Widows
Author: Lynda La Plante
Published by: Zaffre Publishing
Pages: 410
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★★
A security van heist goes disastrously wrong and three women are left widowed. When Dolly Rawlins discovers her late husband’s plans for the failed hijack, an idea starts to form… Could she and the other widows finish the job their husbands started?
As the women rehearse the raid, they realise someone else must have been involved. But only three bodies were found in the wreckage.
Who was the fourth man? And where is he now?
My thoughts:
It’s been a little while since I’ve read a crime thriller, so I decided this would be the perfect time to finally get around to reading Widowsby Lynda La Plante. For me, the book definitely lived up to the hype!
The story begins with a failed armed robbery in the heart of London, resulting in the deaths of several men. As a result, three women are left widowed: Dolly, Linda and Shirley.
Following her husband’s death, Dolly Rawlins gains access to Harry’s lockup, and soon finds a series of ledgers. These ledgers provide specific details on each of his numerous criminal activities and the names of those who worked for him. The plans for the final robbery are also included within the ledgers.
Dolly is the central character of the book. She is also probably my favourite of the women due to her complex personality, inner strength and high intelligence. After studying Harry’s final plans and reworking them a little, she gets the other two widows on board and together they set off to finish what their men started.
It is fascinating how these women work together to achieve something so devious. Dolly, Lynda and Shirley are total opposites in every way so it is really exciting to see them come together and pull off the heist. Dolly was always such a strong and fierce woman and Shirley, Bella and Linda grow so much throughout the book. I also loved the subtle moments shared between the women as they form true friendships and help one another in dealing with their grief.
There was a lot going on in this book, a lot of characters to wrap my head around in the beginning, but overall it was easy enough to keep track of everything and the details all blended together very well as the story gradually unfolded. Thing started out a little slow, as La Plante laid the groundwork and provided realistic, intricate backstories for each other characters in relation to one another.
The writing was fantastic throughout and very engrossing. The suspense was really effective and drew me in straight away. It did surprise me in just how much of the book was taken up by Dolly and the women planning and rehearsing the robbery before it actually happened. However, this worked flawlessly in holding my attention and keeping me on the very edge of my seat through all forty-one chapters. It made the day of the robbery even more exciting to read, because the story had been building up to it for so long. I couldn’t wait to know how it would pan out and whether or not the heist would be a success.
I absolutely loved this book, and perhaps what really stood out the most to me from Widows was the very original premise of a group of recently widowed women stepping up to continue their husbands criminal activities. It seemed like such a great story when I picked it out in my local bookshop, and certainly didn’t disappoint in the way the plot unfolded. The story itself felt extremely authentic, the plot and characters felt realistic and the writing kept me gripped throughout.
Overall reaction:
Published by: Zaffre Publishing
Pages: 410
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★★
A security van heist goes disastrously wrong and three women are left widowed. When Dolly Rawlins discovers her late husband’s plans for the failed hijack, an idea starts to form… Could she and the other widows finish the job their husbands started?
As the women rehearse the raid, they realise someone else must have been involved. But only three bodies were found in the wreckage.
Who was the fourth man? And where is he now?
My thoughts:
It’s been a little while since I’ve read a crime thriller, so I decided this would be the perfect time to finally get around to reading Widowsby Lynda La Plante. For me, the book definitely lived up to the hype!
The story begins with a failed armed robbery in the heart of London, resulting in the deaths of several men. As a result, three women are left widowed: Dolly, Linda and Shirley.
Following her husband’s death, Dolly Rawlins gains access to Harry’s lockup, and soon finds a series of ledgers. These ledgers provide specific details on each of his numerous criminal activities and the names of those who worked for him. The plans for the final robbery are also included within the ledgers.
Dolly is the central character of the book. She is also probably my favourite of the women due to her complex personality, inner strength and high intelligence. After studying Harry’s final plans and reworking them a little, she gets the other two widows on board and together they set off to finish what their men started.
It is fascinating how these women work together to achieve something so devious. Dolly, Lynda and Shirley are total opposites in every way so it is really exciting to see them come together and pull off the heist. Dolly was always such a strong and fierce woman and Shirley, Bella and Linda grow so much throughout the book. I also loved the subtle moments shared between the women as they form true friendships and help one another in dealing with their grief.
There was a lot going on in this book, a lot of characters to wrap my head around in the beginning, but overall it was easy enough to keep track of everything and the details all blended together very well as the story gradually unfolded. Thing started out a little slow, as La Plante laid the groundwork and provided realistic, intricate backstories for each other characters in relation to one another.
The writing was fantastic throughout and very engrossing. The suspense was really effective and drew me in straight away. It did surprise me in just how much of the book was taken up by Dolly and the women planning and rehearsing the robbery before it actually happened. However, this worked flawlessly in holding my attention and keeping me on the very edge of my seat through all forty-one chapters. It made the day of the robbery even more exciting to read, because the story had been building up to it for so long. I couldn’t wait to know how it would pan out and whether or not the heist would be a success.
I absolutely loved this book, and perhaps what really stood out the most to me from Widows was the very original premise of a group of recently widowed women stepping up to continue their husbands criminal activities. It seemed like such a great story when I picked it out in my local bookshop, and certainly didn’t disappoint in the way the plot unfolded. The story itself felt extremely authentic, the plot and characters felt realistic and the writing kept me gripped throughout.
Overall reaction: