Ginny has not completely admitted to herself that she's a widow yet. She may have moved to a new village but years of coupledom has left her still talking to her departed husband out of sheer habit. But that loneliness won't last for long. She has a new part-time job and it would seem she has been adopted by the local band of rebel pensioners!

When the Library manager, the ghastly Louisa Farnsworth, is killed, Ginny and the gang get involved when the daughter of one of them is in the frame for murder. But just which of the prime suspects had the best motive for murder?

Poor Alison. I really felt for her. She was so wrapped up in that toad-like ex-husband she just couldn't move on. I can understand not wanting to give up quickly but yeesh! The gang really had a selection of strengths to blend together. They are proud of their rebel status and they have no time for growing old gracefully - this lot are out to cause mayhem and upset the status quo!

There are a few red herrings and I'll admit I fell for one of them and did not see the big reveal coming. This is a great story showing that being over 60 isn't the end of the world and that even if you don't find love after loss, you can definitely find a new tribe.

I'm now totally invested in this new series and I can't wait to see what happens next time.

I was intrigued by the title of the book and quite excited to read it through NetGalley. This is the first book in this series and it is off to a good start.

Ginny Cole is a fairly new widow and decides to follow through on her and her deceased husband’s (Eric) plan to move to Little Shaw. She is starting a new job as an assistant at the local library and her boss is incredibly rude. Is it any surprise when she is murdered? Unfortunately, Ginny finds her body and through a series of events, meets three other widows, and they investigate the murder.

The three widows are good for Ginny in getting her out of her grief and getting her involved in the community. I think readers will enjoy the widows, library workers, DI Wallace, and even Edgar the cat. There were several suspects and I was surprised by the killer’s identity. There are dead bodies throughout this book and how they are interwoven and how Ginny figures it out makes it a fun read. At first I thought Ginny talking to her deceased husband was weird, but it seems to give her comfort and courage and anything that helps her move forward is a good thing.

I cannot wait to read the next book in the series, The Widows’ Guide to Backstabbing.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ginny recently widowed now needs to get a job and manages to get one in the local library where the manager librarian is a nasty piece of work, she gets murdered and Ginny is another manager who can be nearly as bad as Louisa but she does make friends with a few more widows and this forms a sort of club. Ginny and company decide to do some investigating to the dismay of the local constabulary, who one of the detectives lives next door to Ginny.
A nice read the author knows how to keep the story alive it's well written and put together well, with great characters, looking forward to another book by this author.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Storm Publishing for an advanced copy.

A good start to a new cosy series!

Ginny has moved into her new home in the village of Little Shaw; as a new widow she feels quite alone and hopes to meet new friends. What she didn't hope for was to discover a dead body .. but it does bring her a new group of friends as they determine to find the murderer ...

This is a fabulous beginning to a series; great characters all with their own idiosyncrasies and a murder for them to get their teeth into. As with any good mystery, nothing is straightforward and I enjoyed all the comings and goings along the way. Definitely a series to follow and a book I'm very happy to give my recommendation and 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley.

Virginia "Ginny" Cole just started her job as a part-time librarian in the small village of Little Shaw. On her second day there, she discovers the body of the head librarian, Louisa Fansworth. This death marks the beginning of several other deaths, attempted murder, old rumors coming back, a land sale that seems fishy and affair that only brought destruction to Little Shaw. With the help of Hen, JM and Tuppence, well sorta, Ginny with uncover all the secrets and mysteries that the inhabitants of Little Shaw hold and will kill to keep hidden.

The Widow's Guide To Murder will have you guessing who did it, because they all have motive and they are all hidding something!

Thank you Netgalley and Storm Publishing for this very entertaining and cheeky murder mystery.

I loved this cosy mystery and I read it very quickly, overall it was such a easy and fun read with characters that I adored.

The Widow's Guide to Murder by Amanda Ashby is an entertaining Cozy mystery, especially if you are a fan of senior sleuthing. Ginny Cole is recently widowed and starting over in the town where she and her beloved husband Eric were going to retire. Knowing no one, she is pleased, yet nervous, when she is hired as a part-time librarian; she hopes it will provide a good opportunity to meet people. Her first day on the job is less than stellar as the head librarian doesn't appear happy to have Ginny there, nor the inclination to train her. Imagine Ginny's dismay when on her second day of employment she discovers Louisa Farnsworth, head librarian dead, and in the library no less. Ginny and 3 other widows join forces to prove that one of the women's daughter is not guilty. It's a fun read, with more murders, multiple suspects and a surprising ending. Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Amanda Ashby for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Widow's Guide to Murder; my review reflects my honest opinion. 3.5 stars.

Amanda Ashby’s The Widow’s Guide to Murder is a charming and twisty cozy mystery that introduces readers to an unlikely but utterly lovable group of amateur sleuths. With humor, heart, and just the right amount of danger, this book is a delightful read for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and small-town whodunits.

