I wanted to love this, but just couldn't get into it! Betts is a predictable unreliable heroine (is she ill? is she being gaslit? who knows?) and the number of twists makes this feel less like a novel and more of a collection of tropes. A really quick read, and the most redeeming feature is the claustrophobic way McKinney writes the small town of Weeping Pines, even among such an expansive natural setting.

Was so intrigued to read this book and find out about mad Betty Lou (better known as Betts) – what’s not to entice you to read about the fake mad Dr, who would sometimes wish her Husband dead!

The story follows Betts who suspects her Fiancé is cheating on her. Betts is also being stalked by the local Deputy because he doesn’t seem to believe her late husband died innocently – but does he know she’s not a qualified Counsellor?

Lots of twists and turns, with lots of questions of who knows what about whom!

I loved the characters and the atmospheric writing of the sleepy Weeping Pines town in Washington, USA. A great quick read.

[ Review time ]

Title: The Widow of Weeping Pines
Author: Amanda McKinney
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Short Stories
Release Date: December 2nd 2022
Publisher: HH Tisevich
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

In just a short amount of pages Amanda hooked me from the start with this book!
I couldn’t put it down for a second!🤯

It was so captivating and well written.
The plot twist really made my jaw drop in a good way😨😳😎

An extremely interesting story, well written and addictive! I definitely recommend this one if you want a quick and good mystery/thriller book!📚

A big thank you to NetGalley, HH Tisevich and Amanda McKinney for letting me read this ARC for an honest review.

I was first intrigued by the beautiful cover of the book. Once I read the dedication, I laughed and knew that this book would be great! Then, I read the first two lines and knew I was in for a treat: “Sometimes I wish my husband would die. Do you ever feel like that?”

I didn’t realize this book was a short story with only 188 pages when I first requested it. I flew through this book in about 4 hours and loved how much detail was squished into this short story.

Betty Lou (Betts) is basically a hot mess! She inherited a mansion in Weeping Pines from her late husband, who died inside the home. She’s currently living with her fiancé and running an illegal psychiatric office from the basement of her house. Her favorite client, Cameron, is someone she idolizes. Cameron is beautiful, charismatic and used to be a famous author. Betts has been writing books for years, but they’ve never amounted to anything.

Betts comes home one day to see Cameron with her fiancé and instead of asking what she’s doing in her home, she jumps to the conclusion of a love affair. She becomes obsessed with the thought of it and knows exactly what to do to stop it. She’s hurt people in the past and has no problem eliminating people from her life.

Readers are sent back to the past and introduced to Betts late husband, Jack, and the secrets he kept from her. Then we’re reeled back to the present where unstable Betts thought she had everything figured out but she was dead wrong.

I didn’t really care for any of the characters but the story was amazing and the ending was unbelievably exciting!

thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this before its official release in exchange for an honest review.
my one and only complaint about this book: WHY WASNT IT LONGER?????
wow i loved this book so much. there are so many crazy twists that you dont see coming until you read it and youre like "OH this adds up!" i love how fast paced it is, i love all the little details and backstories and the different pov's. i think this is one of my favorite reads in 2022!
5 stars, easily.

I read through this book in a few hours and it took me on a journey!! The first sentence took a hold of me and kept me engaged till the end. Amanda has made a loyal reader out of me. The storyline was full of plot twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. I am usually very cautious about reading thrillers that have a character that portrays mental illness or domestic issues as they all seem to be the same but Amanda delivered! This storyline was unlike the typical female lead with a mental illness questioning her sanity or not. The character development was phenomenal. I found myself hating Betts at time and then rooting for her the next. Really wish this book would go on forever as I did not want the story to end!

every character was so multi-dimensional that you just had to question everyone ten times over. Betty Lou, a 39 y/o therapist, is newly engaged to Ian; however, she just lost her ex husband and the circumstances of his death are sticky and unreliable. both Betty Lou and Ian are hiding secrets, one of said secrets actually locked away in the basement of their historic mansion in the sleepy coastal town of Weeping Pines.

I had a hard time pinpointing who had involvement in the mysterious circumstances that take place – such a hard time that I was guessing til the last chapter.

many questions surround Betty Lou so you will be completely questioning the truth behind her complexities, the reasons she (relatively) recently transplanted herself in Weeping Pines, and the motives and secretive relationships of those closest to her.

I recommend for a quick and twisty domestic thriller. the ending definitely ties things up very well. very easy to get lost in the possibilities of where this story will take you. 4 stars instead of 5 – wish we had more of an idea of Betty Lou's ex-husband, got more flashbacks of him prior to the ending.

📕 The Widow of Weeping Pines
✍🏿 Amanda McKinney
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another super twisty dark thriller read from @netgalley
✨✨✨

Therapist and struggling author Betty Lou Abbott has a secret, one she keeps locked in the basement of the historic mansion she inherited from her late husband. Her fiancé, Ian, also has a secret: he is having an affair with one of Betty Lou's clients. She thinks so, anyway.

As Betty Lou's life becomes intertwined with the beautiful, successful Carmen Marquis, her intention to expose the affair turns into a dangerous obsession. Especially when she learns there is more to Carmen than meets the eye.
Caught in the middle of this cunning pair of women is Nicholas Stahl, a crooked detective who is determined to prove the truth-that one of them is a cold-blooded killer.
✨✨✨✨

It is a fast paced short read just about 170 pages. And the widow Betts is unique and I was rooting for her throughout. Weeping Pines is a sleepy little coastal town and living with secrets in this gossipy town seems super hard. Highly recommend if you enjoy a twisted dark thriller 🖤
✨✨✨✨
#bookstagram #thrillerreads #netgalley#netgalleyreads #bookreview #thewidowofweepingpines #amandamckinneybooks #darkthrillers #domesticthrillers #booklove #2022reads #readingchallenge #decemberreads #madwomanseries #seattlereads

I love this intense, climactic thriller. I was incredibly invested in the characters and plot. Readers are going to love this incredible novel.

