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The Good Widow: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Liz Fenton (Author), Lisa Steinke (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 28,722 ratings
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Amazon Charts bestselling authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke make their suspense debut in this twisty, emotional thriller.

Elementary school teacher Jacqueline “Jacks” Morales’s marriage was far from perfect, but even in its ups and downs it was predictable, familiar. Or at least she thought it was…until two police officers showed up at her door with devastating news. Her husband of eight years, the one who should have been on a business trip to Kansas, had suffered a fatal car accident in Hawaii. And he wasn’t alone.

For Jacks, laying her husband to rest was hard. But it was even harder to think that his final moments belonged to another woman—one who had left behind her own grieving and bewildered fiancé. Nick, just as blindsided by the affair, wants answers. So he suggests that he and Jacks search for the truth together, retracing the doomed lovers’ last days in paradise.

Now, following the twisting path of that fateful road, Jacks is learning that nothing is ever as it seems. Not her marriage. Not her husband. And most certainly not his death…

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  1. Print length
    301 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Lake Union Publishing
  5. Publication date
    June 1, 2017
  6. File size
    1311 KB
  7. Page Flip
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  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A Publishers Weekly Best Summer Books 2017 Selection, Mystery/Thriller

“Fenton and Steinke deliver a complicated tale of love, loss, intrigue, and disaster....This drama keeps the pages turning with shocking twists until the bitter end. A great read; recommended for admirers of Jennifer Weiner and Rainbow Rowell.” —Library Journal

“Fans of Joy Fielding will appreciate the story’s fast pacing and sympathetic main character.…[a] solid psychological thriller…” —Publishers Weekly

“Fenton and Steinke’s talent for domestic drama comes through.…For readers who enjoy suspense writers like Nicci French.” —Booklist

“A fantastic thriller that will keep you on your toes…” —Popsugar

“Accomplished authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke make their suspense debut with great skill and assurance in this enthralling novel of marital secrets and lies, grief and revelation. The Good Widow led me along a winding, treacherous road and made a sharp, startling turn that I didn’t see coming. Unputdownable!” —A. J. Banner, #1 Amazon bestselling author of The Good Neighbor and The Twilight Wife

“Liz Fenton's and Lisa Steinke’s The Good Widow begins by asking what you would do if your spouse died in a place he wasn't supposed to be in with a woman he wasn't supposed to be with. What follows is a gut-wrenching thriller, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes darkly funny, but always a page-turner. And as you read it late into the night you'll look over at the person in bed next to you and wonder how well you really know him. A wild, skillfully-written ride!” —David Bell, author of Since She Went Away

“An irresistible and twisty page-turner, The Good Widow should come with a delicious warning: This is not the story you think it is." —Deb Caletti, author of He's Gone

“The Good Widow is both heartrending and suspenseful, deftly navigating Jacks' mourning and the loss of her less-than-perfect marriage. The writing is sharp and evocative, the Hawaiian setting is spectacular, and the ending was a wonderful, twisty surprise. A quintessential summer beach read!” —Kate Moretti, New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Year

“The Good Widow is a fresh take on your worst nightmare—your husband dies and he isn't where, or with who, he said he was. I ripped through these pages to see where Fenton and Steinke would take me, which ended up being somewhere unexpected in the best kind of way. You will not be sorry you read this!” —Catherine McKenzie, bestselling author of Fractured and Hidden

About the Author

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have been best friends for more than twenty-five years. They’ve survived high school, college, and the publishing of three novels together. Liz lives in San Diego, California, with her husband and two children. Lisa, a former talk show producer, now lives in Chicago, Illinois, with her husband, daughter, and two bonus children. Visit Liz and Lisa at www.lizandlisa.com.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01LH2GQ7U
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lake Union Publishing (June 1, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1311 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 301 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 28,722 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Liz Fenton

    Liz Fenton

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    Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have been best friends for over 30 years and survived high school and college together. They've co-authored seven novels, including The Year We Turned Forty, which is in development for a TV series. They also host the popular podcast We Fight So You Don't Have to. They both reside with their families and several rescue dogs in San Diego, California.