A Widow’s Fresh Start—Interrupted by Murder
Ginny Cole, a sixty-year-old widow hoping for a peaceful new chapter in the quaint village of Little Shaw, quickly finds herself entangled in a murder mystery when she stumbles upon the body of the town’s unpopular library manager, Louisa Farnsworth. To make matters worse, the police seem convinced that her friend Hen’s daughter is the prime suspect—all because of an innocent threatening letter. Refusing to let injustice prevail, Ginny teams up with fellow widows JM, Tuppence, and Hen to form the Widows’ Detective Club.

A Perfect Blend of Humor and Suspense
The book’s greatest strength is its characters. Ginny and her friends are not only resourceful but also hilarious, bringing wit and warmth to their crime-solving escapades. Whether they’re sneaking through graveyards at midnight or uncovering scandalous village secrets, their chemistry makes for an entertaining and heartwarming read. Ashby captures the essence of small-town gossip, where everyone has a secret and no one is quite as innocent as they seem.

An Engaging Mystery with Plenty of Twists
Just as the widows start putting the puzzle pieces together, another body turns up, raising the stakes. The mystery unfolds at a steady pace, with enough red herrings and surprises to keep readers guessing until the very end. The plot is well-crafted, never veering into overly dark territory, making it an ideal pick for cozy mystery lovers.

Final Verdict
The Widow’s Guide to Murder is a delightful and cleverly plotted mystery with a cast of endearing, sharp-witted widows determined to outsmart a killer. Amanda Ashby delivers a feel-good whodunit that’s as charming as it is suspenseful. Fans of lighthearted mysteries with strong friendships and plenty of intrigue will adore this book.

3⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advanced copy of The Widow’s Guide To Murder.

Ginny is recently widowed and she decides to take a job in a small town library. She meets her horrible boss Luisa and she has a pretty rough first day. On the second day she finds her new boss dead in her office. She teams up with her new found friends who are also widows and they set out to solve the crime.

This was a cute fast read.

Thank you, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for letting me review this book.

This is the first book in the cozy mystery series of The Widows’ Detective Club, and this is my first book I have read by the Author, Amanda Ashby.

I truly enjoyed this book so much. I never saw the twists coming, and when you think there will be no more twists...more twists come your way! It was an amazing and fun ride to be part of, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This Series, follows sixty-year-old Ginny Cole, who was recently widowed, and moved to Little Shaw, just wants to talk to her dead husband and go about her day. Well, it doesn't take long before her life takes on an entirely different path, and she is far from reaching her life quota now! She adopts a cat that only likes her, and won’t leave her alone.

She meets other widows in the village, works at a library where she dislikes her manager, and she can tell she isn’t the only one, and has to deal with a grinch of a neighbor.

She goes to work one day, and finds her boss murdered. Then one thing leads to another and she starts to go down the rabbit hole. Who killed Louisa, the library manager? Ginny gets too close for the killer’s comfort, so will she be next?

Read this book, and the second book will be coming out on March 10th. So, you will not have to wait long to see what happens next. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the arc of this book!
I really enjoyed the story of Ginny and her courage through becoming a widow and all the people she meets along the way! She really came into herself in the book and gained confidence and friends!! Add a little murder into that and you have a great easy fun read! Definitely read this book!

After the death of her husband Eric, Ginny moves to a small village where she takes up the position of assistant librarian in the local library. Still deeply mourning the loss of her husband things change when she finds the body of the universally disliked head librarian and joins with three other widows investigating the suspicious death.
I do enjoy a cosy mystery and this certainly fits the bill. There is humour along with the murder mystery to keep it cosy, with the four widows getting in the way of the local police, but also finding new clues. Ginny finds herself acting totally out of her normal reserved character, but adding her calm, common sense the the more extrovert others. Add in a stray black cat who adopts her and you end up with a very enjoyable story and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Ginny moves to a small town to start anew after he husband passes away. Starting a small job as a library assistant in her 60's isn't what she's expecting to do, but she's ready to take on the challenge in this new phase of her life. What she isn't expecting is for the library manager to be a horrendous and mean-spirited human being. Nor for her to show up dead on her second day of work.

*****

This was such an unexpectedly delightful novel. Ginny is relatable in her desire to want friends and community, but also being slowly dragged along to commit more and more ridiculous offenses in the name of solving the mystery. All while being horrified of being caught. I loved the quirky characters within her new friend group, and how they needled and pried their away around town, using their age and wits to get away with all kinds of comical scenarios, with apparently not a care in the world as to any consequences.

The twists and turns were laid out like they were going to be predictable, and I thought I'd figured it out by the 30% mark, but I was definitely not expecting the final turn that put everything on its head. It kept me engaged and intruiged through to the conclusion of the novel, which was a sweet and perfect circle moment.

I genuinely can't wait to read the second novel in the series.

