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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been better, December 31, 2007
THE WIDOW by Carla Neggers
December 31, 2007
Rating: 3/5 Stars
In THE WIDOW, Abigail Browning is a woman whose husband was murdered during their honeymoon. She has returned to the scene of the crime seven years later, after receiving anonymous phone calls leading her back to the island where they honeymooned. Abigail is now a detective, and is much more experienced than she had been when she was a young bride.
The story is set up through flashbacks and memories related to by other characters. While some readers may enjoy the story, I found it a bit convoluted, with too many characters giving a sense of a soap opera type of narrative. The ending seemed forced to me, although I was glad to finally find out "who dunnit". What I did like about the book was the near-gothic feel I got from the various story lines and the history behind the main characters, all who are tied up or related to the murder of Abigail's husband, as well as the death of another character's sister many years ago.
THE WIDOW isn't a bad read. However, readers shouldn't expect anything more than an average murder mystery on par with a TV series murder mystery.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
fabulous private investigative tale, October 9, 2006
In Mount Desert, Maine, FBI Special Agent Chris Browning and his wife Boston homicide detective Abigail are on their honeymoon when someone murders him. Seven years later, the homicide is unsolved and classified as a cold case by local authorities.
Thirtyish Abigail has not been able to find closure as long as her spouse's killer walks free. She decides she has waited too long so she resolves to return to the killing scene to investigate. She begins questioning locals starting with Owen Garrison, who had informed her that Chris was dead. Most of the locals offer nothing while the summer people offer less. However though emotionally dying with every step, Abigail refuses to back off even when someone tries to kill her.
THE WIDOW is a fabulous private investigative tale (Abigail may be a cop but she is on her own) in which the heroine seeks closure, but finds a myriad of plausible suspects instead. The Maine background adds to the feeling of New England stoic silence that seems to hammer at Abigail's inquiries. Though a romantic subplot with Owen seems more a throw in to fans of that genre, Carla Neggers provides a strong thriller.
Harriet Klausner
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kind of slow, but a good book, December 2, 2006
Abigail Browning's husband Chris was killed four days after their wedding.
Seven years later she starts receiving anominous phone calls about his death. Being a homicide detective now, she has gotten nowhere in the past with her husband's murder.
Abigail decides to return to Maine, the place where Chris was murdered. No one in the town wants her there, and they don't want her stirring up old memories. The only friends she has there is an old Detective named Lou Beeler, and the hunky neighbor that found her husbands body, Owen Garrison.
Abigail continues to get phone calls from a stranger, gets attacked, and has items left on her doorstep that lead her to believe she is getting close to the killer.
The book was slow getting started, but the ending was good, and some of the characters really made the book.
At least this book had an ending without a lot of loose ends.
Good Read!
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