The Widows

by Jess Montgomery

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Hardcover: 336 Pages

Publisher: Minotaur Books (January 8, 2019)

“The Widows kept me on the edge of my seat. Montgomery is a masterful storyteller.” –Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize-finalist The Bright Forever

Kinship, Ohio, 1924: When Lily Ross learns that her husband, Daniel Ross, the town’s widely respected sheriff, is killed while transporting a prisoner, she is devastated and vows to avenge his death.

Hours after his funeral, a stranger appears at her door. Marvena Whitcomb, a coal miner’s widow, is unaware that Daniel has died, and begs to speak with him about her missing daughter.

From miles away but worlds apart, Lily and Marvena’s lives collide as they realize that Daniel was not the man that either of them believed him to be–and that his murder is far more complex than either of them could have imagined.

Inspired by the true story of Ohio’s first female sheriff, this is a powerful debut about two women’s search for justice as they take on the corruption at the heart of their community.

“In the hard-luck, homespun Appalachian town of Kinship, Ohio, in 1924, two strong women become unlikely comrades to solve a murder in this flinty, heartfelt mystery that sings of hawks and history, of coal mines and the urgent fight for social justice.”–Julia Keller, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Bone on Bone

“Two women, a murdered husband, and the secret life he lived. Set in Appalachian Ohio coal country in 1924, The Widows kept me on the edge of my seat. Jess Montgomery is a masterful storyteller. This is a novel about courage and the good hearts of women, and it builds, almost unbearably, to its stunning end.”–Lee Martin, author of the Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Bright Forever

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Mama’s round face is so puckered with outrage that her mouth looks like the top of a drawstring purse.

 

My Review:

 

I am in awe of this author, this is her first novel and it was simply stellar! The storytelling was commanding, cunningly crafted, enthralling, emotive, highly descriptive, and smartly nuanced. I was instantly sucked into her vortex and heard a multitude of sounds, accents, and dialects in my head.   I was right there with them, riding in their cars, feeling the dynamite blasts as well as their deep sorrows, and smelling their sweat and fear. The mystery was hopelessly intriguing and appeared an impossibly tangled knot that I feared was without hope for a solution. I was so deeply engrossed in their tale I experienced the conflict of simultaneous relief and grief upon completion. Jess Montgomery’s word voodoo packs a powerful punch and is dangerously hypnotic.

About Jess Montgomery

JESS MONTGOMERY is the Literary Life columnist for the Dayton Daily News and Executive Director of the renowned Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Based on early chapters of The Widows, Jess was awarded an Ohio Arts Council individual artist’s grant for literary arts and the John E. Nance Writer-in-Residence at Thurber House in Columbus. She lives in her native state of Ohio.

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