The Widow’s Guide to Murder by Amanda Ashby is the first in a new cozy mystery series, The Widow’s Guide to Murder by Amanda Ashby and it is exactly what I look for in a cozy. It is a nice combination of entertaining and charming. The mystery is interesting with plenty of twists and turns. The characters are all quirky and mostly likeable especially Ginny Cole, the 60-year-old, recently widowed main protagonist of the tale, smart and resourceful. And, best of all at least to me, there is a nice strain of humour running through it. Oh, and there is a rather opinionated sray cat who decides to adopt Ginny. What more could you ask from a cozy? A perfect read for a relaxing summer afternoon. I look forward to more adventures with Ginny and her fellow members of the widow’s club in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

The Widows’ Guide to Murder by Amanda Ashby is the first book in The Widows’ Detective Club. I liked this cute cozy mystery. I enjoyed getting to know Ginny and the other widows (JM, Tuppence, and Hen). I thought the characters were quirky and realistic. Little Shaw is a charming community with quirky, welcoming, and chatty residents. The mystery was well plotted with some twists along the way. DI Wallace is not happy that Ginny and the other ladies are meddling in the murder. Ginny, of course, as well as her sidekicks, have no intention of backing down. I enjoyed following the women as they investigated the crimes, gathered clues, and asked questions. I wrote down who I thought was the guilty party and then set out to see if I was right (the best part of a mystery is trying to solve it before the reveal). There is a good wrap up at the end. I love Edgar, the cat that adopted Ginny. I have a feeling that Edgar will keep Ginny on her toes. I laughed often while reading The Widows’ Guide to Murder. This is the first book that I have read by Amanda Ashby, and it will not be the last. I am eager to read the next book in The Widows’ Detective Club series.

This was a fun read and I am looking forward to more in the series.

It was good world building and set the scene of village life! I'm not sure how they will continue to have multiple murders when it seems quite small but I look forward to it!

Thanks for the arc.

3.5 STARS

This is a nice and fun read, a good book to spend some hours with, and a great choice if you want to take a break, or if you are in the mood for something nice and quick, but with a good mystery to it and some interesting characters.
I liked the older MCs, Ginny is trying to make herself a new life, and she meets a lot of interesting people, that's for sure. But my favorite was his neighbor, Wallace. He is also a detective, and I think his patience knows no bounds.
The group of older MCs, all of them widows, was nice to follow around, and this book has all you can ask from this genre: a small town setting, a mystery that is intriguing, and a group of older people ready to make some shenanigans and to investigate the murder.
I had fun with it, even if I am starting to have some problems with amateur sleuth. I love them when there is some plausibility to why they are investigating, but it is not always the case; more often than not, it's just because the people think that the police are not doing their job, without reason. And this is one of those. You just have to suspend your disbelief a lot, and I am not so happy about that.
But all things considered, it wasn't so bad, and I had fun!

Amanda Ashby does a fantastic job in writing this mystery plot and this was no exception, I really enjoyed the way the characters and world were presented and developed. It was everything that I wanted in a opening chapter and was glad it was everything that I was looking for and am excited for more in this world. It uses the genre perfectly and had that feel that I was looking for and was glad it was so well done. It was a great first entry in the Widows' Detective Club series and left me wanting more.

Loved it so much! Gave the perfect vibes for a cozy murder mystery. The charcters were great, I enjoyed being in their world and solving the mystery.

The Widows' Guide to Murder is the first book in a village cozy mystery series by Amanda Ashby. Released 3rd March 2025, it's 264 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also currently available on KU.

Small village cozies are perennially popular and it's lovely to find a new series entry. The book is populated by small town eccentrics, undercurrents of rage, jealousy, and scandal, into which the new local village library assistant has been unceremoniously thrust without warning. It checks all the boxes: intelligent late middle aged sensible widow/librarian, small town gossip, an outlandish ensemble cast of apparently harmless oddball characters, and a satisfying resolution and epilogue.

It's not derivative, but fans of Robert Thorogood (Marlow Murder Club), Janice Hallett, and Richard Osman will find a lot to like here. The author has a genuinely good grasp of character and setting, good pacing, and a satisfying denouement and conclusion.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 8 hours 33 minutes and is capably read by Diana Croft. She has a well modulated alto voice and an impressive command of regional accents (East London, Midlands, etc), and switches seamlessly between a range of ages and male and female (even Scottish) without a hiccup. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Four and a half stars. It's a diverting read. It would be a great choice for home library, or a binge/buddy read. There are two books extant in the series, with a third due out at the end of June 2025.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I am a sucker for a mystery with old folk - women particularly - as protagonists trying to solve the case and I think Ginny and het friends may just bee my favourites.

I'll admit, there weren't any obvious clues that allowed me to work out what was going on, but I also didn't feel completely like everything just got handed to me on a platter at the end with no real clues leading to it. It all tied in nicely.
Of course many a part was farfetched and I'm certain they'd have been arrested rather than sent off with warning's at points for the way they invoved themselves but that's the fun of these types of books.