    Connect with Liz and Lisa on Instagram at @lisaandliz or at www.lizandlisa.com.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Lisa Steinke

    Lisa Steinke

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have been best friends for over thirty years and survived high school and college together. They’ve co-authored seven novels, including the Amazon Charts bestseller, The Good Widow. Their forthcoming book, Forever Hold Your Peace, will be published on July 11, 2023.

    In addition to writing books, they created a podcast, We Fight So You Don’t Have to: Lessons from a thirty-year friendship. They also appear monthly on a San Diego news station to share their favorite book club picks.

    They both reside in San Diego, California with their families and several rescue dogs.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
28,722 global ratings
Twisted ending.
4 Stars
Twisted ending.
Jacqueline “Jacks” Morales is in a state of total confusion after she finds out that her husband has died in a car accident in Hawaii because he was supposed to be on a work trip to Kansas. Up until this point, Jacks thought she had a pretty good marriage. Sure there were issues, but every married couple argues, right? They had been together for 8 years and she had never once considered that he might have an affair. There has to be some mistake. James has to be in Kansas. The shock is compounded when she finds out James wasn’t alone. He was having an affair with a woman named Dylan, who also died in the accident.Unable to deal with both the betrayal and the death at the same time, she is just vulnerable enough to accept the offer of Dylan’s fiancé Nick to go with him to Hawaii to try to discover what they had been doing there and to try to gain some semblance of closure.While in Hawaii she and Nick are able to find out things they didn’t know and they also find some solace there. Jacks’ sister Beth just wants her to come home to heal, but Jacks knows she has to see this through if she is ever going to feel normal again.With a twist that you may see coming and one that you may not see, this is a good book that I really enjoyed.Jacks is a loving, caring, and sacrificing person that I truly hoped would find happiness again. I felt she deserved it and the more I read, the more I liked her and the more I pulled for her.Nick is also devastated by the loss of Dylan and is so good with Jacks, making sure that she is comfortable and is able to handle everything that comes her way. He becomes her rock and together they are great at helping each other through a very difficult timeIf you are looking for a good book and a quick read, check out The Good Widow. Not only the writing and the plot, but also the descriptions of Hawaii will make you want to jump on a plane, go there, and do all the excursions that are described. I love reading about new places and this was no exception. Beautifully descriptive and quite well-written.
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Top reviews from the United States

Sunshine
4.0 out of 5 stars Great storyline & suspense but needed an epilogue/closure
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
This was a book I could've easily finished in a day but found myself purposely taking my time to prolong the book. It's so hard for me to find completely absorbing books like this because I am very picky. This was a very easy and fun read and I found myself identifying with each of the situations and/or characters at different times throughout the twist and turns and revelations. Jacks was, unfortunately, hard for me to like as a person. I rarely dislike main protagonists and almost always choose their "side" in books. But I felt like Jacks seemed really selfish and wimpy with so many fears of this and that and it started to get annoying. It wasn't annoying to read, just felt like if I were James or Nick or whoever was traveling with her and she was being such a wet blanket, I'd feel annoyed by her. I also felt like she struggled with borderline alcoholism. In light of all of these things, although I'd never condone James' choices, I almost started to feel sorry for him. There were many times I felt sorry for Jacks as well, so I wasn't choosing his "side" over hers at all, just struggled with liking her or feeling empathy for her about some things. I guess this is what I mean by saying I could relate with each of the characters at times throughout the book. None of this is a negative or a complaint about the book--to me that's part of what makes a great book great. I love really being drawn in and feeling like I'm living in the story. My single complaint about the book was that there was not an epilogue or final chapter tying up the last loose end, which was how James reacted to Dylan's secret, or at least something from his point of view. In fact I felt like that's the direction the authors were leading us with the discovery of an item that was made towards the end of the book, but alas it was not to be. I don't like ambiguous endings or "choose your own" type of endings. I read other people's stories because they're telling me the story--I'm not telling myself or I'd just write my own! Haha. So that's the only reason for a 4 star rating for me. Loved it, would definitely read more by these authors in the future. Definitely worth reading! Perfect beach or vacay book.
2 people found this helpful
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teachlz
5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing and Intriguing Novel
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
it was amazing

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke authors of “The Good Widow” have written an amazing and intriguing novel.

