Thank you Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC and Doubleday, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Widow in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Doubleday / PRH Audio
Published: October 21, 2025
Summary:
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….
My thoughts:
It’s been a minute since I’ve picked up a John Grisham book. I remember being in high school–yes, I am totally dating myself here 😂 when I first discovered his legal thrillers and loving them! So of course I had to see what this latest one was all about…and I definitely enjoyed it!
This book reminds me why I love legal thrillers, and of course all good whodunit! And has me asking myself why I don’t read more legal thrillers?!? I found our MC, attorney Simon Latch to be the type of character that grows on you. He’s a morally-grey character, often making choices that are questionable, but when put in a tough spot and everything that is important to him is put on the line, you can’t help but root for the guy.
Audio thoughts:
This was narrated by Michael Beck, who is a new-to-me narrator. I thought he did a great job bringing the story to life, effortlessly giving voice to all the characters and his pacing was just right.
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