Afbeelding auteur

Jess Montgomery

Auteur van The Widows

5 Werken 300 Leden 30 Besprekingen

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Werken van Jess Montgomery

The Widows (2019) 174 exemplaren
The Hollows (2020) 64 exemplaren
The Echoes (2022) 31 exemplaren
The Stills (2021) 30 exemplaren
Downriver (2021) 1 exemplaar

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I really loved this book and look forward to reading the next one. It checked all of my boxes for a historical mystery and leaves lots of room for the next book.
 
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cdaley | 16 andere besprekingen | Nov 2, 2023 |
The Widows by Jess Montgomery is a 2019 Minotaur publication.

"The Widows" is a historical fiction novel set in the Appalachian region of Ohio in 1924. The novel is centered around Lily Ross, whose husband, Sheriff Daniel Ross, is killed in the line of duty. Lily is determined to find out who killed her husband, so it was fortuitous that she was asked to take Daniel's place as acting sheriff.

But Lily's plans are complicated by the appearance of Marvena, a woman who shows up looking for Daniel, claiming he had been looking into the disappearance of her daughter. It is obvious that Marvena has a history with her husband, something he never told her about. As acting sheriff, Lily needs to see if she can locate Marvena's daughter, but she also wants to know more about her connection to her husband...

I got more than I bargained for with this novel! The author did a fabulous job with time and place, through her vivid descriptions. The characters are well-developed and sympathetic. I liked Lily and Marvena- though they were very different, they came together for a common goal, and I enjoyed watching them forge a real bond, despite some awkwardness.

The mystery is suspenseful, if a bit slow at times, but the ending really took me by surprise.

Overall, I liked that the story was inspired by the first real-life female sheriff of Ohio. The story is well-researched with a great deal of depth, and stayed with me for days after completion. Thankfully, this is the first book in a series, so there will be more adventures for Lily in the future and I'm very much looking forward to reading about them!

If you like historical fiction, mysteries, and strong female characters- you'll want to give this one a try!

4+ stars
… (meer)
 
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gpangel | 16 andere besprekingen | Mar 28, 2023 |
I loved that this book takes place in the Midwest near where I live:-) It takes place in 1928 in Kinship, Ohio with a cast of unique, interesting, and compelling characters. Sheriff Lily is part of a close knit community that is grieving the effects of the war. While some men (Lily's brother, Roger) died, other returned quite damaged. Chalmer Fitzpatirck is a wealthy businessman and war veteran who has decided to develop an amusement park and name it in honor of Roger. Days before the grand opening, a woman is found drowned in the pond on the park grounds and Lily suspects she was murdered. Lilly's mother (Beulah) has been holding onto a secret for months, agonizing on how to tell Lilly that her brother (Roger) had a daughter named Esme before he was killed in France. And now Esme is immigrating to the U.S. and will be living with them. While Lily is looking for clues to who killed the drowned woman, a baby is found on Chalmer’s doorstep and now she has one more investigation to conduct. Meanwhile, just when Lily learns the secret of Esme’s existence, the family finds that she’s been kidnapped. There are lots of dynamics taking place and the characters find themselves in unforeseen circumstances. I loved the author’s notes at the end explaining the story background including the history of a real amusement park and the fact that Lily is based on Maude Collins who was the very first female sheriff in Ohio.

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efoland | 4 andere besprekingen | Jan 23, 2023 |
Number four in a series that just keeps getting better. Interestingly, this book and the one I read just before it (Maisie Dobbs) both deal with the trauma felt by veterans of World War I. I tend to forget that Americans also fought in WWI but this book showed that fighting in that war had a profound effect on them as well as people from the other allied countries.

Kinship's sheriff, Lily Ross, had a brother who died in France during World War I. Unbeknownst to Lily he fathered a child before he died although he never got to meet her. Esme's mother died in childbirth and she was raised by her Memere (grandmother). When Memere realized she might not live long enough to raise Esme she got in touch with Beulah, Sheriff Lily's mother. Beulah McArthur, never knew how to break the news about Esme to Lily and now Esme is coming to the USA to settle with Beulah and her family. She is due to arrive July 5, 1928 and as of July 4 Lily had her hands full with the death of a young woman, Pearl, in the pond of the new Meuse-Argonne Park that was just opened. Hiram, cousin to the owner and groundskeeper for the park, confesses that he murdered Pearl. Lily, however, has her doubts about his confession and continues to investigate. When Esme doesn't show up on the train in Kinship on the morning of July 5th, Beulah realizes she has to get Lily's help to find her. Now Lily is really busy; good thing her deputies (and good friends) Marvena and Hildy can help out. There is precious little time for romance but Lily does get to spend a little time with Benjamin and even Mama McArthur may have a slight crush on the new doctor in town.

Hiram shows signs of PTSD and that may be a reason for his somewhat erratic behaviour but he isn't violent which is why Lily doubts he could have killed Pearl. Obviously he is protecting someone, someone who is taking advantage of his disability. Lily will be able to work it out and also find her new found niece.
… (meer)
½
 
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gypsysmom | 4 andere besprekingen | Oct 5, 2022 |

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Statistieken

Werken
5
Leden
300
Populariteit
#78,268
Waardering
3.8
Besprekingen
30
ISBNs
29

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