The Widows’ Guide to Murder by Amanda Ashby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
After the death of her beloved husband, Ginny Cole, is left with no choice but to start over. She’s heartbroken and misses him dearly, but it cannot be changed.
What is going to change is Ginny’s life. She decides to move to the village of Little Shaw for her fresh start, and she needs to get a job. She’s happy, though also nervous, when she ends up securing a position as a librarian’s assistant.
She’s never worked at a library before, but she loves to read and it seems like it could be a fun and fulfilling job. Her unlikable new boss, Louisa, is startlingly rude, but Ginny just supposes that’s something she will have to get used to.
At least the volunteers seem lovely, and she imagines she’ll fit in with time. Her hopes of an easy transition are nixed though, when on her second-day on the job she discovers a dead body in the library. Now Ginny finds herself thrust head-first into local scandals and secrets.
She ends up being approached and befriended by a small group of local widows, feisty and full of fun, the lot of them, who take Ginny under their wing and start to include her in their activities.
Of course, their current activity is getting to the bottom of this murder mystery. One of the widows, her daughter, Alyson, is currently the prime suspect. The women know she’s not guilty, meaning the killer is still out there, and they plan to find them.
This is such a strong start to a new Cozy Mystery series. This main character, Ginny, is definitely one I could picture myself enjoying for many books to come. Bonus points: in this book, she adopts an adorably-cheeky black cat that she names, Edgar. He’s so cute!
I loved the friend group that Ginny gets brought into as well. They all know what it’s like to be in her shoes, and I think she found strength in their friendship. It was incredibly healing for Ginny and she really needed that.
Ginny’s character arc was very well done. Watching her coming into her own, I’m definitely looking forward to more of that as the series continues.
There’s also a teenage volunteer, Connor, who I hope is a recurring character in the series. I feel like he and Ginny could end up having a sort of grandparent/child relationship and it’s so sweet to read about.
I enjoyed how Ginny is new to town, so you get to learn all about the townsfolk at the same time she does. It makes it feel really natural. I also appreciated how logical Ginny is in such a realistic way. She doesn’t have OTT-powers of deductive reasoning like some sleuths.
While I had a few issues at the conclusion, overall, I adored this. The library, the cat, the hilarious group of widows; well played, Amanda Ashby. I’m looking forward to more!!
I would definitely recommend this to Cozy Mystery fans who love small town settings and slightly older protagonists. Full of humor and heart, this one shouldn’t be missed.
Thank you so much, Storm Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the next book soon!