REVIEW: The Widow's Boyfriend by E.V. Seymour

The Widow's Boyfriend by E.V. Seymour

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 19th August 2023

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Published: 17th August 2023

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Verity’s widowed mother has a new boyfriend. But is he really all he seems?

Verity finds out her mother is secretly dating a man she met online. After five long years of widowhood, Eleanor is finally happy — and back to her old self.

But Verity’s suspicions are aroused when she meets the charming, seemingly perfect Roger Scott-Jefferies. Something about him doesn’t ring true.

Verity starts asking questions about her mother’s new man. And she doesn’t like the answers. At the same time, strange things start happening.

A cryptic postcard turns up, which her mother refuses to explain. Then a dead bird is left on the doorstep. Surveillance photos of Eleanor, Verity, and her brother are delivered to the house.

As Verity peels back the layers of her mother’s past, she realizes that Eleanor has been keeping dangerous secrets.

And someone is determined to keep those secrets hidden.

Verity is about to find out that some truths are best left buried.

MY THOUGHTS:

Firstly, I had to chuckle when I began this book having just finished Daniel Hurst's "The Doctor's Widow", only to dive into yet another tale in which another widow has herself a new man by the name of Roger. And one who isn't all he seems. The similarities made me smile. But there, any similarities ended.

When Verity learns that her mother is seeing someone after five years of widowhood she is immediately concerned. Then she meets Roger and her fears are allayed...for a short time...until she does some digging. And it appears that Roger Scott-Jeffries isn't all he seems. OK, so her first impressions is that he is hot. Too hot to be her mother's new boyfriend. And then upon further digging, she uncovers a few inconsistencies. When she confronts her mother with them, she bats them away unconcerned. But Verity will not be swayed.

Then a few strange things begin to happen. An odd postcard addressed to someone else, a decapitated bird on the doorstep and then an envelope containing photos of her family arrive through the post-flap. Now things are beginning to feel threatening. What is Roger's game? And how long has he been stalking her family? Because some of these photos were taken before he came on the scene!

With her sister-in-law cheering her on, Verity stops at nothing to uncover the truth about her mother's boyfriend, despite the inevitable distance it puts between mother and daughter. But what she doesn't factor in is the inevitable Pandora's box she opens...and the long buried secrets that she unearths. 

What then ensues is a series of events that leads Verity down a rabbit hole from which she can find no escape, putting both her life and her mother's in danger. The question then becomes more not what is Roger hiding than what secrets has Eleanor been keeping?

I really enjoyed this story, though admittedly I preferred the first half to the second. With Part Two, the story took on a whole different meaning as new secrets began to emerge making Verity question all she thought she knew about her mother. I loved Seymour's style. It was funny and witty, which I love thrown into a story, especially the internal dialogue. Lines like "Alex went quiet. Dido went ape-shit." just made me chuckle.

The plot is simple enough to start with. What it leads to is far more complex with tales of institutional abuse, murder and kidnap to name a few. The pace is steady throughout though with its snappy chapters and intricate threads weaving their way to a satisfying conclusion. I did feel it got a little off track and dragged a little in the second part but on the whole I was impressed by this author and I like her witty "internal dialogue" style. I will be sure to keep a look out for her in future.

I would like to thank #EVSeymour, #JoffeBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #TheWidowsBoyfriend in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Born in West Bromwich and with her family roots deep in the Black Country, Eve has spent much of her life 'on the run'; she has probably lived in more houses in various parts of the country than most people eat dinners. Currently settled in Herefordshire with her husband, she often has a houseful of offspring, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, partners and a growing tribe of little ones.

When not writing she can be found playing the piano, enjoying a glass of wine and/or reading, and has a particularly soft spot for historical and spy fiction.

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