I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this book at first and enjoyed up loving it. This is a surprising treat. I haven’t read a book featuring Mormons or polygamy before and found these elements surprisingly interesting and not typical fare for a thriller about a gory murder and three suspects. The chapters alternate between the POV of each wife. I enjoy this kind of structure in books. The story was gradually drip-fed and had a lot of twists and turns, misdirection and unreliable narration. I enjoyed up really liking the three wives even though I didn’t at first. Like all good thriller, I didn’t have a clue who killed Blake and suspected everyone.

Blake Nelson is a religious man of the Mormon faith who practices plural marriages.  First wife Rachael and sister wives, Emily and later Tina all share Blake and live in a remote ranch out in the middle of nowhere to avoid the contempt of locals and possibility of prosecution.  Home life isn’t idyllic as all the wives are total opposites and are not very keen on each other.   Tensions run high resulting jealousy and episodes of domestic violence.  When Blake is found murdered at a lake whilst fishing late at night suspicion falls on the wives but are things as straight forward as that.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book the depiction of the Mormon faith added an interesting dimension to the “who done it” theme of the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've never read anything like Black Widows before and I loved it!
Ruth, Tina and Emily are in a polygamous marriage with Blake, out in a homestead in the middle of the Utah desert, miles from anywhere. 'Black Widows' starts with Blake being found dead and, with no love lost between them, the three wives all suspect one another. The story is told from the view point of each of the wives, giving you fantastic insights into their thoughts and concerns about one another, and all of their back stories, which add another layer of intrigue.
I loved reading about a lifestyle so different from anything I will ever experience, and thought the author's storytelling was very well handled.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read it.

This was such a good read and the fact I find the subject matter (polygamy, sister wives, Mormon, LDS church) so interesting, oh and my other favourite subject matter, murder, it was a win win for me. The story is told from our three sister wives perspective, they are so all unique and different almost polar opposites yet all love and married, two of them be it spiritually, to the same man. This was really well written and felt it dealt with the storyline quite realistically.

This is a well written thriller. Excellent plot. Kept me guessing to the end. Would recommend to lovers of crime fiction. I couldn't put it down.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel, Tina and Emily have only one thing in common: their husband, Blake. But when he’s found murdered, each one of them is a suspect. Their journey to figure out what really happened that morning results in a jaw-dropping and unforgettable read.

I'd heard a lot of amazing things about this one before I started  it -- and they were all 1000% right. It's a deliciously dark read, and one that will keep you guessing right until the big reveal (I thought I'd had it figured out about six different times; each time I was horribly wrong). 

I loved the way that we got insight into each of the wives and their stories; it added a new dimension to the characters that made it impossible not to root for them...even if you think one's the murderer.

This is a very brave choice of subject for a book which is clearly very well researched. Blake Nelson has been murdered on his isolated estate in Utah where he lives with his three wives. He has taken advantage of the relaxed attitude to polygamy in the state. He was brought up in the church of Latter Day Saints but his lifestyle is not totally acceptable to that denomination. His wives are Rachel, Tina and Emily. They are suspected of his murder but that is too obvious to be the answer.  The book deals with attitudes to religion, women, child molestation and other difficult topics. It is perceptive, honest but not judgemental. The story moves to an unexpected ending. Not every reader will find the subject matter comfortable but it is well written.

Blake Nelson’s fishing trip ended in his horrific death. His mutilated body discovered on the riverbank. Blake is a Mormon, in a polygamous marriage with three women – Rachel, Emily and Tina.  All are now being interviewed by the police.
This is quite a different crime thriller from the norm. A slow story that draws you in. Told from each of the three wives’ points of view the reader discovers what their alibis are, where they were on the day of his death.  But more than that, their individual voices give us an insight into their personality; and their history. How they fitted into this multi-wife marriage, their relationship with each other and in some cases, their resentment.  It is soon clear that each wife suspects the other is the murderer. But who really did kill Blake? And why?
This book slowly gets inside the heads of all three wives.  Every time I had made up my mind about who the guilty party was, something would change and throw me completely off course.  Not your usual crime thriller, but a compulsive read, nevertheless.
My thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing  for an ARC of Black Widows in exchange for an honest review

What an insight into polygamous Mormon marriage and the insidious nature of cults.  How men believe they are superior and women and you children are emotionally and physically abused. Imagine your state of mind if you were the 'Prophet's' daughter. Add into the melting pot two other wives, a mother-in-law who's only task is to save her son and what do you have - MURDER.
Brilliant, riveting and informative.

Black Widows by Kate Quinn Pub Date 4th Feb 2021
Blake Nelson is found dead under the desert sun in Utah's wilds, where he lives hidden away with his three wives.
No one else knows the location of the off-the-grid ranch.
Rachel, Tina and Emily
Three wives
One dead husband
Who's the killer?
An enjoyable read. The characters are strong, they're all well developed, and their individual personalities are evident. The story is told from each wife's point of view, making it an enthralling read because they are all so different, so you see the same circumstances portrayed in many ways. 
The pace is fast, and the plot kept me interested to the end.  
Many readers might dodge a book containing detailed intimidation, polygamy and cults: this story has them all. 
I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery.
I want to thank NetGallery, HQ and author Kate Quinn for a pre-publication copy to review.

