The Lucky Widow Book Review | A Gripping Thriller

Have you ever read a book that just completely caught you off guard? In today’s The Lucky Widow book review I’m going to be discussing that kind of a book.

The Lucky Widow by Samantha Vérant seemed pretty straight forward by the book description. But when I went to Amazon to do some more research it had a tagline. The tagline described it as a gripping psychological thriller with shocking twists. And that’s a pretty fair description.

So keep reading for my full The Lucky Widow book review. This book was completely different from what I thought it was. It’s about fabulously wealthy people who will do anything they want, with anyone they want. Just be prepared for the aforementioned shocking twists.

And if you’d like to read more of my thriller book reviews, click here.

What is The Lucky Widow by Samantha Vérant about?

Wishing your husband dead isn’t a crime…

My husband was the man of my dreams. Drop-dead gorgeous, filthy rich and a respected surgeon. When we first met, I would have done anything to call him mine. Now I’d do anything to get rid of him.

Our beautiful home might make the cover of magazines but look past the shining glass and glossy marble and you’ll see a gilded prison. From the start, Nathaniel has lied – about the man he truly is, his love for me, and the terrible things he’s capable of doing in secret.

He might be used to pulling the strings, but I won’t let him destroy lives any longer. I’ll free myself and I’ll protect our children. Whatever it takes…

A gripping and utterly compulsive read that will have you racing toward the last dramatic page. Fans of The Housemaid, The Perfect Marriage and anything by Lisa Jewell will be up all night reading The Lucky Widow. (from Amazon.com)

My Initial Thoughts

If you’re looking for a dark and twisted thriller, look no further. The Lucky Widow by Samantha Vérant is just the book.

It starts out as a seemingly cut and dry police investigation. Emma Landon returns home from an overseas trip to find her husband Nathaniel dead in the pond. It’s incredibly shocking as he’s a billionaire with many rich friends and colleagues. So when Emma says some negative things about him on her 911 call, one police officer takes note of that. It’s always the scorned spouse, isn’t it?

The officers involved in the investigation have different ideas about what might have happened. But Detective Rossi is sure that it’s the wife. She’s dealt with plenty of bad guys to know.

But when they start diving deeper into the investigation and Emma hires legal counsel, the truth is slowly revealed. And it’s disgusting to be honest. I had no idea where this story was going. It’s told partially in present day and partially in the past. It’s incredible how both Nate and Emma’s personalities changed over the course of their marriage.

The Characters

I can’t really blame the police for thinking that Emma was involved because when she makes the 911 call, she really incriminates herself. Now, sometimes in the heat of the moment people say things they don’t mean. But other times the truth comes out. So that first phone call that she makes really sets off the chain of events that is the wild ride of this novel.

Emma discovers her husband’s death when she and her friend Abby return from Paris. But something felt off. I did like Abby but she was also acting kind of sketchy from the beginning. So I was also curious about her. When you’re best friends with someone, you’ll do anything for them. So was Abby helping to cover up the cause of death for Emma’s deceased husband?

Detective Rossi got on my nerves with the way she wouldn’t let up on her premonitions, even when her boss told her to lay off. But sometimes you have to go with your gut in order to find out the truth. She has her own ideas about what could have happened and will do anything to find out the truth.

My Critiques

This isn’t a perfect book. Personally, I feel that the author could have taken more time to explain and wrap things up in the end. But it’s tricky. The main culprit who had a majority of the information was dead, so it’s not like they could easily confirm everything that as going on behind the scenes. We just have to make some assumptions. 

Also, Detective Rossi rubbed me the wrong way. I was so annoyed by her skepticism from the very beginning. It felt very cold. but I think that was the point of her character. There’s also going to be someone skeptical during a murder investigation.

By The End

This story really surprised me because of how dark it was. The author skips back and forth between current day and the beginning of Emma and Nate’s relationship. To me, it felt like red flags from the very beginning. But sometimes people don’t really care about true love – they just care about money and public perception. And by marrying high-class surgeon Nathaniel Landon, Emma knows that she’ll be set for life.

This is my first time reading anything by this author and I do give her props for how unique this story was. But it was also very twisted. Like, I couldn’t believe how twisted Emma’s husband’s friends were. Haha. So reader beware!

In Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed my honest review of The Lucky Widow by Samantha Vérant. The Landons may seem like they have the perfect life, but a series of bad decisions reveals the truth. A truth that can never be taken back.

This was a really fast read for me because of the writing style. But I also just had to know what was going to happen next. It’s a thrilling novel that will keep you guessing from page to page. Overall I felt that this was an exciting thriller and it shocked me in more ways than one. If you’re looking for a thriller with lots of twists this is the perfect book for you.

If you enjoyed today’s book discussion, you can read more of my thriller reviews here.