Book Review – The Good Widow by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Goodreads Synopsis:

Elementary school teacher Jacqueline “Jacks” Morales’s marriage was far from perfect, but even in its ups and downs it was predictable, familiar. Or at least she thought it was…until two police officers showed up at her door with devastating news. Her husband of eight years, the one who should have been on a business trip to Kansas, had suffered a fatal car accident in Hawaii. And he wasn’t alone.

For Jacks, laying her husband to rest was hard. But it was even harder to think that his final moments belonged to another woman—one who had left behind her own grieving and bewildered fiancé. Nick, just as blindsided by the affair, wants answers. So he suggests that he and Jacks search for the truth together, retracing the doomed lovers’ last days in paradise.

Now, following the twisting path of that fateful road, Jacks is learning that nothing is ever as it seems. Not her marriage. Not her husband. And most certainly not his death.

My Opinion:

This book is a quick, easy read (less than 300 pages) that gets your attention right from the first chapter.

Jacqueline “Jacks” Morales is a 4th grade school teacher and husband James is in sales. James travels a lot and has been having an affair, unknown to Jacks, with Dylan. Dylan Matthew is a 24-year-old waitress who is engaged to be married to Nick Ford, a fireman. The lives of these four dramatically changes with a simple knock on the door.

“Are you Mrs. Morales? Wife of James Morales?”

The book is told from the perspective of the two women, Jacks and Dylan. I really enjoyed how the story unfolds by alternating the chapters: Jacks Before, Dylan Before, and Jacks After. I found it to be a fresh approach in storytelling. I really like that is was strictly told from the point of view of these two women, not the men in their lives.

The first two-thirds of this story is about love, loss, betrayal, the search for answers, and closure. In the last third of the book the suspense picks up, the story becomes more intense, and I flew through it to see how it would end.

I didn’t love, nor did I dislike this book; it was a good book. With a large part of the book taking place in Maui, it made the perfect poolside read. I’m glad I read it and look forward to reading future books by these two authors.

Thank you NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke for the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest opinion.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Genre: Mystery

Series: None

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publication Date: 6/1/2017

Pages: 290 (eBook)

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Happy Reading!