I am delighted to share my review of The Widow’s Weeds by Allie Creswell. I do love this author’s books, her writing is wonderful and always captures me. This is the third book in her Wdiows series and it is a wonderful one.

One evening, Viola goes missing.
The explanation—a visit to her son—seems doubtful, and her women friends’ messages go unanswered. A spiky, caustic woman, Viola’s heavy drinking makes her tiresome company, but they know nothing of her troubled past.
Yet, Maisie misses Viola. Recently, their shared love of gardening has almost blunted Viola’s barbs, and Maisie is much in need of a close friend. Her house is a building site, her daughter’s wedding is looming. Most worrying is her friendship with handsome, formidable Oliver Harrington. She cannot work out what he wants from it, nor, really, what she wants, either. She barely has time to wonder where Viola has gone.
As Maisie grapples with her present-day preoccupations, Viola’s tale unfolds: a dark landscape of tragedy and suffering. Their two stories collide in an explosive finale. Can the two women rescue each other?
This third book in the Widows series stands alone. A story of weeds and wildflowers, tenacity and tenderness, and containing potentially upsetting details of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and bereavement, this is ultimately an affirmation of the strength and power of women’s friendships.

MY REVIEW

This is the third book in the Widows series, you don’t have to read these in order. Having read them myself I can say they are wonderful ones so it would be a shame not to read them.

This is an author who really knows how to draw you into a story, and all of these books in this series have been fabulous. The author has focused this book on Viola and Maisie. Viola is quite a snappy woman and seems very different to the others, so the author decided to show us more of her and what had happened to make her so. Maisie is the owner of a large house, it is being renovated and she is also dealing with her daughter’s marriage and various other things that her other friends are dealing with.

The widows are a mix of women who have come together in various ways, not all widows, but are single and are actually quite vulnerable. The author uses a wonderful analogy in this story to show how, as individuals, they are alone and not as strong, but as they come together they become stronger. The message behind this story is one that brings the struggles of single people who have been through hardships of one sort or another and rather than being victims, they become survivors.

I adored how the author has brought various stories out in this book. There are also mentions of domestic violence, and how people can be easily manipulated when they are unsure of how they should act. Being part of a couple is something different when you suddenly find yourself alone, you suddenly have to work out who you are as an individual.

The author does not shy away from bringing some tough subjects to the table with this story and with mentions of abuse, addiction and bereavement and she does it in quite an honest but also compassionate way. The problems are mentioned and how they have an effect on others, but also about how people come to terms with things that happen in their lives.

The author shows that there is enjoyment to be found after a tragic or heartbreaking event, but it is hard to deal with this if you are by yourself. I am a big believer in things happening at the right time, and that you have to be ready in yourself to deal with things as they come around. I know personally about living in a violent relationship. Reading the author’s story I was able to see things that had happened to me, and the author has made this a very relatable and also realistic story. I have moved on and so for me, the story did not bring up any issues. They did however highlight how you never really know someone until they are able to relate some of their experiences.

This is such a wonderful book, it is not all doom and gloom, instead, it carries the air of something better coming, of finding the belief that you can change and make a difference. A fabulous story for fans of contemporary fiction and one I would definitely recommend.

Check out the other stops on Allie’s Tour…

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