Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday for the arc of this book. I love John Grisham novels and had high expectations from the start of this book. I was not disappointed I loved this book. It was paced perfectly to keep me invested and to not want to put it down. I ended up reading it in two sitting. It just pulled me in. At times I really disliked the main character and at times I felt bad for him and by the end of the book I was rooting for him. This book had plenty of twists and turns I did not see coming. I recommend reading this book.

Interesting mystery about a lady with wealth and what happens to her and surrounding her will. Interesting book by John Grisham, this seemed a bit different then his other books but still liked trying to figure out who did it . Thanks netgalley.

This book started off so strong. The first 40% of the book was all about Simon and the Widow. Their relationship, their attorney client relationship. This was John Grisham at his best.

Then the next 40% of the book is the trial. Which just rehashed everything that the reader learns in the first 40%. This was dry and completely boring.

Then the last 20% of the book actually gets around to solving the crime.

Then the last page, the killer is revealed, the lawyer has his day, and the end. I literally thought there was more, nope, it just ends very abruptly.

I thought that the author slipped in 2 moral lessons...1. once the police find a suspect,,,that is it they quit investigating. They got their man, no matter if its right or not. 2. Juries are not infalliable. They get it wrong, even with evidence against their perceptions. Juries can get it wrong.

Overall, the first part of the book is classic John Grisham, the rest of the book alternates between boredom and a rushed ending.

this was my first book of grishams and im so excited to dive further into his backlist! this is an author my dad has always really enjoyed reading so im very much looking forward to being able to chat about this book with him upon release!

the only reason this is a four star is because the pacing sometimes felt off to me, there were one too many times where the book would just hit a wall and i found myself bored. however overall i really enjoyed this one and i do hope to find that some of the characters in this book get featured in future releases!

#1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham is the acclaimed master of the legal thriller. Now, he’s back with his first-ever whodunit, even more suspenseful than his courtroom dramas, as a small-time lawyer accused of murder races to find the real killer to clear his name! Good legal thriller! This book had shocking suspense, mystery, murder, gaslighting, intrigue, and a few shocking twists! The storyline was very interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Simon is a small time lawyer who deals mostly in bankruptcies, writing wills and small problems. One day a wealthy client walks in, an elderly widow who appears to have millions. So Simon plans to draw up her will, making sure that he can make provision to charge exorbitant fees. But then she dies and Simon is accused of her murder. Although Simon maintains he is innocent he is convicted of murder. Simon now must find the real killer or spend the rest of his life in prison.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wasn't sure if I would like this whodunit book by John Grisham since I'm so used to his courtroom dramas but it was really good. As usual for his book it starts off kind of slow but boy it really picks up in the second half. Simon Latch is a small town lawyer who is wrongfully convicted of murder and he has to find the killer. Simon doesn't exactly follow all the rules when searching for the killer but what has he got to lose? He's already facing prison time for murder. I enjoyed this story very much. Thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review on my Goodreads page. The official release is set for October 21, 2025.

After a brief detour into nonfiction last year, John Grisham returns to familiar territory with a fresh twist. His latest legal thriller blends courtroom/law practice drama with a classic whodunit mystery—offering fans something both familiar and new.

The story follows attorney Simon Latch, who lands in serious trouble after taking on the estate planning case of a wealthy widow with millions at stake. All the signature Grisham elements are here: high-stakes legal maneuvering, morally gray characters, unpredictable twists, and courtroom tension that keeps you turning the pages.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The characters are sharply drawn, and the plot moves at a brisk, satisfying pace with just enough red herrings to keep you guessing. I highly recommend this for longtime Grisham fans and newcomers alike—it’s sure to earn a permanent place on my bookshelf when it hits stores this fall.

Fantastic murder mystery thriller from Grisham, but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of legal thriller action for his long time fans.

Simon Latch is drafting a will for his new client, 85 year old Eleanor “Netty” Barnett. Netty has no family left to speak of and apparently her husband left her a substantial sum upon his death. Simon spends a considerable amount of time with the lonely widow in hopes of eventually making a windfall from her estate. Needless to say, things go sideways for our small town, cash strapped Simon.

I would love to see a follow up novel on some of the interesting characters from this story. Can’t say who as I don’t want to provide any spoilers.

The Widow is a fast paced thriller with excellent character development. I had a difficult time putting it down. Highly recommend.

This is classic Grisham!!!!! His underdog characters...and he's written a good one. Really enjoyed every bit of this!

Simon Latch is a modern day tragic figure. He has a small law practice in a small city in Virginia. He is barely holding his head above water financially. His marriage is a shambles. His work doing wills is mind numbingly dull. All that looked to change when an 85-year-old widow enters his life. She wants her will rewritten and gives Simon every indication that she has a fortune. This is where the fun begins. The lady dies in the hospital after an accident and the circumstances around her death are suspect.
Simon Latch finds himself indicted for murder.
This book is loaded with legal drama, as one might suspect from John Grisham. There is a lengthy trial section that reads like a true crime book. I found it compelling. My only criticism is that I felt the conclusion was a bit anticlimactic. Otherwise this is a novel well worth your time.

“The Widow” is another anticipated novel from John Grisham, an “auto-buy” author for many loyal readers..

