The Widow by John Grisham

 

My thoughts

I throughly enjoyed this book. John Grisham has talent for pulling a reader in. This one seemed to be dragging until I realized that without all of it you had nothing. As the story shapes and molds, you have to know exactly who Eleanor Barnett truly was. To see who Simon Latch was. You had to know all the details.

This book had me holding my breath. Not a thriller but a what is going on here. Who did this awful thing. Will it turn out to be the lawyer? 

Greed pulled Simon in. Murder had him wishing he had never met Eleanor. This was a chance of a lifetime for Simon. He was in a horrible marriage. In the process of divorce. He has three children who he loves with all his heart. His law practice is barely keeping him afloat and he seems to gamble to much. But Simon is a good guy. Isn't he?

As this story progresses you find out a lot about Simon and Eleanor. Also about how many innocent people are wrongfully convicted in this country. You learn a little about the law and a lot about how prosecutors and cops consider a case closed once they find a defendant. Once they say you are guilty their jobs are basically over. Well not the prosecutor. They have a lot to do and will go to any measure to convict.

You get to know the people in this story. Simon's children. His exwife. His girlfriend from college. And the Widow Eleanor Barnett. You also get a good look at her two stepsons. They are true pieces of work. There is a lot that goes on in hospitals that you learn about. Maybe more than you want to know.

I did enjoy this novel. It was an eyeopener for me in so many ways. I thought I had it all figured out but I was way off base. Of course maybe Mr Grisham planned it that way. ha ha

Thank you to the publisher for the ARCs. Both a hardcopy and an ecopy. This book was very good. 

4.5 stars 

About

Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it.

Once he hooks the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack. When she is hospitalized after a car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.

Simon knows he’s innocent. But he also knows the circumstantial evidence is against him, and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. To save himself, he must find the real killer….