THE WIDOW

THE WIDOW by John Grisham

Simon Latch is a small town lawyer down on his luck, that is until eighty-five-year-old Eleanor Barnett walks through the door. She wants her will rewritten. What Simon thinks is going to be a simple transaction with Eleanor turns into a life altering experience. To look at her you would never guess that Eleanor is worth millions thanks to some Coke and Wal-Mart stocks purchased years ago. With no family members to leave the money to, Simon rewrites the will in a way that will benefit him in a round about way. Everything is going smoothly as he settles in and waits for the day she passes on. In the meantime, he takes the lonely, older woman out to lunch often and helps her fix skirmishes she gets herself into. When she lands herself in the hospital due to an accident that she caused, Eleanor 's driving days will be finished when she gets out. That's just it though. She never gets out. Her health takes a major turn for the worst, and she is diagnosed as having pneumonia. When it kills her, Simon prepares to begin the process of collecting. Unbeknownst to him, an anonymous tip is phoned into the local PD claiming that Eleanor didn't die of pneumonia but was in fact poisoned. Before he knows it, Simon finds himself arrested and on trial for the murder of Eleanor Barnett. He swears he didn't do it, but who else would have?

This book is a very intriguing read. It hooks you right in and takes you along for a twist and turns ride that will keep you guessing until the end. However, I found myself not knowing exactly who to cheer for in the story. Simon may be protesting his innocence, but he is a bit of a shyster especially where the will was concerned. Definitely a bit of a dilemma.

HEADS UP- There is a small amount of language. No f-bombs. There are a handful of times that you know Simon is in a sexual relationship. No details given. Initially, Simon is married and his marriage is on the rocks. Before the divorce happens, Simon and his wife have a discussion about having an open marriage since theirs is dead. Neither of them act on it until after the divorce.