Maggie finally has a chance to breathe after the death of her controlling husband, Frank. She’s rebuilding her life piece by piece. A new job, new friends, a roommate, even a dog. For the first time in years, she’s creating something of her own. It’s heartwarming to watch. At first.

Then things start to get weird. She smells Frank’s cologne when no one is around. Items in the house are moved. Maggie starts to wonder if he’s still here. Is he punishing her from beyond the grave?

What really worked for me was how the tension builds slowly and steadily. The cast is small, but everyone feels a little off at one point or another. The author does a great job creating suspense and making you question everyone’s motives.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

Maggie has started venturing out of her house at last. Years of being held as a virtual prisoner by her controlling husband Frank, she's now free. She's just taking little walks in the village, braving smiling at strangers, feeling delighted when they smile back. Then on one of her walks, she finds herself drawn to a poster in a local pub, advertising an evening with a psychic. Maggie doesn't believe in the supernatural, but decides it's the perfect place to finally meet some friends. But the psychic has news for Maggie. She tells her Frank is back. And that he's got a message for her.... And when strange things begin happening, Maggie can't help but wonder - does someone have it in for her? Or could Frank have found a way to come back to her?

I was suspicious of every character in this fast-paced,, suspenseful and gripping read.

Maggie's controlling husband Frank had recently died and Maggie was getting her confidence back, until the night she goes to see a psychic in a local pub....

Published 18th June 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #NatashaBoydell for my ARC of #TheWidowsHusband in exchange for an honest review.

My first Natasha Boydell novel but definitely not my last! I enjoyed this one from the get-go. A great cast of characters that kept me captivated from beginning to end. So many red herrings, I had no idea who to trust. And did not see that ending coming.
Thank you NetGalley, Natasha Boydell and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My first book by the author and not the last. The book kept me thoroughly engaged but was a little far fetched in places. A great thriller. Thanks for an ARC

Maggie was an abused wife. Frank was very controlling and abusive. After 30 years of marriage Frank died. Of natural causes?

A tense and gripping psychological thriller that will have you hooked from the start. Maggie was a prisoner in her home, thanks to her controlling husband Frank, but now he’s dead. She can finally venture back out into the world again. But after attending a psychic evening, something tells her that Frank is back and he has a message for her. And when strange things start happening, Maggie unsure whether someone has it in for her or whether supernatural forces are at work. This book will draw you in and keep you enthralled with the twists and turns. Well written and addictive, I can highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and the author for the chance to review.

The review below is already posted on Goodreads and will be posted on Amazon as soon as it is available on June 18th.

The Widow's Husband was a very tense thriller. I was grabbed from the very beginning and within 2 chapters, I was on edge. While there were some aspects that I did not understand their placement, they were very good for background information that added to the story. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Frieda McFadden and is interested in thrillers that get a feeling like her novels. I did want more of an ending but that is also a personal preference and it did not take away from how great the book was in general.

⭐⭐⭐Arc Review⭐⭐⭐
The Widows Husband by Natasha Boydell
Release date: 18th June 2025

What would you do if the ghost of your late husband was haunting you? Well this is exactly what Maggie thinks is happening to her. After a psychic night in the local pub she's left wondering when and if he's out to get her.

Overall Maggie was a great Lead character, she had some depth and growth throughout. However I do find the pacing of being a recluse to full on go getter a bit fast.

Going into this one I was ready for a twisty psychological thriller, leave me questioning what was happening right until the end. Unfortunately I felt the story lost it's pacing in the middle. The chapters for me felt to long for a thriller, but also worked with the way the author tells Maggie's story.

The writing style reminded me of T.M Logan, K.L Slater and Fiona Barton. I would definitely recommend this to people who enjoy the slow paced build of a thriller, where the the twist is packed into the last 2 chapters. I would definitely read another by the author.

As always Thank you to Natasha Boydell, Netgalley and Boldwood books for the opportunity to be a Arc reader
⭐⭐⭐.5 stars

My thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Widow’s Husband’ written by Natasha Boydell in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Now that her jealous and controlling husband Frank has died Maggie is free to leave the home where he kept her as a virtual prisoner. Fearing she’s becoming agoraphobic, she takes a walk through the village and sees a notice outside the pub advertising a psychic evening and as she’s desperate to meet people and make friends she buys a ticket. But that’s just the start of Maggie’s nightmare as the psychic tells her Frank is back and watching her, and then strange things start to happen in her home.

‘The Widow’s Husband’ is a chilling story of a woman who fears her dead husband has returned to haunt her and finds a close circle of friends, Beth, Alyssa and Gary, who are supportive of her and what she’s going through. This well-written story has an intricately woven plot, realistic characters and plenty of suspense, drama and intrigue that kept me reading in trepidation of what was going to happen to Maggie. As I reached the final chapters I thought I knew how the story was going to end, only to have the final pages throw up a twist that I wasn’t expecting and left me open-mouthed in surprise. This has been a thoroughly enjoyable thriller, my second by the talented Natasha Boydell, and I’m very much looking forward to reading more by her in the future.