Grisham is the king of legal/courtroom thrillers, and the primary character is, of course, a familiar Grisham character, a small town general lawyer — the not totally likeable Simon Latch. His new client is an 80+ widow, whose late husband supposedly squirreled away stock in Coca-Cola and Walmart — possibly with a current value of $20 million or more. She has no friends, no family, no community ties and she has kept the amount of her self-worth very undercover, including from her estranged stepsons. But she’s convinced that the other lawyer who recently wrote her new will is planning on swindling her out of all that money. That’s why she’s seeking out Simon — who is “rescuing” Eleanor/Netty Barnett from one unscrupulous lawyer only to do the very same con on her. Simon is in a crumbling marriage and has growing illegal gambling debts. All he’ll have to do is wait for Netty to eventually die.

And just as you despise Simon more and more (the gambling details were pure drudgery for me, while the simmering divorce tensions were cringey), there are subtle hints that Netty might not have been entirely upfront either and maybe she’s just a lonely little old lady scamming her lawyer to take her out to exotic lunches on his credit card. After all, Simon has never been inside her house or seen proof of her brokerage accounts.

Simon manages to go down multiple rabbit holes, and the biggest one occurs when Eleanor seemingly dies of natural causes, but suddenly the absent estranged stepsons show up. An autopsy suggests murder. Simon might sometimes seem sleazy, but he’s not the murdering kind. Or is he? Grisham has already said this is his is first true whodunit and the author is not known for unreliable narrators. It’s Grisham’s talented skill for gripping narratives that propels “The Widow” to its twisty end. I’d have preferred less greed and more likeable character, but I still read a top notch Grisham tale. 4.5 stars

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO No eye colors mentioned at all.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Thank goodness there is no second mention of Hawksbill Mountain’s peak.

Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

This book does not have the punch of this author's other books. Simon Latch sets up a will for Eleanor Bennett, a widow that Simon believes is very rich. He ingratiates himself into her life, propelled by greed. This scenario continues for the majority of the book. When the widow dies, the book becomes more interesting to me. Do not mistake this book for one of his legal thrillers, though. Ho hum, not one of his best. This digital ARC was given to me by NetGalley and the publisher. This review is my honest opinion.

There is one word I would never have expected to use in a review of a Grisham novel….dull, but here it is. This is a major disappointment. The plot is great, but Grisham decided to pull it out way past its’ readability level. I think it’s called blowing air to the book? This is a hurricane

This is the story of a down on his luck lawyer, who sniffs wealth when a rich old lady walks into his office and asks him to rewrite her will. Ultimately, she has dies and he gets blamed.

In the intervening weeks, Grisham details their meetings over food with absurd amounts of information about the menu choices. OMG, at one point he adds a recipe. I was groaning! I won’t spoil the ending but it is so absurd and pulled from out of nowhere that I had to laugh.

So, even for a Grisham fan, I really was disappointed.

Sadly, a Grisham novel that might make you hungry but won’t provide much interest.

The story of a. small town lawyer who is barely surviving by writing wills for elderly people while balancing his gambling addiction and marital problems is the basis for this eminently readable and intriguing novel. The characters are well defined and, overall, this novel does not do much to dispel the thoughts of lawyers as ambulance chasers and unscrupulous in their dealings with the public and each other. The courtroom scenes are exciting and compelling and force the reader to stay up late to finish reading this excellent novel. I thank NetGalley and Doubleday (and John Grisham for writing another exceptional novel) for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

This one started off really great and I could see where motive for a murder was coming. An old lady claiming she has a suspiciously large amount of money and assets with no one to claim them.

This book lost me a bit in the middle. It seemed very repetitive and was just describing the lawyers life. I felt it should have been cut down about 50-100 pages as it seemed unnecessary.

It picked up again once the old lady died under suspicious circumstances and the trial that occurred after. I would give this book a 3.5 overall. I am rounding up, because I always like to be generous being one of the first reviewers of a book, but I do think this book should have been quite a bit shorter in length.

Thank you to netgalley for this free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Although I generally enjoy John Grisham's novels, this one did not rank among my favorites. Perhaps it’s because it was marketed as a whodunit rather than his typical legal thriller. I found myself indifferent to the fact that the murder didn’t occur until halfway through the book. However, I appreciated the legal thriller elements and found the main character, Simon Latch, to be a compelling and flawed individual. Unfortunately, the murder mystery aspect unfolded at a sluggish pace, which is why I rated it three stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Widow by John Grisham due to be published October 21, 2025.

Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, barely paying his bills. In walks wealthy widow, Eleanor Barnett, and offers Simon the opportunity of a lifetime. When Eleanor dies unexpectedly, will Simon be convicted, or is something else going on?

I have not read a John Grisham book for a while, and after reading this one, I realized how much I missed them! It had me hooked from the first page and kept me enthralled until the very last page. It has great character development that will keep you guessing (as I did) until the very surprising ending. I highly recommend this one if you love John Grisham as I do!

#NetGalley #JohnGrisham #TheWidow #DoubledayBooks

There isn't anything better than jumping into a new John Grisham novel. I was captivated from the first page. Simon Latch is an attorney who mostly files bankruptcy's for clients while he barely scrapes by. His marriage is on the rocks, his gambling debt is growing and his three kids are not all that approving of him.

Simon then gets a new client. An elderly woman who seems to have millions of dollars and no one to leave them too. Simon decides him writing her will and being the conservator of a big trust, paying him big bucks, would be in order. She agrees. So begins Simon becoming a lackey for his new client and she ends up dying from pneumonia or was it something else?

That is all I want to give away, but the story is a blast. The characters are what draw you in and the workings of the law keep you there. I loved everything about this book! Although, a follow up might be fun.

Thank you Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this early read. It is much appreciated.

What a great book. In the beginning I was wondering what direction this story was going to go in. Then the unthinkable happened. From then on it was all suspense that had me holding my breath at times. I would give this book six stars if I could.