The genres of this novel are Women’s Fiction, Suspense, and Mystery. The story is told in a timeline of past and present,by the various characters.

I find that the authors describe their characters as complex, and complicated. Jacks Morales, an elementary teacher is told by two policeman that her husband James has been in a fatal accident in Hawaii. Jacks is shocked because her husband of eight years was supposed to be in Kansas. In addition to this devastating news, Jacks finds out that James was with another women.

The other woman’s fiance, Nick, approaches Jacks and suggests that they can get answers to see if they can move on, and get closure by going to Hawaii to the scene of the accident. Both Jacks and Nick seem overwhelmed by the accident, and their lost significant others.

As I was reading, I was waiting for “more”. I could feel the suspense mounting. There were twists and turns in the plot,and emotional turmoil within the characters. There are secrets.

The authors descriptions of the scenery in Hawaii are breathtaking, and impressive.

The authors write about ultimate betrayal, love,loss, family and hope. As I finished the story I am left pondering, do we really know the people we are close with? Is it better to know the truth or not?

I would highly recommend this entertaining novel. I received an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
6 likes

Reading Progress
March 28, 2017 – Started Reading
April 9, 2017 – Finished Reading

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Comments (showing 1-3 of 3) (1 new)
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message 1: by Lisa - rated it 5 stars
Apr 11, 2017 08:27AM

Lisa Steinke
Thank you! so happy you enjoyed the book!

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message 2: by Linda - rated it 5 stars
Apr 11, 2017 08:30AM

Linda Zagon
Lisa wrote: "Thank you! so happy you enjoyed the book!"

I loved it. I can't wait for the discussion group on May 10.
Best regards, Linda

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message 3: by Lisa (new) - rated it 5 stars
Apr 11, 2017 08:44AM

Lisa Steinke
So thrilled! And thank you also for reviewing the book here! It's so helpful!

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Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke authors of “The Good Widow” have written an amazing and intriguing novel.The genres of this novel are Women’s Fiction, Suspense, and Mystery. The story is told in a timeline of past and present,by the various characters.I find that the authors describe their characters as complex, and complicated. Jacks Morales, an elementary teacher is told by two policeman that her husband James has been in a fatal accident in Hawaii. Jacks is shocked because her husband of eight years was supposed to be in Kansas. In addition to this devastating news, Jacks finds out that James was with another women.The other woman’s fiance, Nick, approaches Jacks and suggests that they can get answers to see if they can move on, and get closure by going to Hawaii to the scene of the accident. Both Jacks and Nick seem overwhelmed by the accident, and their lost significant others.As I was reading, I was waiting for “more”. I could feel the suspense mounting. There were twists and turns in the plot,and emotional turmoil within the characters. There are secrets.The authors descriptions of the scenery in Hawaii are breathtaking, and impressive.<br The authors write about ultimate betrayal, love,loss, family and hope. As I finished the story I am left pondering, do we really know the people we are close with? Is it better to know the truth or not?I would highly recommend this entertaining novel. I received an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
2 people found this helpful
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S.C. Woodard
3.0 out of 5 stars Liked it up until the end
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
This book had promise. It kept me interested and lead me along its path. It could have been a little bit shorter and gotten to the climax more quickly. The characters are not very likeable. You have the husband who basically is a smooth talking jerk and the wife and main character of the book who keeps a pretty large and important secret from him. She is kind of wishy washy throughout the book and by the end you get tired of it. The other two characters in the book, the mistress, who is really nothing much and her fiancee who you can tell is over possessive from the beginning. The husband and the mistress are killed in a car accident in Maui while the wife believes he is in Kansas on a business trip. The jilted wife and fiancee are left to track down their trail because they basically want to find out why their significant others no longer wanted them. The story of their journey takes the majority of the plot and as it is leading to its climax you are not sure what you are going to find out. This is where the story drops the ball. There is a twist that really makes it seem predictable and unnecessary and kind of unbelievable. It was disappointing in the end. In the end the wife almost seems to over-romanticize her husband's memory and seems to forget that he really was a big jerk. Much promise but could have been better.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Khushal Chand
4.0 out of 5 stars Ok
Reviewed in India on June 19, 2019
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Ok
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Linda Pfeiffer
4.0 out of 5 stars It took two women to write the story of one Good Widow
Reviewed in Canada on October 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
When Jacqueline Morales is informed that her husband has died in Maui, she is shocked and dismayed as you would think a new widow would be. But when she learns that her husband was not only in Hawaii as opposed to Kansas where he said he was going on business, but he was not alone. He was accompanied by a woman named Dylan Matthews who was also in the car with him when it careened off the cliff on the road to Hana. It was also true that she shared his hotel room and took the same flight to Hawaii with him days before. Then Dylan's fiancee, Nick Ford lands on Jacks doorstep demanding to know why her husband James was with his fiancee in Maui. His suggestion is that they travel together to the scene of the accident and try to piece together what happened and when the affair began.

