The Widow's Weeds - Widows 3
Formats: E-Book, Paperback
Ages: 18+
"The worlds created and the characters are so realistic, vivid and relatable that you care about what happens."
"Allie Cresswell is a gifted observer of character and place as well as having a sensitive touch when writing about deeply disturbing subject matter."
"Gently paced but hard hitting, this it is a book that will stay with you."
"Lives are in turmoil, but it is the saving grace of friendship and hope that wins out in the end."
One evening, Viola goes missing.
The explanation—a visit to her son—seems doubtful, and her women friends’ messages go unanswered. A spiky, caustic woman, Viola’s heavy drinking makes her tiresome company, but they know nothing of her troubled past.
Yet, Maisie misses Viola. Recently, their shared love of gardening has almost blunted Viola’s barbs, and Maisie is much in need of a close friend. Her house is a building site, her daughter’s wedding is looming. Most worrying is her friendship with handsome, formidable Oliver Harrington. She cannot work out what he wants from it, nor, really, what she wants, either. She barely has time to wonder where Viola has gone.
As Maisie grapples with her present-day preoccupations, Viola’s tale unfolds: a dark landscape of tragedy and suffering. Their two stories collide in an explosive finale. Can the two women rescue each other?
This third book in the Widows series stands alone. A story of weeds and wildflowers, tenacity and tenderness, and containing potentially upsetting details of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and bereavement, this is ultimately an affirmation of the strength and power of women’s friendships.
Reviews
As we have come to expect, Ms Cresswell’s new offering displays her usual impressive command of language and imagery, pulling us into the world of several very disparate widows. This, the third in the series, focuses mostly on the lives of Maisie, rather enjoying her widowhood and Viola, a troubled soul, the reasons for which are uncovered as we read. The lives of these two ladies and the various other women have become intertwined, the dynamic continually changing. Emotionally astute as ever, the author delicately and sensitively deals with the topics of domestic abuse and sexuality in a highly insightful manner. Whether you have read the first two books in the series or not, though I would recommend that you did, I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy it as a stand alone novel. Hopefully, these characters will be revisited in the future so that we can continue to follow their respective stories.
Having read and enjoyed The Hoarder’s Widow and The Widow’s Mite, this third book of the trilogy, The Widow’s Weeds, didn’t disappoint at all. The story focuses on snappish Viola whose life, we discover, has been far from easy, and Maisie, who is finally nearing the end of her house renovations and trying hard not to worry about the forthcoming wedding of her daughter or the intentions of local landlord, Oliver. Allie is a gifted observer of character and place as well as having a sensitive touch when writing about deeply disturbing subject matter; particularly the shocking insight to Viola’s first marriage. Lives are in turmoil, but it is the saving grace of friendship and hope that wins out in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend reading the other two books in the series too.