An original, and as such a refreshing plot, I knew this was going to be an excellent read from the get go.
A murder, told from the perspective of three, very different,  women (Gotta love Tina by the way!) which will keep you guessing who was responsible for it right until the last few pages.
I found it witty, intelligent and very well thought out.

An excellent fast paced book which I’ve read today in one (long) sitting!
Constantly keeping me guessing I was really drawn into the lives of these women. I must point out that there are a some disturbing topics which maybe triggering for some readers - domestic violence, abusive relationships of various types - however I think it is dealt with well, always in context and meaningful to the whole storyline and only increased my sympathies for the three wives in this polygamous family.
Overall I would highly recommend it as a fast paced, twisty thriller which I rated an excellent 5⭐️.

Blake is a survivalist Mormon who lives in an illegal polygamous marriage with his 3 wives.  To keep the arrangement away from prying eyes he has set them up in an old ranch in the middle of the dessert outside Utah - even a Satnav struggles to locate them. The wives hate each other and all the relationships are increasingly tense so when Blake is found dead in suspicious circumstances all 3 wives are the prime suspects.
As the police ratchet  up the pressure the wives realise they can only help each other to clear their names.

I enjoyed this involving thriller and the insights into the Mormon life and in particular, the cults that live outside the more conventional Mormon world and use its teaching to create insular, abusive societies.  The development of the 3 wives’ characters was well written and involving.  I found the ending slightly disappointing; the weakness of creating such an insular world is that if one of the wives didn’t kill him, we aren’t introduced to many characters that could have.  It makes it quite easy to guess the twist.
Thank you to #netgalley and #orionbooks for allowing me to read this ARC

I wasn't sure about this when I first started reading it but I was soon hooked! A real page Turner. 3 very different wives and stories to keep you guessing.

An original premise for a mystery - set around Mormonism, but not about Mormons. Blake Nelson has a wife, Rachel,  and then has a ceremony with Tina and then with Emily. They live out in the wilds so their arrangement is discrete. Blake is murdered and of course his three 'wives' are all suspects.
This book is more about the relationship between the sister-wives, what they brought to the arrangement for Blake and when he is found dead whether they trust or suspect each other and how they deal with that.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Cate Quinn/Orion Publishing for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Blake is a a member of the Chuch of the Latter Day Saints & has three wives which is illegal & frowned upon by his church. He is found dead & the book looks at the wives. Which one killed him?  A good book that looks at the wives lives in detail, with so much revealed. It hooks you in & carries you through, wanting to know more.

I thought this was great - an unusual setting in a sparsely populated part of Utah and an unusual family of polygamous Mormons. Tightly plotted, the story follows the murder of Blake, the husband of the family, and his three wives, each of whom have the spotlight shone on them by the police. A story of a family unit unravelling and one that kept me turning the pages,

Keeps you reading till the end.
Blake lives with his three wives Rachael, Emily and Tina in a remote isolated farm in Utah.
His body is found and the police think he`s been murdered, all clues point to his wife, but which one?
All three wives have different personalities which are revealed throughout the book, keeping you reading till the end with an insight into keeping multi wife`s.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Blake Nelson is a Latter Day Saint with three wives – Rachel, Emily and Tina. Plural marriages are no longer acceptable in the Mormon religion and Blake buys an isolated piece of land, where they all live, at best barely tolerated by their fellow Mormons and at worst, ostracised by some.
When Blake is found dead, suspicion automatically falls on the three wives and the central plot in the novel is focused on which one of them did it. The chapters are short, some very short, and told in three voices, those of the wives. I had no trouble keeping hold of whose chapter I was in as the wives had very distinctive voices and characteristics. 
The story moves along quite smoothly in spite of being fairly complicated as the back stories of the wives are revealed as well as the ongoing investigation into Blake's murder. The background information on Latter Day Saints is meticulous and woven in so neatly that I never felt like I was being preached at. 
The major distraction for me was Rachel's background story. It was riveting and deserved a story of its own, but in this instance it pulled me away from the main story and didn't really have any impact on the main plot except to explain Rachel's attitude to her husband's death. It lengthened the middle section of the book unnecessarily and slowed things down a bit.
There are quite a few ancillary characters, all of which are portrayed realistically, except for the police officers who, I felt, were less rounded than anyone else and only there to move the story along.
The ending disappointed me because it felt forced and too neatly wrapped up. However, it was one of the most enjoyable books I have read in recent months, not least because of the originality of the plot. I would recommend just suspending belief and just go with the flow on this one.

Usually, I dislike multi-thread books but, with Black Widows, I found an exception. A seemingly straightforward tale in a "Mormon" setting which turned out to be far from straightforward. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the central 3 women made for very interesting and contrasting stories which became more interesting as their lives became entwined over the death of their "husband".

A side benefit for me was learning a little more about Mormonism, enough to make me want to go off to research them a little more.

Overall, a story that is well worth your investment.