The Other Widow

Everybody’s luck runs out. This time it could be theirs . . .

It isn’t safe. That’s what Joe tells her when he ends their affair—moments before their car skids off an icy road in a blinding snowstorm and hits a tree. Desperate to keep her life intact—her job, her husband, and her precious daughter, Lily—Dorrie will do everything she can to protect herself, even if it means walking away from the wreckage. Dorrie has always been a good actress, pretending to be someone else: the dutiful daughter, the satisfied wife, the woman who can handle anything. Now she’s going to put on the most challenging performance of her life. But details about the accident leave her feeling uneasy and afraid. Why didn’t Joe’s airbag work? Why was his car door open before the EMTs arrived? And now suddenly someone is calling her from her dead lover’s burner phone. . . .

Joe’s death has left his wife in free fall as well. Karen knew Joe was cheating—she found some suspicious e-mails. Trying to cope with grief is devastating enough without the constant fear that has overtaken her—this feeling she can’t shake that someone is watching her. And with Joe gone and the kids grown, she’s vulnerable . . . and on her own.

Insurance investigator Maggie Devlin is suspicious of the latest claim that’s landed on her desk—a man dying on an icy road shortly after buying a lucrative life insurance policy. Maggie doesn’t believe in coincidences. The former cop knows that things—and people—are never what they seem to be.

As the fates of these three women become more tightly entwined, layers of lies and deception begin to peel away, pushing them dangerously to the edge . . . closer to each other . . . to a terrifying truth . . . to a shocking end. 

I was sent this book by Harper Collins Canada as part of their First Look program. In exchange for the free book I was asked to review it and give my honest opinion on it.

They even made it look pretty for me!

I was so excited to receive this book from Harper Collins I immediately bumped it to next in line on my read list, plus I really wanted to get it read and give them a review by their deadline. (today. Oops. I hope they give me the weekend as a grace period :/ )

The premise of the novel sounded really intriguing so I looked forward to reading it and hopped in as soon as I had the chance. Unfortunately, I was a bit slow going at the beginning and I didn't really get socially invested in any of the characters, so being concerned with what was happening to them was sort of a problem. Part of the reason I believe this is is because the main characters, the women that revolve the narration of the story, are pretty cookie-cutter. They are typical women in the roles they navigate through the story. Karen and Dorrie are down-right boring, but at least Maggie had her moments of being interesting (I particularly liked her taste in music ;) ). I think I may have liked it better if Maggie narrated the whole book, however, that would not have been very effective for the progression of the plot. 

Once the character development was over with, the story did start to get a bit more interesting. The compelling clues that were mentioned, the questions that many of the characters ask themselves or others about certain plot points keeps the story moving in a forward motion, the problem was that the story was interesting, but not particularly engaging. I was never "on the edge of my seat" like I would expect from a murder mystery novel, and I think that goes back to not being very invested in the main characters. 

The story was well thought out, when the points of the case are all patched together it makes sense and is relatively satisfying, however, the ending did not feel quite as satisfying. After the climax of the story, Crawford attempts to wrap up all the loose ends, but we are told what becomes of everyone involved by other people and I didn't find those explanations to be convincing enough. There are many justifications that just did not seem to be enough, and I believe that it can only be attributed to either weak writing or a thinly veiled attempt to set up a sequel or series. 

Perhaps this book just wasn't meant for me, maybe there are people out there that enjoy slower moving mystery novels, just like how some people prefer their food as bland as possible, unfortunately I am not one of them. One of the definite positive points of this novel is that it makes sense and I didn't find any overwhelming plot holes, and that is what often makes or breaks a book for me. It was a well thought out book, I just wish it had moved a bit quicker and evoked a bit more emotion from me. So this book ends up with just a solid "OK" in my opinion.

I appreciated Harper Collins sending me this novel, and I hope to get more from them in the future, because I would love to give a glowing recommendation rather than a mediocre one. :/