The Next Widow – C J Lyons
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Published: July 28th 2020, Bookouture
Swathi’s Rating: 4/5
About the Book
In the distance Leah heard sirens. She ignored them. Right now, her daughter needed her and Emily was just out of reach, curled up under the bed, her eyes closed, desperately shaking. Leah did the only thing any mother would do. She crawled through the blood to get to her daughter.
Dr Leah Wright returned to her childhood home in rural Pennsylvania with her husband to find peace and quiet, start afresh and raise her six-year-old daughter Emily. But when she gets home one dark winter night, clutching roses in her hand, she finds her daughter huddled under her bed and her husband’s blood all over the floor…
When Detective Luka Jericho is called to investigate, he’s shocked to learn that the killer left a witness behind – the victim’s young daughter. The scene is a painful reminder of his fiancé’s unsolved death, and he is desperate to find out what Emily saw that night. He knows that the killer could still be out there, waiting to strike again.
But growing up, Leah learned the hard way that the only person she could rely on was herself. And it’s not until she and Emily are attacked again that she realizes just how close the killer is. Can she trust Luka to keep her daughter safe?
Fans of Karin Slaughter, Kendra Elliot and Tess Gerritsen will devour this fast-paced and chilling new crime series from New York Times bestselling author CJ Lyons. You won’t be able to put this book down.
Amazon | Kobo | Apple | Google
Swathi’s Thoughts
How would you feel coming home to your loving husband and daughter on a valentine’s day eve, only to find your husband killed in the grotesque way possible and your child hiding behind in fear, and you’d have to crawl through your dead husband’s blood in order to retrieve your child and console her? Not so romantic isn’t it?
So when Doctor Leah falls victim to her husband’s murder, she’s also the prime suspect in Detective Luka Jericho’s investigation, although the Detective has other views on the widow. He’s curious about the doctor and want to know more about the couple and the live they shared. Soon more stuffs are discovered about the dead husband Luka is stuck with a very short list of suspects and time is running short!
I loved the pace of this book! Absolute corker filled with twists and very few characters. Alternative PoVs of Leah and Luka gives the reader enough information about the mental state of a distressed mother and child and also about the progress in the ongoing murder investigation. A very clever narration I’d say, although I guessed the perpetrator early in the book I did not guess the motive behind it. There are few graphic scenes, that might be sensitive for a few. I would happily recommend this thriller to anyone who’d enjoy a pacy domestic thriller with occasional twists thrown around.
Many thanks to Bookouture for having me on the #BlogTour. All opinions mine.
Meet the Author
As a pediatric ER doctor, New York Times and USA Today Bestseller CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge Thrillers with Heart.
CJ has been called a “master within the genre” (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as “breathtakingly fast-paced” and “riveting” (Publishers Weekly) with “characters with beating hearts and three dimensions” (Newsday).
Learn more about CJ’s Thrillers with Heart at www.CJLyons.net
