The Widow - by John Grisham

Very good read. Had it done in two days

A struggling small town attorney is just trying to take one day at a time. His marriage is on the rocks, he has a gambling problem, and his practice is...well...boring. A widow has chosen to update her will and when he sees how much money she has, he thinks his ship has come in. Then, she dies under odd circumstances and our struggling small town attorney is the main focus of the police department investigation. When he is convicted, his defense team is surprised. Now, Simon and his team of people, some of which don't hold the legality of some of their searching methods to the highest standards, begin to work on who actually did kill The Widow. I liked this novel. I've read other Grisham books, and my grandboys LOVE the Theodore Boone novels by Mr. Grisham. Having said that, the beginning of the book laid the groundwork and the ending was fabulous. The middle was a bit tedious. Once we got out of the courtroom, the book took off and the ending was wonderful. Four stars to the beginning, three stars for the middle, and five stars for the end...makes this a four star read for me.

I really enjoyed this story. It pulled me in right away with the small town lawyer who’s barely keeping his life together until a wealthy widow walks into his office and changes everything. I liked the slow build, the legal details, the quiet tension, and how an ordinary will turns into something much bigger. Grisham makes the small moments interesting, and I was hooked watching Simon get deeper into trouble. This is a sharp, fast read, part legal drama, part mystery and I liked that it offered something a little different from Grisham’s usual formula. If you enjoy his writing style but want a more personal, twisty story, this one’s definitely worth reading.