SYNOPSIS
She kissed her daughter, turned out the light and entered her own room. Too late to run, she stood frozen as a figure stepped out from behind the door and a hand covered her mouth. Fear was a bomb in her chest ready to explode. Her children. They’d already lost their daddy; they couldn’t lose her too.
When young widow Éilis Lawlor disappears in the middle of the night, with her two little children asleep in their beds, it is a chilling case for Detective Lottie Parker. Since her husband’s tragic death, Éilis is all her children have, and when Lottie sees Éilis’s house keys and phone still lying on the kitchen counter, she is terrified for the vulnerable mother’s safety.
Then Éilis’s broken body is found by a nearby lake, wrapped in an unfamiliar yellow dress, her mouth sealed with duct tape – and Lottie’s worst fears are confirmed. Someone wanted this beautiful widow dead.
Desperate to find the person behind this brutal crime, Lottie discovers that Éilis was a member of a support group for widows. And when Jennifer, a close friend of Éilis’s from the group, is found on a rubbish heap, wrapped in a yellow dress, Lottie vows to get justice.
Lottie dives into Jennifer’s past, and learns that she had lived a reclusive life since her husband died. She hadn’t been seen at work for months and had sheltered inside her immaculate home, only emerging for meetings with the group. But when Lottie questions the other women about Jennifer’s isolation, they claim to know nothing.
Lottie is certain that the remaining widows are hiding something. Can she uncover the truth before another innocent life is lost?
When young widow Éilis Lawlor disappears in the middle of the night, with her two little children asleep in their beds, it is a chilling case for Detective Lottie Parker. Since her husband’s tragic death, Éilis is all her children have, and when Lottie sees Éilis’s house keys and phone still lying on the kitchen counter, she is terrified for the vulnerable mother’s safety.
Then Éilis’s broken body is found by a nearby lake, wrapped in an unfamiliar yellow dress, her mouth sealed with duct tape – and Lottie’s worst fears are confirmed. Someone wanted this beautiful widow dead.
Desperate to find the person behind this brutal crime, Lottie discovers that Éilis was a member of a support group for widows. And when Jennifer, a close friend of Éilis’s from the group, is found on a rubbish heap, wrapped in a yellow dress, Lottie vows to get justice.
Lottie dives into Jennifer’s past, and learns that she had lived a reclusive life since her husband died. She hadn’t been seen at work for months and had sheltered inside her immaculate home, only emerging for meetings with the group. But when Lottie questions the other women about Jennifer’s isolation, they claim to know nothing.
Lottie is certain that the remaining widows are hiding something. Can she uncover the truth before another innocent life is lost?
Title: Three Widows
Author: Patricia Gibney
Series: D.I. Lottie Parker #12
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication date: February 10, 2023
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Patricia is the million-copy bestselling author of the DI Lottie Parker series. She yearned to be a writer after reading Enid Blyton and Carolyn Keene and even wanted to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. She has now grown up (she thinks) but the closest she’s come to Nancy Drew is writing crime!
In 2009, after her husband died, she retired from her job and started writing seriously. Fascinated by people and their quirky characteristics, she always carries a notebook to scribble down observations.
Patricia also loves to paint in watercolour and lives in the Irish midlands with her children.
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Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BLD558TFsocial
REVIEW
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It’s been exactly six years since I read my first D. I. Lottie Parker book. We’ve had our ups and downs but we survived them, and six years later we’re now in her 12th case. I flew through it but I have to confess that there were so many moving parts in this mystery that my brain hurt a little bit 😅.
Éilis Lawlor is a young woman that, after a night out with her support group for widows, disappears leaving no trace behind. When a couple days later her body is found with injuries similar to those of another woman who was a member of the same group, Lottie and her team will immerse themselves in a complex case in which everyone is keeping secrets. Will they uncover them before there’s another body?
If you’re familiar with Patricia Gibney’s work, you already know what to expect from this latest installment in the series. She’s a master at delivering gripping police procedurals with plots so convoluted you can’t even begin to imagine how she’s gonna be able to fit all the puzzle pieces together. But she does it time and time again, and Three Widows was not the exception.
As I said at the beginning, there was a moment when I thought I’d have to do a diagram to keep straight all the character and their multiples ties to each other. Once again I take my hat off to the author for being able to create such a complicated story while keeping the reader on tenterhooks right until the end.
I was a bit let down this time about the villain and their motive. I don’t think all the hints we were given throughout the story about the big secret and the expectations they created, were met when it all was revealed. To me, it all felt too out of proportion.
Lottie has grown a lot since we first met her. She’s had her moments, going from belligerent and controlling to respectful of her team. I think now she’s back in the middle. It’s already time for her to let go of certain things. It’s so off putting how she talks to some members of her team, asking them for complete focus on the case when she’s the first one who has left everything hanging when it was her family on the line. Someone should tell her that she can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar! In her defense I’ll say she has a lot of open fronts.
I devoured this in 24 hours, so get ready to get completely hooked on yet another fantastic investigation by one of the queens of the police procedurals.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
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