The Other Widow - Susan Crawford

I really enjoyed Susan Crawford's debut novel - The Pocket Wife. (my review) The Other Widow is her new novel.

Dorrie has been having an affair with her boss Joe. On the night he decides to end it, the car they are sitting in is hit. Desperate to not have her husband find out about the affair, Dorrie runs. Sure that Joe is dead she calls 911, but when the EMTs arrive, there is no Joe.

Joe's wife Karen is on her way home after a night out with a friend, sharing her suspicions that her husband has been having an affair, when she spies what looks like Joe's car - smashed.

Maggie, a former cop turned insurance investigator, is assigned the claim. She thinks there's much more to it than meets the eye.

Well, she's right - there are secrets bubbling beneath the surface for all three women. Will they stay hidden or come to light? What happened to Joe? Why? He too kept secrets. And someone out there knows them.

Crawford keeps the reader guessing as we see the story through three pairs of eyes, each with their own agenda. Crawford delves deeper into relationships in this book, giving these subjects equal time with the mystery plot line. Personally, I prefer a faster driven novel when I think 'psychological suspense.'

I just didn't like either Dorrie or Karen and felt no sympathy for either of them. Maggie I liked very much. She seemed 'real' and I empathized with her struggles with PTSD. I liked her dogged determination to solve the crime, falling back on her old professional skills. I think Maggie has more stories to tell and hope that Crawford considers bringing her back in future novels.

I had my suspicions as to 'whodunit' and was proven correct by the end. The run up to the final pages seemed a bit rushed. I found the plot a little convoluted and overly convenient in parts. But that didn't deter me from turning pages to see where Crawford would take things. Read an excerpt of The Other Widow.

"Susan Crawford grew up in Miami, Florida, and graduated from the University of Miami with a BA in English and a minor in psychology. She later moved to New York City and then Boston before settling in Atlanta to raise three daughters and work in the field of adult education. A member of the Atlanta Writers Club and the Village Writers, Susan teaches at Georgia Piedmont Technical College and dabbles in local politics. She lives with her husband and a trio of rescue cats in Atlanta, where she enjoys reading books, writing books, rainy days, and spending time with the people she loves." Find out more about Susan at her website, like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

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I received this book for review from HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.