** “For the last time, you and your friends need to stay out of this. I suggest you get yourself a safer hobby.” **

Amanda Ashby offers a fun cozy mystery with “The Widows’ Guide to Murder.”

After the death of her husband, Ginny Cole moves to the small village of Little Shaw. Newly hired as the assistant librarian, she figures she will settle into a quiet life … until her new boss is found dead in the library’s back room. Formerly having worked in her husband’s doctor’s office, she quickly recognizes that there might be more to Louisa’s death.

Meeting new friends, also widows — JM, Hen and Tuppence — the four women quickly band together to solve the murder, as well as other deadly incidents hitting their village. Can they figure out what’s going on before it’s too late for one of their own loved ones?

Ashby creates a delightfully fun story filled with mystery and drama that will appeal to all mystery lovers. She develops a fun cast of characters, who often find themselves in some hilariously odd situations, as well as some who are quite loathsome. And through her story she reminds us to never doubt ourselves but to believe in our strengths and abilities; the power of friendship and loyalty; things aren’t always as they seem; and we all deal with grief differently.

Fans of series like Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club,” Robert Thorogood’s “The Marlow Murder Club” and Peter Boland’s “The Charity Shop Detective Agency Mysteries” will love “The Widows’ Guide to Murder,” which is due out March 3.

Five stars out of five.

Storm Publishing provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

This book is a carefully woven, clever, whodunit. It's full of surprises abd suspects, that had me guessing right up to the final pages. A very entertaining read.

I loved the characters in this book. I felt sad for Ginny sometimes. I loved how Ginny is methodical and thoughtful in her approach to solving the crimes. It’s wonderfully written. I look forward to the next book in the series. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

60 year old widow Ginny Cole moves to the little town of Little Shaw to start fresh after the death of her husband. She settles into the quirky town with new friends and a new job at the library. Her quiet life is turned upside down when her new boss Louisa is murdered at the library. Together with her new friends, called the widows, she goes looking for the murderer.

This books has a very compelling story set-up and is executed brilliantly. The storytelling is great and the twist are turning and turns twisting (to be fair I am not the brightest with these kind of stories). The town and its inhabitants really read like one of Professor Laytons games which I loved playing. I liked that our main character was a bit older than mainstream books are. Although I don't know what it's like to be a widow, I think this books really paints a good picture and different ways of grieving are brought up, which was nice. All acquaintances/friends of Ginny were really interesting to get to know and I can't wait to further dive into Little Shaw and its inhabitants in the next book!
4.5 stars rated on storygraph

Thank you Storm publishing for the ARC!

I wasn't sure where this was going when I started it. A widow still talking to her husband and moving to a new area...... But it proved to be a fun read (obviously not counting the murders, attempted murders etc). I found the group of widows and the way they included her into their ranks to be quite entertaining as they investigated the deaths ( much to the annoyance of the police). I will be reading book 2

A riotous, murderous romp that’s so full of twists and turns! Really enjoyable read with colourful characters and a wonderful setting for what I hope will be a series. I really didn’t guess the ending which is refreshing. Any wait to read more!

Thank you Netgalley

Thank you Storm Publishing and Net Galley for this ARC! Ginny Cole moves to Little Shaw after the death of her husband looking for a fresh start. On her second day of her new job at the library she finds her boss dead! With the help of a few new friends known as the widows without a cause, they set to find out the killer. As the case unravels can they handle all that’s involved? This cozy mystery was fun with great characters and you find yourself routing for these underdogs! Looking foward to the next book with these fun characters!

This was a very well written cozy (in my opinion) mystery! The characters were really likeable and very entertaining. I loved the friendships in the book and I’m so happy this will be a series. I will definitely be continuing this series and reading the future books as soon as they come out. Having a cat in the book also was a huge plus!
I have 3 cats, so It always makes me happy when I find a book with the MC has cat(s).

A fun enjoyable cosy mystery following a group of widows who set out to solve a crime. Perfect for fans of a cosy mystery with loveable characters

I loved this enjoyable cosy crime mystery featuring a group of widows. The characters were endearing especially the cat Edgar and newcomer Ginny a sensible and intuitive voice, a contrast to her new friends. Fast paced, a clever denouement. I look forward I the next instalment in the series.

This was such a good book and such a fun read - yes there is a murder, but the almost bumbling but really quite brilliant amateur sleuthing that goes on makes this a joy to get into, Ginny moves to a new place as a widow and worries about not fitting in, worries about how to live without her husband and what she will do with herself. Ginny is lovely and so endearing, she is kind and always means well. Her new group of friends are eccentric but make the plot the good one that it is, their madcapness adds to rhetorical enjoyment, as does the prickly stray cat.

Sixty year old Ginny Cole relocates to a small village in order to continue mourning the loss of her husband, and to get out from under his sister's thumb. She starts a new job at the local parish-run library and then discovers the unlikeable librarian dead. When a new friend's daughter is under suspicion for the murder, an unlikely group of widows band together to find out who really had reason to commit the crime.

The pace of this book was extremely slow, even for a cozy mystery. For that reason, it's not a bad bedtime read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The perfect cosy crime novel to disappear into on a dreary weekend - and the really good news is it's the first in a series.
A mixed bag of fun characters, who I hope will develop further as the series progresses- not to mention a clearly highly intelligent cat.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for episode two!

