Welcome to Litsy!

Set in my “neck of the woods”, Appalachian Ohio, in 1920s, The Widows was a book club pick for our library. It was a great setting, good concept, but way too much going on with too many characters and convoluted plot. Told from the perspective of Lily and Marvena, each mothers and connected to Daniel, the sheriff who is found murdered. The women work together to solve the mystery of his death. I should have gone print over audio for this.

Really good historical mystery with an interesting setting - rural Appalachian coal-mining town in Ohio in the 1920s. While the plot does revolve around the mystery of who killed the sheriff, this is really about the women left behind to pick up the pieces, not only the two women mourning the sheriff's death, but the other women in the community who have lost loved ones to the mines in various ways.

Book 1 in series.

I don't think I would have picked up this book but I needed something for #appalachiannoir and I struggle with any prompt with noir in the title. 😂😂
This was a decent historical fiction set in a coal mining town where the central characters are two widows - one who recently lost her husband due to a rogue shooting and the other who lost her daughter. Could there be a connection between two losses?
#booked2021

Two women with one man in common. One is his widow, the other his old flame. Despite their divergent backgrounds, they work to solve his murder against difficult odds. Set against the labor unrest in 1925 in Ohio‘s coal mining region.

It‘s me, not the book. I‘m not the right reader for this kind of historical mystery. However, it fit the prompt Appalachian Noir for #Booked2021. Also my 2nd #20in4 book & my 4th #14Books14Weeks2021 picks. 😀

Let the weekend begin! I have three books of which I‘m in the middle. I hope to finish all three by Monday. 😬

📚 The Widows- Historical Fiction/Mystery
📚 Crossings - Historical Fiction/Speculative
📚 The Hippopotamus Pool - Mystery/Adventure/Romance

#20in4 June 2021

The sheriff of Kinship, OH has been murdered. His wife, Lily has been asked to step into his position. The mine owner and those who control him think she will be easily manipulated, but Lily has her own agenda. Marvina Whitcomb took on her husband‘s role as union organizer when her husband dies in the mine. She has a personal quest too. The two widows ultimately join forces but the forces against them are strong.

Pretty good historical fiction.

Good story!

I reread The Widows in preparation for The Hollows (Kinship Series #2). I love that Lily and Marvena overcame such an awkward beginning in their relationship and that they had the courage to seek out justice for their families and their community. I particularly loved their daughters‘ friendship and the wisdom of the elder women in rural Ohio. Lily is Ohio‘s first female sheriff.

(Thanks to #MinotaurBooks for sending these review copies my way!)

I love the setting, both time and place: a coal-mining community in Ohio, 1925. Lily and Marvena have both suffered losses-a murdered husband and a missing daughter. These losses may be connected.

This is a very nice historical mystery. The pacing is steady, but not too fast, and I was very surprised by the end!! I just saw that the author is writing another book in this series, and I‘m so ready for it!!

#minotaurbooks

I love the tenderness of the paragraph above.

I didn‘t realize this book is as much a historical mystery as it is historical fiction. I‘m loving the perspectives of Lily and Marvena, two women with ties to the same man, both mourning him after his death.

Hurricane reading 📖 I love reading to the sound of rain and wind, but I‘m watching things closely.

The kids and I are in for the duration but husband is working into the night. Things are picking up here in NC but we have lots of reading material to keep us occupied⛈

This is...slow-going. I think I like it, I just...wish it was a little faster-paced...😴 #thewidows #jessmontgomery

Have you read The Widows yet? Inspired by the true story of Ohio's first female sheriff, this powerful debut is about two women – Lily and Marvena – and their search for justice as they take on the corruption at the heart of their community.
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#minotaurbooks #reading #bookbirthday #thewidows #jessmontgomery #newbook #ohio #appalachia #historicalfiction

Enjoyed this debut historical mystery & 1st book in a series, set in 1925's Ohio coal mining country. Lily, a widow takes over for her husband as sheriff when he's murdered & works with Marvena, a woman from his past & an activist struggling to unionize miners to solve his murder & locate Marvena's missing daughter. Absorbing & based on real life women. Paired w/ Spicy Cinnamon Fried Apples for my book tour review. Recipe/review/giveaway link👇🏻

My finished chili (vegan before, vegetarian with the toppings) my late lunch & #soupersundays blog post. Recipe link👇🏻. Here with one of my current reads, an #ARC for a book tour review in early January. It's a historical mystery set in Ohio in 1924 about two women investigating the murder of the man they both love. Inspired by the real life first female sheriff in Ohio & it's the first book in a debut series. It sounds right up my alley.📚🍲❤️