My first Amanda Ashby novel but definitely not my last. I did not know this was a series but it read perfectly fine as a standalone. Ok the characters were out of this world and had me burning the midnight oil. Delicate untangling of secrets and lies, very well written.
Thank you NetGalley, Amanda Ashby and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Widow’s Guide to Skullduggery is a thoroughly enjoyable cozy mystery with just the right blend of humor, intrigue, and small-town eccentricity. When a human skull shows up at a wedding, widow-turned-amateur-sleuth Ginny Cole and her delightful crew of fellow investigators are off and running—again.

The story delivers a fun, well-paced mystery, complete with long-buried secrets, village feuds, and more than one skeleton (literal and metaphorical) in the closet. The widows’ camaraderie is one of the book’s greatest strengths—witty, supportive, and just rebellious enough to make their sleuthing feel earned rather than silly.

While the mystery starts on a quirky note, things escalate quickly and satisfyingly, with twists that keep the reader guessing. A few plot threads strain believability toward the end, but the energy and charm of the cast carry it through.

If you enjoy your mysteries with clever women, sinister secrets, and a touch of the absurd, The Widow’s Guide to Skullduggery is a delightful escape into murder and mischief.

Widows…skulls…wedding…friends…detecting…the recipe for a page turner. Friends search for answers. This is a fun read…quick read…realistic quirky characters…mysterious…intriguing…even the title is interesting…foreboding…thanks Netgalley

Recently widowed Ginny Cole moved to the village of Little Shaw, started working as assistant in the local library, and has been included in a group of other widowed friends. Her next neighbor is also the grumpy local DI who mumbles a lot about the investigative efforts of the group while giving them information and encouragement. So when a naked skull is brought to a local bride by the dog who dug it up the friends do their best to get involved despite the usual DI being on vacation away and the interim DI's disdain for the "biddies". Of course, that doesn't stop them from snooping nor the reader from enjoying the story while snickering at the sneaky humor. Loved it!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected egalley from Storm Publishing via NetGalley. Pub Date Jun 30, 2025 **** #review @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial #NetGalley @the.storygraph @amandaashby #thewidowsguidetoskulduggery #WidowsDetectiveClubBk3 @stormbooks_co #cozymysteryseries @barnesandnoble #olderwidows #bookshop_org #twisty #bookshop_org_uk #librarian #England #MurderInvestigations #seniorsnoops #curses #villagelibrary #grieving #womensleuths #feudingvillages #slyhumor #friendship

4.5 stars

Ginny and friends are at it again - this time at a wedding! The day is decimated by the discovery of a human skull, while questions abound as to who would've planted it and why. Accusations and threats fly like birdseed as the bride and groom are persuaded to wait to hold their ceremony. Mysterious maps, ridiculous curses, rude villagers and even ruder social influencers all take their turn on the page in The Widow's Guide to Skulduggery. Ms. Ashby spins a good tale and this one is no exception. Once again we have unlikely heroes who save the day and we breathe a sigh of relief as the multiple mysteries are solved.

I received an ARC; this is my honest review.

A Widows' Detective Club crime novel, The Widow's Guide to Skulduggery (2025) begins and ends with a wedding. The group of women friends who are also widows are back, with Ginny, JM, Hen, and Tuppence caught up in a twenty-year-old murder, when a dog digs up a skull. A podcaster influencer gets involved in the happenings of Little Shaw village and the supposed curse, which is reinforced by events, including another murder. This enjoyable gentle crime mystery with village rivalries, secrets, and an unfriendly new police inspector makes for a three and a half star crime read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement.

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the arc of this book. The Widows' Guide to Skulduggery is book three in The Widows' Detective Club. I love this series. The books are cozy mysteries. This book is nicely paced and drags you into the story. I read this book in one sitting. This book is a light read. My only compliant about this book is I missed the interactions with DI Wallace. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.

The Widows' Guide to Skulduggery is book 3 in Amanda Ashby's cozy mystery series, The Widows' Detective Club. I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of book 2, and was pleased to also get approved for an advanced copy of this book.

Ginny Cole is a relatively new resident in the small town of Little Shaw, and is attending the wedding of Grace a young Little Shaw resident, and Theo a resident of the nearby town of Walton-on-Marsh. The towns have a long standing rivalry, so when an old skull makes an appearance at the wedding, rumours that the infamous curse affecting the two villages makes an appearance.

The Widows' club into which Ginny has been accepted are asked by the bride's aunt to identify the person who she believes sabotaged the wedding, and to be fair, there were a number of people who seemed thrilled that the wedding was stopped, not the least of which is Theo's former girlfriend.

Since the skull appears to have been part of an old mystery, and the investigation is not involving a murder, Ginny reluctantly allows herself to be drawn into the investigation, but soon it' clear things are much more dangerous than they first appeared.

