The Next Widow by C J Lyons

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?

The Next Widow begins a new series from C J Lyons, a paediatric ER doctor who started writing crime novels after experiencing a real life murder (see her website for the full story!) Her medical expertise and understanding of an ER environment is displayed excellently in this novel, but I recommend it mostly on the strengths of well developed characters and chilling atmosphere. The themes of family responsibility, and what it means to do the right thing stayed with me long after I put this book down.

In the first chapter, I was drawn quickly into Leah’s world, a swirl of urgency and dedication in sterile rooms, and as the book progressed the tension heightened. Reading from Luka’s point of view only increased this, as I felt his anxiety surging whilst he tried to juggle a family crisis and the solving of a shocking crime. The threat looming over the narrative that the killer is not finished with Leah and her family caught and kept my interest.

The beautiful and surprising descriptive writing throughout had me regularly highlighting passages in my kindle, and the originality of Lyons’ turn of phrase is reflected in her plotting. Although I was able to work out the main perpetrator, there were several twists I didn’t see coming, and the slightly sci-fi set up of the crime was unexpected.

However, by far the best aspect of this book for me were the characters. Both main characters had exceptionally well developed and authentic family lives which weave through the book adding so much flavour. The wider cast were well developed and had strong characteristics without feeling overly tropey, and made my experience of reading the book deeply textured. Usually with thrillers I’m just looking for my ‘solve the mystery’ fix, but here I was drawn into the lives of these people, feeling their feelings, wanting to protect them from harm.

I’m awarding The Next Widow 4.5 Stars, and would recommend it if you enjoy pacey, well characterised fiction, with tension that overflows from the page into you! With content warnings for gore, murder and parent fear, as well as discussion of medical procedures, I would recommend this for ages 15+.

The Next Widow will be published on the 28th July 2020 and you can pre-order the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Next-Widow-gripping-unputdownable-Thrillers-ebook/dp/B087V762MF

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