevich, and the author for a digital copy of this book. This book is available to read now- Publication date: December 2, 2022.

Wow from the first line of the book, this book was able to pull me in. Betts was a nutcase, but a likeable one. The details in the book really make the book a winner in my opinion. I would recommend this book to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and HH Tisevich, I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. I found the characters so unlikeable and that just made it impossible to be fully immersed into the story. I did like the writing style but overall, wasn’t a fan.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
ARC - Netgalley - Published Dec. 2022

The Widow of Weeping Pines by Amanda McKinney has a lot going for it in a book that might be considered more of a novella. Atmospheric (who wouldn’t want to live in Weeping Pines), crazy widow lady, dead husband, skanky detective, too many dead people in a tiny town, a severe case of paranoia, drunks, drinking, poison, wine, and so much more. It was figuring out who is the redeeming character in this story, who wasn’t worth saving, and the terrific ending that was a lot of fun. Sometimes, that is all I want out of a book…something entertaining and a good story. I don’t get bogged down in word count, improbabilities, theories, or grammar. I just wanted to like the story, and this worked for me. #twisted #drinkers #murders #widows #TheWidowOfWeepingPines #thriller #novella #womensfiction #fiction #whodunit #mystery #beautifulcover @amandamckinneyauthor @netgalley #HHTisevich
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I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to NetGalley, HH Tisevich, and the author for the opportunity to read this book. Published: Dec. 2022
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This has to be one of the most unexpected books I have read in a long time. I can't way whether I hated it or like it.
The author creates a world with the most unlikeable characters I have read in a long time.
The characters are not likeable in fact readers might struggle to connect with the female lead and he point of view. The Widow of Weeping Pines isn't romance, zero mystery and in fact I am not sure what the book really is expect a dark note in this author list of books.
Thank you to Netalley for a copy of The Widow of Weeping Pines

Outstanding!! What a great read. Amanda Mckinney had me guessing through the whole book. Such a page turner. The ending plot twist got me. I never excepted to happen the way it did. I really recommend reading this book. Can’t wait to read her other books.

This was a quick read but it kept me guessing the whole way through with loads of twists and turns and I enjoyed the ending ….

Really enjoyed this book, read the ebook so not sure how many actual pages it was - but it read really fast! Such a story. I love any book that makes me feel like I’m not really sure what is real and what is not. What more can you ask for but to be totally gaslighted?