With an abundance of suspects to investigate, and many secrets to be revealed, The Widows' Guide to Skulduggery was a fun, entertaining mystery. I did miss Ginny's next door neighbour in this novel as he was a really fun character, but if you know who I'm talking about, don't worry, he's just away temporarily.

The books have interesting mysteries, but are relatively light so are quick reads, and I look forward to reading more of this series.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this next book in this cozy mystery series. The author is building up an interesting cast of characters that recur, and also fleshing out the setting and environs. I feel like this could become a really successful series. I very much like the main character and her widow friends. The author deals compassionately with the issue of grief which I very much appreciate. I will highly recommend this series to readers of cozy mysteries!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

This is the third outing of the ladies of Little Shaw and it it's just as good as the first two. The characters are well developed and believable and the plot keeps you engaged right until the end. Fabulous. I can't wait for the next installment.

The ring-bearing dog at a wedding brings more than expected - a human skull. More chaos ensues coupled with the existing chaos of two highly disparate and at odds families. Amongst the guests are our intrepid Widow' Detective Club ladies - Ginny, Hen, Tuppence and JM. The skull is old, the police not interested. Ginny and Co investigate and uncover family feuds, village feuds, ancient murder, a local curse and so on. Even having read the previous books there are a lot of characters with similar sounding names to unravel/keep track. It's a cosy murder mystery, the ladies do a lot of talking to people and then repeating those conversations with their friends so a bit repetitive at times. The police are antagonistic this time but then Wallace is in New Zealand. I'm glad that he appears briefly at the end and, hopefully, will see of the acting DI. She's just unpleasant. He can be unpleasant but is obviously concerned at the ladies' meddling/investigation in previous books. Didn't quite hit the mark for me this time, manly because of the repetition but the mostly unpleasant Walton-on-Marsh villagers. 3.5* rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

The Widows Guide To Skulguggery is a cozy little mystery with Ginny,, Hen, Tuppence and JM. A group of friends who always seem to get in the middle of a murder. This time the murder actually stopped a wedding. Right before the ceremony was to start one of the guests dog came trying out with a skull that he dug up in the garden. The only problem with this was that it seems to be a skull that was belonging to a victim from 20 years ago. How to scope from 20 years ago and up at this wedding. Speculation has it that with the two families viewing somebody from either family planted it so they could break up the bride and groom but who would do such a thing?

The Widows Detective Club which our lovely friends on our cold start on a crusade to find out who would have planted this skull and why do they have to go to break up our happy couple? While they are investigating family secrets the village rivalries all start to pop up. Since Inspector Wallace is away on vacation, Ginny feels they will be able to help out until they meet his counterpart from the neighboring village. As you can see, she is not a fan of our lovely ladies and wants them to stay clear of this investigation. Will they is the question.? Especially when Ginny finds herself in a very bad and dangerous situation with one of the suspects. Will the ladies figure this out? Will Ginny be safe in time and who will be the one saving her.?

This is the third book in the series. I was very happy that I was approved to read this because I really enjoy this fun loving mystery. The characters are cute and they reminds me of a group of grannies who just seemed to stumble upon murder and mayhem. They are lovable and funny and the town itself feels like a place that you would love to go and visit. This is just a fun series and I hope it continues.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. I truly hope Ms. Ashby continues to write more adventures of our lovely ladies. I truly enjoyed this and would recommend it to all my friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC.

This is book 3 in The Widows' Detective Club series and I would really recommend to read them in order though you don't have to.

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. She is on good terms with her 19 year old colleague Connor West so when his sister Grace is getting married to Theo Faulkner from a neighbouring rival village, she is happy to accept an invitation.

However, at the church, dog Colin digs up a skull and drops it in front of the blushing bride, reigniting talks of a curse when village lines are not respected. The skull is found to belong to teacher Lesley Charlton who was apparently murdered by her husband twenty years ago. Together with Hen, JM and Tuppence, the unofficial Widows Detective Club starts sleuthing, safe in the knowledge that the police has closed the case. But then a fresh murder happens.

The cast is enormous but most of them are just there in the background to round out the community. 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. The plot was also really interesting, and full of female friendship and village life. Recommended as this incredibly warmhearted cosy mystery with great characters is cracking good fun.

Picture the scene: you're in the grounds of a beautiful church, dressed up in your wedding guest finery. The best man and chief bridesmaid are hurling insults at each other. The photographer is in a strop. The bride is close to tears. Then Colin, beloved terrier of the groom's mother, runs up to the bride and drops a skull at her feet. 💀
Who wanted to sabotage the wedding? How did Colin find the skull so easily? Whose skull was it? Who better to find out, than Little Shaw's answer to Miss Marple. They're not going to have an easy time though, given the rivalry between Little Shaw and the neighbouring village of Walton-on-Marsh.🔎
The Widow's Guide to Skullduggery was as quirky and chaotic as its predecessors, but moved along at a faster pace. A fun read, that was engrossing and entertaining. I was thrilled to see that a character who was introduced in book 2, made a welcome return. I hope he will remain a fixture throughout. 🔎
Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

A fabulous cosy mystery story, with the third story in the Widows’ Detective Series.

