DISCLAIMER: The Grass Widow was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest. Thanks to The Write Reads for having me on this tour.
Summary
Ditched by her married lover Hugh on the day she was made redundant, Leonie plans to make life difficult for Hugh while she searches for a new job. She inveigles her way into his house as a cleaner, intending to plant fake clues to his new liaison for his wife Amanda to find. But instead she discovers real clues to Amanda’s secrets.
Meanwhile, fellow cleaners Brenda and Tina also have hidden agendas as they work: Brenda is counting on a spot of blackmail and Tina is looking for financial information to sell to her dodgy brother-in-law.
At the centre of this web is Amanda’s gardener Simon: handsome, ruthless and plausible, with a shady past and lofty ambitions.
A death in an apparent accident arouses Leonie’s suspicions. Can she put aside her animosity towards Amanda and use her impressive – if sometimes unorthodox – investigative skills to find the truth before someone else dies?
Review
The Grass Widow shows how far people will go to enact revenge, and improve their own chances at a better life whatever the cost.
Leonie’s unfortunate turn in life has left her searching for purpose, as well as revenge, and is willing to go down any avenue to provide for her son. After being stilted by her former married lover, Hugh, she decides to begin working as a cleaner in an attempt to infiltrate his life. Hugh’s wife, Amanda, is hiding her own dark secrets that Leonie unravels piece by piece as the book progresses.
There are multiple characters of interest, such as Brenda and Tina who are fellow cleaners that Leonie bonds with. Their stories are woven into the novel to develop the mystery. The issue I found is that having multiple characters could be confusing at times and I found it difficult to keep track of what was happening at times.
Overall, The Grass Widow didn’t capture my attention as I’d hoped it would. It’s very well written, but I believe it may have strayed too far from the genres I tend to read which is what led to not enjoy it as much. However, I recommend giving it a try if you enjoy mysteries.