I also strangely for me connected far more with the characters and their interactions than I cared for the mystery - usually I am desperate for that "omg what happened, what could this clue lead to? omg what does this mean?" feeling, but I really enjoyed when we were in Ginny's cottage with the cat, or gossiping with the other widows.
I feel like I've spent an age with them, though perhaps I have as I'm in the worst slump of my life (this was only my ninth book of the year!!) but every time I was able to pick it up and read I felt like greeting an old friend and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

I picked up A Widow’s Guide to Murder on a whim, and I’m so glad I did! It’s a cozy mystery with the perfect blend of humor, charm, and a bit of suspense. The main character, recently widowed, is witty and relatable, and I loved how the story balanced her emotional journey with a fun murder mystery. The small-town setting was delightful, and the quirky supporting characters really added to the charm. It’s an easy, engaging read that kept me entertained right through to the end. Definitely recommend if you’re in the mood for something light but clever.

If the title didn't suck me right in, the blurb would have and I'm really happy to have stumbled across an author new to me with a series so good! It is my first read and on book 1 which is a bonus.

The characters are all so full of personality that it just wouldn't fit to have them as energetic 20 somethings and have the same punch. Instead they are world wise widows with a lifetime of experiences to bring to the mix. Main character Ginny has found a warm set of friends and an instant murder solving society at her fingertips when she moves into a new area.

The good ones are written warmly and the bad ones even better!

A small town setting to die for...literally in a few cases.

I'll be onto the next one quick as a flash!

My thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for a digital ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Ginny moves to a new town, to work at their local library. Not long after starting Ginny finds her boss(who is not very liked in the community) murdered in the library. Ginny who is a widow becomes friends with a few other widows and they become amateur detectives. This is a cute, funny cozy mystery. Cozy mystery is not always a favorite genre of mine but I did enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for a honest review.

This is the first book I've read by the author and I LOVED IT! It is a cozy mystery that keeps you guessing till the very end
Highly recommend!

I tried so hard to get into it but just couldn’t. It wasn’t that the writing was bad or the storyline was lackluster….i think it was just the wrong vibe at the wrong time. I plan to revisit it to see if it really is just me at the moment.

A brilliant first book in the series! Full of wonderful characters, heartwarming and funny moments and plenty of suspense! Really enjoyable read!

This is the first book in The Widow’s Detective Club series and what a great start to the series.
I didn’t know anything about this book when I picked it up and sometimes I feel that’s the best way to read a book as you have no expectations. An enjoyable cosy mystery which I thoroughly enjoyed. Looking forward to the next book in the series. With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review. Recommended.

This is one of my favorite books of the year. Recently widowed Ginny moves to a small village and takes a job at a local library with the intention of having a quiet, mostly solitary life. She soon thinks she has made a horrible mistake. Her boss is not at all nice, and she is accosted by a group of widows. When her boss is murdered, the widows become her best friends as they all work together to find the murderer.

This was a fascinating story of several widows trying to solve several murders in their village. The characters really came to life and the scenes were easy to imagine. What a lovely complicated conclusion.

4.5★s
The Widows’ Guide To Murder is the first book in the Widows’ Detective Club series by British author, Amanda Ashby. Less than a year widowed, sixty-year-old Ginny Cole has moved from Bristol to the retirement cottage she and Eric had planned in the Lancashire village of Little Shaw. But she’s having second thoughts about taking the job at the community-run library: her manager, Louisa Farnsworth is really unpleasant, nasty to just about everyone.

Arriving for her shift on her second day, a shock awaits: Louisa’s dead body in the library’s office. After telling the police what she can, including an observation pointing to the cause of death, Ginny goes home to Middle Cottage, at a loose end. She considers making jam from the damsons on her rude young neighbour’s tree, and ends up adopting a stray cat.

At the village grocery store, needing cat food, she encounters a trio of widows whose main concern seems to be the impending arrest of the shopkeeper, Alyson Farnsworth, ex-wife of the newly-widowed Bernard Farnsworth, and daughter of one of the trio. With no intention of getting involved, she’s somehow searching the library stacks for incriminating evidence, trying to subtly interrogate villagers who might know more, and attracting the ire of that young neighbour, who turns out to be DI James Wallace. His opinion of her new friends: “nosy civilians with more grey hair than wit”.

Ginny’s investigations cast doubt on two earlier deaths in the village, and it looks like corruption and embezzlement are rife, even in Little Shaw. Before the case is solved and the guilty are brought to justice, there’s another murder, and two attempted murders. Ginny never thought she’d be digging up a grave, saving a man from burning to death, and trying to stop a not-so-innocent woman from being murdered.

Ashby gives the reader plenty of red herrings and distractions to keep them guessing and the pages turning right up to the dramatic climax. The widows are a quirky bunch: an avid knitter, an almost-lawyer, and an expert on many things courtesy of YouTube. More of this cast in The Widows’ Guide to Backstabbing will be most welcome. A very enjoyable cosy.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Storm Publishing.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is a delightful blend of cozy mystery and romantic comedy, centered around the recently widowed Evie Harris. Grieving the unexpected loss of her husband, Evie finds herself not only navigating the complexities of widowhood but also unexpectedly embroiled in a murder investigation.