The Widow of Weeping Pines by Amanda McKinney - Book Review

The Widow of Weeping Pines by Amanda McKinney

Publication Date: 02nd Dec 2022

Genre: Psychological Mystery Novella 

2.8 Stars

One Liner: Fast-paced but has weaker second half  

Betty Lou Abbott is a therapist and an author. However, her life is far from simple or normal. She has too many secrets to keep, some of which are in the basement of the house she inherited from her husband. Her fiancé, Ian, seems to have his secrets too, and so does Carmen Marquis, Betty’s client and a bestselling author. Nicholas Stahl is a crooked detective with an agenda of his own. 

The lives of these characters are entangled in a twisty game of cat and mouse. But who is the cat, and who is the mouse? Can a person be both? 

The story comes from the first-person POV of mostly Betty, with a couple of chapters by Nicholas. 

What I Like:  

This is a short book (a novella) with a fast-paced narration. The short chapters further add to its advantage and keep the story going.

The beginning is perfect. It hooks the reader and draws them into the plot while indeed sounding like the narration of a mad woman. In fact, the first half of the book is very good. 

The setting was great, though somehow I feel it isn’t fully utilized to up the atmosphere. Makes sense, given the pacing, though. 

The characters are distinct and show promise of being something unique and powerful. However… (more in the next section.)

The revelations come in stages and are neatly arranged to further the plot. But then… (more in the next section.)

What Didn’t Work for Me:

The last part of the book is more focused on twists and a shocking ending rather than the characters. The story shifts from being something disturbing to a more commonly found trope in domestic thrillers. 

It doesn’t help that the heroine, Betty, is an alcoholic with tons of psychological issues. She is almost always drunk and still manages to act like a functional adult (or so she says). Betty is already an intriguing character. I’d have liked it if she let her craziness stand out on its own without relying on alcohol. 

Detective Nicholas’ arc isn’t explored much. Just when he should have taken over, he gets sidelined. Ian was pretty much a cookie-cutter useless fiancé. Carmen’s character faces the same issue as the detective. They end up more as convenient parts of the plot in the second half. 

A couple of cases go nowhere. While they provide a sort of reference to the hidden side of the involved characters, this could have been achieved without the loose ends. 

I’m not a fan of pull-the-rug twists, which happens here. While I am still okay with it, what disappoints me is the lack of a proper explanation. What’s given might be enough for Betty but not me. 

There are a couple of graphic sex scenes that don’t add much to the plot. These might have worked if the book is longer. The ending is rushed too. Extending this to a book of around 250 pages would have made the characters twisty instead of twisting the plot. 

To summarize, The Widow of Weeping Pines is a fast-paced thriller with a solid first half. The plot has potential, and the writing is easy to read. I’ll check out more books by the author. 

Thank you, NetGalley and HH Tisevich, for the eARC. 

#amandamckinney #NetGalley

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P.S: That cover is super cool.