Ginny, the community librarian of Little Shaw is attending a local wedding when a Jack Russell gatecrashes the day, with a human skull. Observant Ginny, and her friends Hen, JM, and Tuppence suspect sabotage, as the families of the bride and groom are long-term rivals.

Soon enough the widows, fellow library supporters and other Little Shaw community members are involved in a make-shift investigation to untangle long-held grudges, village rivalries and a suspected devious plot (or two).

I just adore this series and am excited to know what is next in store for Ginny and the community of Little Shaw.

With thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of this story, in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoy humorous, cosy mysteries, with a memorable cast of characters, then give this a read.

The Widows Guide to Skulduggery is a delightful cozy mystery that hooks you from the first page and doesn’t let go. This is my first encounter with this author, and I’m thrilled to discover it’s part of a series, with two earlier books to dive into. The story centers on Ginny and her quirky “Murder Club” friends—JM, Tuppence, and Hen—whose amateur sleuthing is as charming as it is relentless.

The plot kicks off with a bang when a Jack Russell bounds into Grace and Theo’s wedding, brandishing a human skull. This grim discovery derails the nuptials, reignites a bitter rivalry between two villages, and sets the stage for a classic whodunit. Ginny, suspecting sabotage, leads her fellow widows in unraveling a tangled web of family feuds, ancient grudges, and buried secrets. When a fresh body surfaces, the stakes soar, and the investigation takes on a life of its own.

What makes this book shine is its infectious energy. The pace is brisk, and the characters are an absolute delight—Ginny and her crew are witty, determined, and wonderfully human. I found myself racing to pick the book up again, a sure sign of its grip. The small-town setting, complete with a helpful map at the start, adds to the immersive charm, though I longed for a character list to navigate the crowded first chapter more easily. (A small critique: why don’t all authors include this?)

The mystery itself is engaging, with enough twists to keep you guessing without feeling contrived. The police’s disinterest in the twenty-year-old skull gives Ginny and her friends free rein, making their meddling both plausible and fun. The interplay of village rivalries and personal motives is deftly woven, culminating in a satisfying resolution.

If you love cozy mysteries with vibrant characters, a touch of humor, and a plot that keeps you hooked, this book is a must-read. I’m already eager to backtrack to the earlier books in the series and join Ginny’s Murder Club for more adventures.

I’m rating this 4.5/5. A thoroughly enjoyable read, with a minor wish for a character guide to ease the early chapters. Highly recommended for cozy mystery fans!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Amanda Ashby for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Widow's Guide to Skulduggery, the third book in the Widows' Detective Club series by Amanda Ashby is a solid addition and a book that easily stands on its own, if you haven't read the first two.
This tale has a Hatfield and Mckoy vibe, only here it isn't just families feuding, it's entire villages. There are two mysteries for the club to solve - the current one of who disrupted the wedding of two lovers from opposing villages, and the historical one of who killed the victim to whom the long missing skull belongs. As Ginny and her intrepid partners start to investigate the first, they unwittingly uncover clues to the second, with far reaching consequences for the residents of both villages.
Ashby has written another fast-paced mystery, with compelling characters and plenty of intrigue.
I enjoyed reading the ARC of #TheWidowsGuidetoSkulduggery provided by #StormPublishing and #NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing me with this eARC. It was an absolute delight to read this cozy mystery!

The premise was very interesting. When a 20 years old skull disrupts Ginny’s friend’s wedding and a family feud ends up being the center of attention she knows she had to find out whose skull is that and solve the mystery. Especially when police shows almost no
Interest.

So she is in the midst of it with the other widows that are her partner in crimes! It turns out it’s a very deep plot that’s been in brewing for decades.

Really liked the book, easy and interesting read. I will most definitely read the backlogs of this series!

Thanks again NetGalley and publisher for the eARC.

This is the third book in the Widow’s Guide series. They re all fun, light hearted books that fit comfortably into the cosy mystery genre. I’ve loved them all so far, and I’m looking forward to more.
In this book, Ginny and her friends find themselves trying to determine who left a skull in a church garden, where it was found by a dog and disrupted a wedding that was about to take place. Plenty of potential suspects are identified, and the ladies lurch from one difficulty to another attempting to rule them in or out.
These books are well worth a look, and this one comfortably stands alone, without having read the first two.

Two warring villages, a curse, several deaths including historical ones, a cast of many mixed characters and an interrupted wedding. All the ingredients for a classic cozy. And I do love a classic cozy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.