This was a great book with a killer twist! It centers on Maggie, whose husband Frank has recently passed away, though she is quick to say that her marriage was not a happy one. She finally gets the nerve to put herself back out there and meet some people and regain her life. She quickly makes some friends and all is going well when creepy things start happening around her house and she is convinced that Frank is bullying her from beyond the grave to ensure she can't move on with her life.

I liked Maggie, for the most part, but felt that she went from not being able to leave the house to all of a sudden doing a bit of everything, and that felt rather abrupt; I am guessing the author just wanted to provide the background but not slow down the pacing of the book. Some of the things that happened throughout seemed like they could not be coincidences, which basically caused me to accuse every single character of being the villain at some point- I really appreciated the style of writing. The creepy stuff that happened when she was in her house was done really well, and I definitely felt Maggie's fear and confusion. When the final twist was revealed, I was totally floored- I did not see it coming at all!

Overall, this was a heart-pounding read that could have gone in a few different directions, but ultimately rachet4ed up the suspense to a really great ending. Would definitely recommend!

What a read! Could not put this down! The plot twists and speed in which things move in the story are phenomenal! Will def recommend! If fast paced, gritty, psychological thrillers are your thing…. Run to get a copy!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC is return for a honest review!

This was my first book by this author, and I was immediately intrigued by the title. After taking a glance at the blurb, I had a strong feeling this might be a story I’d really enjoy. Was I right or was I right?

We meet Maggie, a woman who hasn’t been widowed for very long and is struggling to piece her life back together. One day, she decides she’s too young to give up and makes the decision to treat this as the first day of the rest of her life. But that’s easier said than done. Apparently, something – or someone – has a different opinion about that.

We see Maggie slowly start to come out of her shell, only to be pushed back in again by the strange events that start to unfold. She begins to build a circle of friends, but increasingly starts to doubt whether she can really trust them. Her nerves are constantly on edge, and just when she thinks she’s figured things out, something else goes wrong.

Eventually, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it either, because every suspect on my list had a plausible reason why they shouldn’t be on it. So… who’s left?

Isn’t it just brilliant when an author can completely mislead you, guiding you so convincingly in a certain direction that you start to believe someone is guilty or innocent? I was convinced for a long time that someone else was the main culprit, and even when the truth came out, I was still skeptical. The real manipulator never crossed my mind. So all I can say is that the author did an excellent job.

I completely understood Maggie’s doubts about everything, because I was just as lost as she was.

And of course, as any thriller fan hopes… there was a twist. ;)

A truly enjoyable first encounter with this author and her work. 5 stars.

Thank you!

Every character in this book was on my "they did it" list. It also had me convinced the husband was still alive and tormenting his wife.
This is a twisty little page turner. It had me from beginning to end. And the ending was not what I expected at all. It was a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood for an ARC of this book.

Maggie has started venturing out of her house at last. Years of being held as a virtual prisoner by her controlling husband, Frank, she’s now free. She’s just taking little walks in the village, braving smiling at strangers, feeling delighted when they smile back.
Then, on one of her walks, she finds herself drawn to a poster in the window of the local pub, advertising an evening with a psychic. Maggie doesn’t believe in the supernatural, but decides it is the perfect place to finally meet some friends.

This is an enjoyable read with an excellent twist at the end. I enjoyed the three-dimensional characters and the story hops along nicely. I did find it became bogged down in certain sections but the story was carried forward nicely.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

I thought this would be a typical thriller but boy was I wrong!! This is a clever novel and I loved the paranormal aspect to it, it was a refreshing read, but gripping and twisty too. I really would recommend this to all

The Widow’s Husband was dark, twisty and had the right amount of dubious paranormal activity that had me hooked.

I’m not huge on haunting or ghost stories, but the plot twist in this was incredible. I truly had NO idea who the culprit was and had my mind blown when I got to the end.

It was a quick paced, edge of your seat thriller.

The cleverest thing about this book is how Maggie’s learned helplessness impacts the plot. People who have not experienced abuse may find some of her reactions and behaviour frustrating and difficult to understand, but the author has captured perfectly that strange sense of powerlessness and tendency to freeze. I thought this added to the tension which flowed through the whole plot. The inclusion of a potential supernatural angle had me questioning where this would end up and I found the last quarter of the book absolutely gripping. A terrific thriller and an author to follow, for sure.

This was my first book by Natasha Boydell, it was a great storyline. I felt it was a little bit dragged out but nonetheless a great read with a fantastic twist that I didn’t see coming! I had many a ‘conclusion’ in my head but it was not any of them, fantastic! 4/5

This is a great book from Natasha Boydell. I'm not a person who believes in spirits but even I was questioning if the husband was actually dead or not! Great plot. Highly recommend this one.