Widow's Walk

Under the protection and guidance of Winston Mann, Annie Cameron flees a bad marriage along with her son and mother in law for Mico Island. There are strange goings on on the island, Winston believes his dead son was murdered by a woman dead 200 years. There does seem to be something malevolent in the house, and Annie is slowly subsumed by another, darker presence. A ghostly and creepy read

The Basics:
While her home is being renovated, Annie moves to a gorgeous island house with her family. The house comes with a “widow’s walk,” which is a fancy porch on the roof where the women of old could watch the seas for their returning sailor husbands, assuming they ever actually returned safely. Anyway, Annie and her family may not be alone in the house, and their guest may not be alive, if you catch my drift.

Cast of Characters:
ANNIE: She’s just always trying to do the right thing, but she’s no match for what this vacation has in store for her.

CHARLIE: Annie’s autistic son.

DAVID: Annie’s emotionally stunted asshat of a husband.

GRANDMA: She’s a smidge psychic, and she quickly recognizes the malevolent thoughts of the...dare I say it...ghost.

WINSTON and SYBIL MANN: The caretakers of the property who are still mourning the, uh, death of their young son, which happened almost thirty years ago.

Y’all, this is one of those books that practically reads itself. One minute, you’re opening it, and the next, you’re finished and closing it, while being left with that welcome satisfied feeling that only comes from reading a good book. The pacing is dead-on, the chill factor is off-the-charts, and the characters are well-drawn and compelling.

Yes, it’s spooky, but it’s a classical spooky, if that makes sense. It’s reminiscent of some of those sensational Victorian mysteries. Think Wilkie Collins. It’s very gothic in its style.

I highly recommend this book and anything else by Wendy Webb. She never disappoints.

Oh I am so bummed with this book. I was absolutely excited to read this book since I have loved all the other ones, but this one fell flat and it was so hard to follow. I loved the possessed/ghost concept, but there seemed to be too many red herrings to follow.

This book is about Annie Cameron who takes her son Charlie and her mother-in-law to live in Manchester House on Mico Island. She soon learns that her husband wants a divorce and thus she will be living there more long term. Little does she know the house has a dark past with an even darker presence. Soon Annie becomes possessed by this ghost and wants to harm her child.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Posted on Goodreads on 3/2/2020

A Ghost lives here

Annie and her son Charlie and her mother in law come to Manchester House to stay until renovations are done on their home. Than without any notice she receives a letter from her husband that he wants a divorce.

At first she thinks it is a good thing to be at Manchester House but strange things begin to happen. A lady all dressed in black, then a voice telling her things in her mind.

There is a ghost about at Manchester House. The Mann's her neighbors Syble and Winston take an interest in Charlie.

Charlie draws strange pictures, his grandmother senses he is in danger. A large storm comes, and events take place which threaten the safety of all parties.

Who is the threatening ghost? What secrets are Syble and Winston keeping? Who is the lady all dressed in black? A boy in the storm with only socks on his feet fleeing in the woods. The neighbor locked in the crawl space. A troubled mother possessed by the ghost walking on the Widows Walk. A house in flames. Who will survive?

The answers lay within the pages of this book. If you like ghost stories you will love this book. I recommend it.

Thanks to Wendy Webb, The Wild Rose Press, Inc. and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review a copy of the book.

Wendy Webb never disappoints. Another creepy ghostly read. Loved it and high recommend it. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

With a troubled marriage, Annie brings her autistic young son and mother-in-law, who is slowly becoming senile, to a small island. The house they rent though has a dark secret, and Annie is slowly possessed by the dark force. The island holds two other women who had also succumbed and ended up contributing to the death of their sons too. Now it is Annie’s turn. A modern gothic vibe, that was hard to put down. I enjoyed this one, as it was not really horror, but more dark suspense. Just wish more details of the other women and also her soon to be ex-husband would have been given. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book and author.

I am a fan of Supernatural Mysteries and Wendy Webb is one of my favorite authors. This book was no exception. The story starts with Annie Cameron, her son Charlie and her mother-in-law coming to live at Manchester House while their home is being renovated, or so they think, after some not so good news from her husband, it appears that Annie and her family will be having a longer stay. With an autistic son, a mother-in-law suffering from dementia and.a bad marriage, well not the best time to move to a possible haunted house. Annie keeps seeing a lady in black. Charlie draws disturbing pictures and Grandma senses something is off in her lucid moments. Who or what is haunting the house and Annie? Can the dark secrets of the house be revealed and Annie and her fragile family saved? Another great Gothic ghost story to add to Ms. Webb’s repertoire. If you like a good ghost story without blood and gore, this is the book for you, I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley, The Wild Rose Press and the author Wendy Webb for a chance to review this book.

This gothic mystery/ghost story is fast paced and full of suspense. The characters are interesting, especially Charlie and Grandma. I wish there had been more details about past events. I also wish there had been more details about David. I liked the ending and the fact that it leaves you wondering. There were several passages that gave me the chills and made me want to look over my shoulder. Overall it's an intriguing and eerie read.

Told by her husband that their home is being renovated, Annie Cameron boards a small boat with her autistic son and her husband's dementia-touched mother to be ferried to their temporary rental house on Mico Island. Her husband, however, does not come with them claiming to need to stay behind to oversee construction.



It's a beautiful home that awaits them. Columns and picture windows grace the front of the house. A verandah encircles the entire house and on top, a widow's walk where the wife of a sailor could watch and wait for her sea bearing husband to return home. Yet, as neighbor and boatman Mr. Mann tells her, there's no door to the widow's walk. Annie's spirits are buoyed by the stunning house and she is determined to make the best of it — an adventure for them all.



