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The Widow: A Novel

#1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham is the acclaimed master of the legal thriller. Now, he’s back with his first-ever whodunit, even more suspenseful than his courtroom dramas, as a small-time lawyer accused of murder races to find the real killer to clear his name.

“A classic, compulsive, taut and thrilling novel from one of the great storytellers of our time. The Widow is John Grisham at his irresistible, unforgettable best.”—Chris Whitaker, author of All the Colors of the Dark


Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it.

Once he hooks the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack. When she is hospitalized after a car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.

Simon knows he’s innocent. But he also knows the circumstantial evidence is against him, and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. To save himself, he must find the real killer….

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Published Oct 21, 2025

416 pages

Average rating: 7

5 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

GettingLostinBooks
Nov 01, 2025
6/10 stars
Other John Grisham plots are better. It was slow to get into and many characters introduced not relevant but maybe just to be added to a suspect list but not needed. The character did grow over the book in a positive light and I respected him more towards the end. The book also highlights how corrupt lawyers can be and builds distrust in the legal system. The book also leaves much to the imagination and doesn’t close all sub-plots. The second half of the book when in court- seemed so repetitive and just the same details of the initial crime. I would have liked closure on the brothers and more details when the jury deliberated and how they came to their conclusions. Glad I read it but wouldn’t read again.would watch if it was adapted to a movie.

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