Title: Three Widows
Author: Patricia Gibney
Series: D.I. Lottie Parker #12
Release Date: February 10, 2023
Length: 507 pages
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller
***My Review***
Doesn’t the title alone imply that this book will hold your interest throughout its pages with its dark and twisted tale?
Well, that description isn’t entirely inaccurate… With an intriguing crime, perceptive investigators, and a compelling narrative, Three Widows by Patricia Gibney is a real page-turner. Plus, readers get an insight into the lives of police detectives, which are complicated, ranging from dealing with a parent who is developing dementia to child custody issues and alcoholism.
Life After Loss is a group of four ladies, Orla, Eilis, Helena, and Jennifer, who provide support for widows. Before any more women go missing, Detectives Lottie Parker and Mark Boyd must determine why one of the ladies was kidnapped after her body is discovered lying on waste ground.
Detective Lottie Parker worries the worst when she discovers Eilis Lawlor’s phone and keys in the kitchen after she disappears from her home, leaving her two young children behind. When a corpse is discovered and a murder inquiry starts, her worries come true.
After learning that Eilis belonged to an organization for widows, Lottie quickly finds cause to suspect that Eilis’ participation in this group may have contributed to her demise when another young lady and fellow member is discovered dead. Clearly, the other widows in the group know more than they are letting on, but can Lottie get through to them before more people pass away?
Three distinct portions of the plot are woven together in Three Widows by Patricia Gibney, each of which adds to the success of this outstanding new Lottie Parker novel. The primary murder narrative takes unexpected turns, taking you on one path before surprising you with circumstances that leave you wondering about the killer’s motivations and who it might possibly be.
A lot is going on in The Three Widows, especially with the narrative and the subplots, it must be said. This makes sense given that this is book 12 in a series. And readers of the first novel must have enjoyed returning to Lottie, Boyd, Kirby, and other characters’ lives.
It most likely resembled meeting up with old acquaintances and hearing about their lives. Although I truly like the flashbacks to the past and the advancements in the subplot, I found it challenging to tie everything together. Most likely as a result of my lack of reading the earlier books.
Additionally, the plot seemed extremely difficult and the book seemed unnecessarily long at first. The police team appears to be perpetually confused or fighting one another. I had to force my self to continue, which was an excellent decision.
However, as I flipped the pages, I began to become immersed in the complicated inquiry. Yet, I have to admit that it took me some time to understand who was who and how they were related to one another. The ties between the persons of interest and the threads connecting each line of inquiry are so deftly created, and I like how the author tied everything together.
Even though I was missing some background knowledge, I was still able to comprehend the dynamics of the team since the characters were well-developed. Inspector Lottie Parker and her police squad caused a lot of drama as they attempted to address a multitude of problems at once while attempting to keep everyone on the team alive.
You never knew who was going to die next in the crime, which made it exciting and intense.
There were enough unexpected turns to hold readers’ interest all the way to the very end.
However, some of them were a little improbable and a bit predictable.
Perfect for anybody looking for a dramatic, terrifying, and completely engrossing police procedural thriller. Three Widows by Patricia Gibney is a narrative with excellent writing and a plot that will make it tough to leave the book for even five minutes.