The Missing Widow by L.G. Davis
Genre: Domestic thriller, Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 14th October 2022
Published: 18th October 2022
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
I thought we would be safe here. But I was wrong.
My son Clark and I live in a beautiful cabin outside a rural town, somewhere nobody will find us. I could not have found a more perfect place to start over, shielded by the trees and far away from prying eyes. But when I find a newspaper clipping on my porch, it drives fear into my bones. Widow wanted for murder screams the headline. And that’s my face in the picture, circled with red marker. I look out into the forest, but I can’t see anyone. How did they find me? And what do they want?
I don’t know where to run next, or how to make sure my son is safe. And deep down I know the only way I can finally be free is to find out what really happened that night a year ago, when my dear husband Brett died.
I’m sure I didn’t kill him… did I? But that night is a blur, and as I try to prove my innocence, the dark secrets I uncover force me to question everything I believed. The people I trusted most are not who I thought they were. And the person who is coming for me is very close to home…
An utterly heart-pounding and twisty psychological thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Behind Closed Doors and The Girl on the Train.
Previously published under the title The Widow's Cabin.
MY THOUGHTS:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for L.G. Davis' tense domestic thriller THE MISSING WIDOW.
"I thought we would be safe here. But I was wrong..."
Liz Davis stormed her way to my attention just a couple of months ago and since then I have read four tense and exciting thrillers penned by her. I love her ability to enthrall you with her prose, reeling you in and before you know it it's late, dinner is burnt and hubby is hungry. Well, maybe not the burnt dinner bit but you do tend to get caught up in the story and not want to put it down until the end. Unfortunately, real life has a habit of getting in the way as it did this time and took me far longer than usual to finish it. While I'm not sure it is quite as enthralling as the previous ones I've devoured, it is still a compelling and intriguing read with an explosive ending.
We meet Meghan, happily married to Brett of the Black Oyster Luxury Hotel empire created by his philanthropic father Cole Wilton. He is charming and wealthy and Meghan fell head over heels for him almost at once. Their whirlwind romance ended in their wedding six months later. But there is a fly in the ointment in that Brett's parents - Cole and Nora - refuse to accept Meghan and the relationship between the in laws is strained to say the least.
Five years and a beautiful son later, Meghan and Brett are enduring the worst possible battle. Brett has stomach cancer and refuses treatment, and without it he only has months to live. Meghan can't believe why he won't accept chemo but he is adamant. But he has a plan. And when the time comes, he asks her a favour she couldn't possibly fulfill: he wants her to help him die. But she can't; she won't.
Distressed at being faced with the dilemma of watching him suffer and helping him die, Meghan leaves the house in tears. She left Brett alive, though in obvious pain, but hours later when she returns he is dead. The syringe she drew up earlier but couldn't follow through, lays discarded on the floor...empty. Did Brett somehow muster enough strength to administer the fatal dose himself? Or did someone else come to his aid?
As soon as his death is discovered, his parents immediately turn and point the finger at her, adamant that she killed him for his money. And so begins the story of this widow on the run, taking Ashton with her to start a new life away from the one they knew before. She ends up in a small town called Willow Creek, complete with new identities - Zoe and Clark.
A year later, she may have a new life, but her past is never far away. She is constantly look over her shoulder and doing everything to keep her son safe. And then one day, her face is on the news alongside the allegations that she murdered her husband before fleeing with their son. All at once, Meghan/Zoe knows her days are numbered. But she knows she didn't kill Brett, did she? The night she ran to escape his pleas is a blur and she isn't sure of what she's guilty anymore. But one thing she does know that is to prove her innocence, Meghan/Zoe must find out the truth of what really happened...but in the process she uncovers the dark secrets that threaten to destroy everything she thought she knew. And she learns the horrible truth that people she trusted are not who she thought they were.
And there is someone very close to home that is coming for her...
THE MISSING WIDOW was certainly different from what I expected, which I thought was going to be the usual did-she-didn't-she plot judging by the premise. But it's so much more than that. Admittedly, it took me a while to get into it as I had a lot of personal stuff going on making concentration difficult, but I was pleased to discover it did pick up nearer the end and it was a real race to uncover the truth that turned into a cat and mouse game which ramped up the tension.
There were a few niggles I found though. What happened to Luke? He was terrorising her for so long and then suddenly...nothing. And why was he terrorising her? If there was a legitimate reason, it wasn't really revealed. And the police officer, Roland, who showed an interest in Zoe. There was something of an innuendo regarding him but I failed to actually believe it given how it was revealed and without anything to back it up. He just sort of disappeared also.
And the ending...I mean the final twist at the very end. I'm not sure I like it as I thought the story would have sufficed perfectly well as it was before that point. BUT (...I say this because this is Liz Davis we're talking about...) I know she loves to add that extra twist right at the very end to leave readers thinking what will happen from here? Every book of hers I've read has ended on something of a cliffhanger and this one is no different. I'm not sure I liked it, but I'm processing it even as I write, so maybe it's a brilliant end after all? Like I said, it is Liz Davis.
THE MISSING WIDOW is certainly an exciting domestic thriller that readers will find difficult to put down, even if you do have to suspend belief at times...but then again, that's the beauty of reading. Nothing is real and everything is relative. Another compelling and explosive read by this exciting author.
I would like to thank #LGDavis, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMissingWidow in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
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She now lives in Vienna, Austria, with her husband and two children.
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