This was a short, but captivating read. I loved the isolating setting and the small town vibes. This was a little dark and each character had so many flaws that I couldn't decide if I even liked any of them but for some reason still found myself rooting for the main character. I really enjoyed this and the only complaint I have is again, this would have been perfect if the very last chapter was left out and it ended like I thought it would. Four Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and HH Tisevich for this copy.

3.5 stars

I read this book in one afternoon, I couldn't put it down. It sucked me in right from the beginning.  It was a cornucopia of mystery, and suspense. Did she do it? Is he doing that, really? Also, a big case of oh my gosh thrown in.
I thought Betts was definitely on the crazy scale, Ian was just "basic", Nicolas was an interesting Detective and Carmen was in a whole new place. Together they made a deadly combination as the story unfolds. If you like to read a book that keeps you on your toes this one certainly does that.

This was absolutely brilliant, one of the best books I've read. I love Betts. That's the thing I loved the most. She's insane but somehow I loved her. This is the first book I've read by this author and it most definitely won't be the last. I would love to read more about Betty Lou Abbott. Highly recommended getting inside the head of Betty Lou Abbot and the other mysterious residents of the small town of Weeping Pines xx

Thank you to #NetGalley, H. H. Tisavech and Amanda McKinney for the opportunity to read an advance copy of THE WIDOW OF WEEPING PINES, published 2 December 2022. This domestic thriller was mainly a self narration of the widow who ran an illegal clinic as a psychologist and discussed her hatred for marriage despite being engaged. I found the writing to be humorous in spots and well done overall. The characters were well developed and believable. There was some rather random sexuality interspersed with the situations, which seemed slightly uncomfortable. Other than that, people who enjoy this genre should find this to be an interesting read.

Wow I was hesitate at first but what a thriller. I never expected the thrills and surprises. I think I found myself a new author

Set in the sleepy logging town of Weeping Pines, this compelling story is told from the pov of a thirty-nine-year-old woman named Betts and a Detective Nicholas.

Betty Lou Abbot is a therapist turned writer. She lost her husband Jack three years ago. She runs an illegal counseling clinic in the basement of her late husband’s home—Gadleigh Estate 🏡 which she’s inherited in addition to a million dollars from Jack’s life insurance policy. Betts is engaged to a man named Ian, the town’s dentist.

Detective Nicholas Stahl has been called in to investigate the death of a woman found hanging from a rope on a tree in the Olympic Mountains. Her body was discovered by some kids smoking dope pot. She’s later identified as Edith Clarke. Was she murdered?

One of Bett's clients is Carmen Marquis, a Weeping Pines native, who recently returned to her hometown after leaving Los Angeles where she lived for over a decade. She’s since then published eight romantic-suspense novels, becoming a bestseller author at twenty-five.

After her last bestseller, she suddenly upped and disappeared only to re-emerge six years later in Weeping Pines. She’s unmarried, has no kids, no boyfriend, and is a vegetarian, and a Food Network addict.

She also has severe anger issues hence her reason for therapy with Betts where she’s been going for five months now.

Detective Nicholas suspects Jack was murdered by his wife and decides to reopen the case.

A short interesting fragmented and disjointed story that somehow manages to come together at the end. Definitely worth the read

Thank you to Amanda McKinney, NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book.

An unpredictable page turner
Thought-provoking right from the start which developed steadily with a twisting storyline. An unusual, suspenseful, mysterious tale that at first I was not even sure there was a mystery. Surprise, yes there is a dark mystery.
Excellent writing and I loved how the author gets into the head of the main character.
There were only a handful of characters to the story and a shorter book at 184 pages. I was hooked right away and unable to put it down till the end.
A fast pace, no romance and no HEA, but yes a great read and a totally unexpected ending. I received this book for free and voluntarily reviewed.

“Sometimes I wish my husband would die. Do you ever feel like that?” That is the question this book opens with. I wasn’t sure about it at first because I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style but the plot twists and the ending had me shook! The book had short chapters which is always a plus and I just couldn’t put it down. This one will keep you guessing until the very end.

Betty Lou Abbot is convinced her fiancé is cheating on her. Her fiancé isn’t the only one with a secret. Betty keeps hers tucked away in the mansion she inherited from her late husband. Betty becomes obsessed with the idea of the affair. She begins stalking the mistress who is a client of hers named Carmen. Add Detective Nicholas Stahl to the mix and you have a recipe for disaster.

Atmospheric gripping read which is too hard to put down - easy to fly through it!

Hard to decide if you like Betts or not. Or more to the point she is likeable but for all the wrong reasons! Thoroughly enjoyed this.

A thriller that kept me hooked the entire time. The cover... I wasn't to much of a fan of. But the overall story kept me hooked.

This is a complete and utter brain-melter! Don't read if you're tired or under the weather 'cos you'll find yourself reading the whole thing through so you don't miss anything. I read a couple of chapters a few times because I just couldn't get my brain engaged in all gears (I was fighting off COVID in my defence!)

There is romance but if you're looking for spicy romance, this ain it. The emphasis is definitely on the murder/mystery/thriller in my opinion. I never really settled on my feelings for Betts, I just could not get a read on her! Goof lord, that woman's demons have demons!

Add in hunky Detective Nicholas Stahl who continues to ask tough questions about the death of her husband. ? Did the late husband, Jack, have secrets of his own? Will her new partner be a settling influence on Betts life?

The atmospheric setting, great characters you can really get your teeth into and a storyline to make you think makes this a great opening book to the series. Looking forward to what's to come!