Gripping!
The Widows: A Novel (Kinship #1) by Jess Montgomery
"The hawk is a sign to be alert, to consider carefully one’s situation."
Widows Lily Ross and Marvena Whitcom will need to be hawk like for all that they will endure. 1924 Kinship, Ohio. Two widows joined by their relationship to the town's sheriff Daniel Ross. One is Daniel's widow Lily Ross, the other is Marvena Whitcom, a coal miner's widow and long a friend of Daniel.
Shockingly for the small community, Daniel is killed whilst transporting a prisoner.
Lily is asked to take on the role of sheriff. All expect her to toe the line, be a figurehead, but Lily is determined to find Daniel's killer.
And that search leads her to Maverna, to a troubled coal mining town, to secrets Daniel has hidden from her, to organized crime interests during prohibition and into dangerous territories including the not so heroic side of the Pinkerton Detective employees.
Beyond a powerful story of loss, of rage, and a growing unlikely friendship is a fascinating treatise into coal industry communities of the times, mining conditions, mining company practices and the miners fight for unionization.
The women of the town, their economies and support of each other is vivid, often poignant and show the sting the of such communities in the simple acts of providing for each other and working together. The number of widows becomes apparent as the story unfolds.
Lily and Morvena are strong women whose lives are bound together by the past and their future. I think the moments of them coming to trust each other are beautifully drawn as their relationship builds towards the climax.
A truly unique read.
A St. Martin's Press Minotaur ARC via NetGalley
*****
Widows Lily Ross and Marvena Whitcom will need to be hawk like for all that they will endure. 1924 Kinship, Ohio. Two widows joined by their relationship to the town's sheriff Daniel Ross. One is Daniel's widow Lily Ross, the other is Marvena Whitcom, a coal miner's widow and long a friend of Daniel.
Shockingly for the small community, Daniel is killed whilst transporting a prisoner.
Lily is asked to take on the role of sheriff. All expect her to toe the line, be a figurehead, but Lily is determined to find Daniel's killer.
And that search leads her to Maverna, to a troubled coal mining town, to secrets Daniel has hidden from her, to organized crime interests during prohibition and into dangerous territories including the not so heroic side of the Pinkerton Detective employees.
Beyond a powerful story of loss, of rage, and a growing unlikely friendship is a fascinating treatise into coal industry communities of the times, mining conditions, mining company practices and the miners fight for unionization.
The women of the town, their economies and support of each other is vivid, often poignant and show the sting the of such communities in the simple acts of providing for each other and working together. The number of widows becomes apparent as the story unfolds.
Lily and Morvena are strong women whose lives are bound together by the past and their future. I think the moments of them coming to trust each other are beautifully drawn as their relationship builds towards the climax.
A truly unique read.
A St. Martin's Press Minotaur ARC via NetGalley
*****
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