I absolutely adored this book! There was something going on from start to finish. Cozy up on the couch with some tea and dive in! Can't wait to start the next one!

Thank you Netgalley for the Advance Reader's Copy!

The Widows Guide To Murder is the first book in The Widows Detective Agency by Amanda Ashby, Jenny Cole is a widow who recently moved to Little Shaw in Britain to make a new start. Jenny sticks to herself and still comes home to explain her day to her deceased husband and do a word puzzle with him. Unfortunately, Jenny was hired to be the assistant librarian at the Little Shaw library and her boss is Louisa a real B. on her second day at the library, she finds her boss Louisa dead. this is just the beginning of the tragedies that are going to be fall the residence of Little Shaw and thanks to the widows club adopting Jenny as their new member she will soon be investigating it. I love the widows. I found this book went many places most cozy mysteries don’t go with multiple murders a fun crew of amateur sluethes, a clever plot, and Witty dialogue. I love how Jenny came out of her shell just by associating with the widows club and how determined she was to get Hins daughter cleared not to mention the intriguing dysfunctional secrets. The town had this was just a great book and I can’t wait for the next one in the series. if you’d love cozy mysteries then you definitely would love the widows detective agency. I am not even a big fan of a amature sluethes and I absolutely enjoyed it.#NetGalley, #storm publishing, #TheBlindReviewer, #AmandaAshby, #TheWidowsGuideToMurder,

If you’re looking for similar vibes to the Thursday Murder Club series then this is the book for you.

Centred around recently widowed Ginny who moved to a small town to start again, she finds her new boss dead in the library…murdered 👀

She forms an interesting connection with three other widows in the town who start their own, secret investigation to find out who killed her.

With plenty of twists and turns, false leads and suspicious people, they work to try and crack the case.

A nice, easy read with likeable characters and a classic whodunit story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing early access to this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC.

This is book 1 in The Widows' Detective Club series but book 2 is straight behind.

Ginny Cole, 60, recently widowed, has moved to Middle Cottage, Little Shaw for a fresh start, and got herself a part-time job in the local library. However, on her second day she discovers the universally disliked library manager Louisa Farnsworth dead on the premises. Together with Hen, JM and Tuppence, three other widows, she sets upon discovering the murderer, even though grumpy DI James Wallace who also happens to be her neighbour, is not happy about it.

Suspects are not in short supply, from husband Bernard to Bernards ex-wife Alyson to historian Harold and handyman Mitch, they all had a bone to pick with her, not to mention all the disgruntled library members.

The cast is enormous but most of them are just there in the background to round out the community. I had so many theories and changed my mind countless times - if the widows were convinced of the murderer's identity I was too, and we were all wrong every time. The reveal came a bit out of left field in what turned out to be quite a complicated story involving several unsavoury characters.

I'm giving this such a high score because I felt extremely entertained by this motley crew of community characters, and I love feisty, elderly women just doing what they want, although unfortunately the other widows felt somewhat underdeveloped. I hope we get more background on them in the next book. The plot was also really interesting, and full of female friendship and village life.

I found it endearing and weird at the same time that Ginny still talks to her dead husband, but she is a lovely lady with a big, grief-stricken heart. I liked how she took young Connor under her wings, adopted black cat Edgar and just generally became a fixture in Little Shaw's community ever so quickly. Also, a book with so much library content is always a winner with me! Recommended as this incredibly warmhearted cosy mystery with great characters is cracking good fun.

Simply wonderful. I really enjoyed reading about Ginny and the other widows as they attempted to solve multiple murders. It was such a well written story that keep me guessing right until the murderer was revealed. Can't wait for the next instalment.

Recently widowed Ginny stumbles upon her new boss’s murdered body. Unexpectedly embracing her newfound role as amateur sleuth, Ginny teams up with other widows to solve the mystery, even when it puts her in the killer’s crosshairs.

This book is relatable and fun to read. I love the cast of characters. The plot itself is fast-paced and a bit over-the-top.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I had no idea what to expect from this book and was delighted at how much I enjoyed it! This was one of those books that caught my attention with the title and I decided to give it a go. I thought it got off to a little bit of a slow start but by chapter 2 I was hooked and didn't want to put it down. I loved the character of Ginny and liked that the author didn't rush her through her grief. Of course the rest of the widows are wonderful as well. How could you not like a group that takes Ginny into their circle right away and helps get her to become a part of the community. The mystery part of the story was also really well done. Being new to this small village and the people in it made the pool of suspects be just about everyone which certainly kept me on my toes. I liked that every suspect the group put forward could have been the killer with the info they had at the time. That there was more to Sophia's death than initially thought wasn't really a surprise, but I was very surprised in how it had all gone down. It was hard to feel too bad for the victims - they were not exactly good people themselves, but the killer was ready to go too far and it was clear did not care who else they took it in order to save themselves so in the end it was hard to feel bad for them. Other than the scene in the cemetery at the grave site the story also stayed pretty much in the real world so you could believe the widows would actually be able to solve the parts of the mystery that they did. I am definitely excited for book 2!