There's something malevolent on the island though. Mr. Mann believes that the death of his son thirty years earlier was caused by the evil spirit of a woman who killed her own son and then burned herself to death. He does his best to keep this information from Annie, but strange things start to happen to her family. Charlie starts drawing ominous pictures. Grandmother, during lucid times, believes that she is seeing portents of what's to come. Annie starts hearing whispers and thoughts intrude that aren't her own.



Widow's Walk has all the elements of a great supernatural read. A new start in a new town. An isolated location. A mysterious death. A possible haunting. A mysterious woman in black. Yet, something was off in the telling. It never made it past feeling generic. While I enjoyed the characters, especially Charlie and his link with Grandma, the supernatural never manifested itself in the way that I had hoped. The most chilling part was that of a fuzzy green toy given to Charlie by his mother: Mr. Giggles. While there were certainly other paranormal things that declared themselves, that this is the most memorable speaks volumes. Those who don't typically dip their toes into horror will probably find Widow's Walk to be terrifying. This reader, however, didn't.

Not a real fan of supernatural but this book did keep me wondering what was going to happen next to Annie

Annie Cameron’s life is turned upside down when her husband ships her off plus her autistic son and her mother-in-law to Mico Island. Thinking it is only temporary, Annie tries to make the best of it but is devastated when she discovers the truth. Strange occurrences within the house creeps out Annie but nothing like the vivid dreams. Her son begins drawing eerie drawings and her mother-in-law senses an angry ghost. The more Annie investigates the house and its dreadful secrets, the more Annie and her family are in danger. Can Annie do what the other mothers have been unable to do or will she soon be haunting the Widow’s Walk?

I love a good ghost story and for the most part, Widow’s Walk is a modern gothic supernatural tale. The plot moves at a nice steady pace, slow enough to build the suspense but quick enough to not drag. The characters were intriguing and I especially liked Charlie. I loved the history behind the Widow’s Walk and the historical sub-plot of the hauntings of the house Annie is living in. I found Annie a solid main character and sympathized with her situation. Her emotions are well-conceived and realistic. The haunting part was fantastic, though I wished there was more attention paid to the other women who’ve been possessed. Their stories would’ve added a layer of depth to the overall plot. If you’re looking for a supernatural suspense, pick up Widow’s Walk today.

My Rating: 4 stars

I'm not quite sure what is going on here, but I requested this book assuming it was written by the same Wendy Webb who wrote The Fate of Mercy Alban and The Tale of Halcyon Crane. However, Wendy herself has said on Goodreads that she is not the author of this book. If you click on the author profile for this person on Goodreads you will see that there is no profile. I'm still willing to review it, but since the genre is so similar to what real Wendy Webb writes and the name is exactly the same, it seems misleading to readers. There should at least be a middle initial or something to let people know this is a different person.

If you pick ANY book by Wendy Webb - you are a winner!
She has such a talent for great story telling! In her books, including this one the story always has twists and turns and let me tell you - there is plenty in this book to keep you guessing, enjoying and deal with.
Her paranormal theme in the book makes your spine shiver, but you don't want to stop reading till the end.
All of her books are great, including this one!
Some authors just write for writing, this author writes to entertain!

I can always count on Wendy Webb books when I'm looking for something creepy! And this was no exception! Dark, creepy and oh-so-good! Great writing, intriguing characters and a fantastic finish!

2.75 stars, rounded up to 3

Annie brings her son and mother-in-law to Mico Island to stay while their house is being renovated, expecting her husband to join them for weekends. Instead, she get divorce papers. The house she has rented for her family has a dark history of death and it winds its way into Annie, putting everyone in danger.

I had high hopes for this book and it started well. The characters were interesting and the setting was appealing. But, Webb introduces too many characters and tries to do too much in a short timeline with her story. By the end, I found myself not really caring about most of the characters and the climax of the plot was ho-hum. It was a quick and easy read, but not one I would recommend.

Thanks to #NetGalley for providing an arc for me to review.

Many Thanks to Net Galley, Wild Rose Press and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

Wendy Webb is an established author in the paranormal genre with excellent spooky stories set around huge mansions or old haunted houses like The Vanishing, Daughters Of The Lake etc. As a fan of this genre, I have read almost all the works published by the author.

Widow’s Walk is a book in the same genre, the cover image of the book prominently displaying Wendy Webb’s name. BUT fair warning dear readers, both authors are totally different and I feel the publisher might need to change the author’s display name to differentiate between the two. I feel it is an injustice to both the authors when there’s no particular distinction betwixt the two. A reader might expect one author and inadvertently read the other and feel a disconnect and be disappointed.

Widow’s Walk is a ghost story focused on the concept of possession more than any ghostly chills. Manchester Place in Mico Island is haunted by a tragedy that took place almost 200 years before but the echoes of the past have made its presence known over the years and the current owners Sybil and Winston Mann along with Eleanor Trippett have lived with the grief ever since.

The story follows the trials faced by Annie who has rented the place for a short vacation and her son Charlie and their psychic grandmother. As Annie begins to hear voices things escalate to a fever pitch amidst the raging storm placing Charlie’s life in grave peril.

Widow’s Walk has a solid plot which I feel could have developed into much tighter and more concise spooky thriller. There are elements of it that are quite interesting like the grandmother and grandson talking in their minds but the climax where everyone gets involved in the ghostly menace didn’t feel conclusive. The reveal of Sybil’s past, likewise was lukewarm when I expected some fireworks. I loved how the author has characterized Charlie and his special ability to talk thru pictures and the lovable bond shared between him and his grandmother.

This is no spine tingling scared to the bone thriller but the author has captured the madness and evil intentions of the ghost wonderfully.


This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/; Amazon India, Goodreads, and Twitter.