*****

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the first book in a new cosy mystery series, and is a good read.
Ginny moves to a small village and wants to keep busy after recently losing her husband, so starts a job in the local library.
Her boss Louise is a nasty woman so Ginny wonders if this was a mistake. However, on her second day Ginny finds Louise dead in the library.
Some local women get in touch with Ginny and ask her questions about the death and soon she is working with them to try and work out who killed Louise.
This is a good cosy mystery.
Thanks to Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

3.5 stars, rounded up

Ginny’s life has been turned upside down – her husband has recently died, she’s moved to a new town and started a new job. On her first day at the new job, she finds the body of her new boss and becomes the primary suspect in the death. While trying to clear her name, she befriends three other widows and begins to find her niche in her new town… and new life.

This is the first book in a series by a new-to-me author, and it took a bit to decide whether I liked it or not. The setting doesn’t really seem to matter, except that it’s a new location for Ginny. Some of the characters seem a bit over the top, and their antics grated on my nerves, but the rest grew on me as the story continued. I was happy to watch Ginny come out of her shell even though some of the things her new friends talked her into seemed almost TSTL moments.

The murder victim was not a pleasant or well-liked person, so the list of possible suspects was long at first. As the investigation progressed, many of those names were removed, but I still wasn’t sure who the killer was until just before it was revealed in the book. Given that, the motive made sense.

I have an ARC of the next book in this series, which is due to be released next week, and I'm eager to read it to see what Ginny and her friends get up to next.

This was such a fun read! It felt like a retired version of Nancy Drew! I loved following Ginny, a relatively “young” widow learn how to be her own person. Of course, it was also interesting to follow the crime to see who the culprit was. This is book one in the series and I can say that I am looking forward to future releases!

3.5* rounded down

The Widow’s Guide to Murder seemed like it would be a sweet, cozy mystery. It had all the elements I enjoy in the summary: a cozy small town, an older woman, new friends and a library. I should have loved this, but it fell a little short. That’s not to say it was bad; it was not bad. It just didn’t work as well for me as other, similar cozy mysteries.

Ginny is a lonely widow, whose husband has just recently passed. She’s lived a very quiet life. Her husband was a doctor and she ran his office, but now that he’s gone, she has moved away and she needs to find new ways to fill her time and find some joy.

The small town of Little Shaw offers her a part-time job in a library and a small community in which to get involved. Except the library manager is a horribly rude woman whom no one likes and she just happens to turn up dead. Of course, Ginny finds her and she happens to notice a little detail that alerts the police that this may not be a simple death.

This is the extent of Ginny’s character. She has seen any number of things at her husband’s office and she has a good heart. She’s a bit too much of a goody-goody; it becomes a bit annoying until towards the end when she actually makes choices rather than getting carried along. She meets three widows in town and they pull her into their circle, which is wonderful for Ginny. Yet, when the prime suspect is one of their daughters, Ginny and the others can’t not look into the details. They need to prove her innocence.

The mystery winds around the town and in learning all the details the author also manages to give the reader a lot of background on the town and its characters. It’s a lovely set up for a series. My issue was that I didn’t feel engaged. There was very little hook to pull me in and the town didn’t feel alive enough for me to care about the characters and what happens to them. Ginny only meets the suspected murderer after the widows ask for her help. We don’t know this woman enough to actually believe she must absolutely be innocent and to care that she be innocent.

When the mystery finally winds down, all the loose ends are tied off. The murderer had an interesting story and I was surprised, but I wasn’t invested enough for it to be a revelation. A large part of a book working for me is the world and the background or the characters feeling really alive. It ruins the experience if it doesn’t feel like it could be real. The characters here are a bit flat.

The three widows Ginny meets are all old biddies and it seems like they were written to ensure they fell into different boxes. There’s the sweet old lady, the brash one and the lesbian. We don’t really learn much more about them than this. Even Ginny is flat. She has family that keeps calling her to move back because she can’t be trusted to look after herself and she considers it multiple times. Yet, she also sticks her nose in other people’s business? It doesn’t really track. It destroys the magic when the fabric that makes up the story doesn’t feel alive.

Otherwise, the mystery had lots of details and was interesting. I’ll probably pick up the sequel but I won’t be running for it. I hope it works a little better than this one did.

Grief, Retirement, and Murder all in one! Following Ginny and her new found widowed-friends navigate a crazy mess they’ve dragged into was very entertaining! I can’t wait to dive into the second book!

This was my first book by this author - and the start of a new series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - there was murder, mystery, suspense and a surprising outcome.
The book was well written and the characters are developing nicely and gelling together well. It makes book 2 well worth waiting for.

The ladies came together to make the Widows Murder Club - because they had all lost their partners but lived in the same village - in fact it seems libraries and librarians are a dangerous combination! What trouble can books get you into? There is no resemblance to a similar series of books about a murder club.

To provide much more information would give too many spoilers but I thoroughly recommend this book and I imagine the series

A very quick gentle read, perfect for anyone who likes cosy crime with likeable quirky characters. I'd love to know where this perfect village is, with a thriving library, shops, police station and a bus service!