From here to the end of the book it's slow going as the authors flesh out all the characters and give you more of the back story. Then with only about 5% of the book left to the end, it suddenly takes a turn and becomes psychologically dark, riveting and then finally the conclusion you may not have been expecting.

I was going to give this only 3 stars as I found it very slow at first, but then I read biographical notes about the authors once I'd finished and decided that I really did like the story and can't figure out another way they could have gone to make it faster. So it's four stars.
2 people found this helpful
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Queen of Denmark
4.0 out of 5 stars Okay, not one I couldn't put down, but it passed the time well and was better than similar books I've read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
I've seen this one being publicised on those lists that say "10 books to read if you liked..." and it seems to be one that's being pushed a lot right now. It's not bad, although it wasn't one that I was desperate to find out the answers to.

Jacks discovers her husband was cheating on her with another woman when the police arrive at her door to tell her that James has been killed in a tragic accident. As she starts to put her life back together she examines her marriage to see what went wrong, to see if she can work out why James cheated, and whether he was planning to leave her. But digging into her past might put her future in jeopardy.

I did guess what was coming, and to be honest I didn't know what any woman would see in James. He was spoilt and selfish and completely unattractive in any way that I could see from the way the women described him. I don't know if I'd rush to buy anything else by the author, but I'll keep an eye out for them and decide later.
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BlueBell
4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read!
Reviewed in Australia on January 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
I'd been meaning to read this book for a while now and finally got around to it. I liked it. At times I found the book slow and in other parts it had pace. There were was a lot of "telling" rather than "showing" me the story, and that can sometimes be cumbersome for the reader and throw them from the story. Also, the female names confused me a bit. Jacks and Dylan? Anyway, overall an enjoyable read!! 4 stars.
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Shirley oickle
5.0 out of 5 stars Dumbfounded Widow.I
Reviewed in Canada on January 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
Loved the book, but stupid Jacks. She sure didn'tknow her husband at all. James did want to hurt her,but he didn't know how to r
Tell

Great book. Loved it. Wanted to scream at Jacks so many times, though. She certainly didn'tknow her husband like she thought she did. I KNOW James WA Ted to tell her aboutthe affair,but didn'the want to hurt her. He loved two women,hence, his mood. To get involved with another man so quickly and to someone who wasn't truthworthy, was too much. If something seems to good to be true , it usually is. Keep writing, the book keep me intrigued?
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