THE WIDOW by Carla Neggers
It is always great to discover a new author and Carla Neggers is one about whom there is much buzz. Her latest novel is titled THE WIDOW and it is a tale about a murder and its impact on the victim's widow and many other people. It is a fairly enjoyable story but it leaves room for much improvement in Neggers' books to come.
Abigail Browning had only been married for four days when her husband Chris was shot and killed. This event took place on Mt Desert Island which is located in Maine. Immediately prior to Chris' shooting, the couple's home had been robbed and the thief knocked Abigail unconscious. Chris had gone out to talk with people about the robbery and that is when he was shot and killed. His body was found in the icy water around the island.
It has been seven years since his death when the story opens. Abigail has become a police detective in Boston. Chris' murder has never been solved, but it has been kept as an open case by the police department in Mt Desert Island. When Abigail gets a mysterious phone call about Chris' death she decides to make a trip to Mt Desert Island and poke around some more.
Things have stayed pretty much the same on the island. Chris' boyhood friends still live there as well as the influential Cooper family. Ellis Cooper lives ion a large estate owned by his brother Jason. Mattie Young is his yardman. Mattie was a friend of Chris' but his life has gone downhill since the murder happened. He drinks too much and can't seem to stay out of trouble.
Once on the island Abigail finds herself attracted to Owen Garrison, a man who lives close to Abigail and Chris' cottage. At this point the book becomes a love story as well as a murder mystery, but both are mediocre.
Neggers has talent as a writer. She is good at setting her scenes and developing her characters. It is in developing her plot that she is lacking. The "murderer" in this story is not logical, especially when he/she has called Abigail and basically invited her to come to the island and search for the killer. What is the motivation for this? It is never explained.
You might get some pleasure from reading THE WIDOW but it is certainly not a page-turner. There is a little bit of suspense in the story but not a lot. I kept hoping it would get better the further I got into it - but it didn't.
Carla Neggers shows some glimmers of a talent yet to be fulfilled. Here's hoping her next story makes good on that promise.
THE WIDOW is published by Mira. It contains 330 pages and sells for $21.95.