Dolly Rawlins
1. Widows (1983)
2. Widows' Revenge (1985)
aka Widows 2
3. She's Out (1995)

Catching up on another series. I have read and enjoyed books by Lynda La Plante. An amazing author that knows how to keep her readers gripped and I certainly was with this read.
Dolly Rawlings has scores to settle. A book of feisty women and revenge is high on the agenda.

Superb read.

I didn't realise at the time there was a book prior to this one. Unfortunately due to my own error I find myself often confused by the story and such, however it was still an enjoyable read.

Enjoyed this book — a great follow-up to the first one. Great characters you can really believe in and a tense, gripping plot. Highly recommended!

Dolly Rawlings outsmarted her husband Harry once. Can she do it twice? Widows’ Revenge is the gripping follow-up to Widows (read it first or you may find this novel a bit confusing) and it starts with the four protagonists, the four strong-willed and feisty women trying to find a way to be finally free.

Dark and full of suspense, I enjoyed this story although it took me a while to really get into it. I didn’t expect some of the twists and I really enjoyed the ending. A good and thrilling read!

Absolutely blooming brilliant this certainly a book in which you cannot put down it definitely pulls you in.
5 star read all the way.

Fab read. Could not put down. Highly recommended to all. Believable characters. Great author. Will be watching out for more titles.

An amazing story that I enjoyed reading. On reading the first I just had to read the next.
Great characters that you cannot help but engage with and a brilliant plot.
A must read.

I have read several of Lynda Le Plantes' books as well as watched TV Series but I haven't read the Prequel to this one. Although I didn't have the background to this story it was still up to the authors usual level excitement and daring do.

This is yet another excellent and pacy story from the author. It is a great sequel to Widows. Gripping and full of suspense as one might expect.

This was an entertaining read but I didn't love the characters. I normally really enjoy Lynda La Plante but I'm not sure this is one of her best.

Lynda La Plante is a writer with a proven pedigree of expertly crafted storylines, sharp dialogue and gripping endings. This book is no exception to that. Widow’s Revenge is the follow up to the excellent Widows, in which Dolly Rawlins picks up where her dead husband lift off after a heist goes tragically wrong. Dolly aims to finish the job her husband started and recruits a gang of fellow widows to help. I won’t spoil the ending of that book just yet but don’t read any further if you haven’t read Widows.

The story picks up where the first book left off. The women are in Rio, lying low and starting to make new lives and relationships for themselves. Dolly is back in London looking at getting some plastic surgery when by pure chance, Harry arrives in Rio looking to salvage what’s left of his fortune. It’s there he realises that Dolly has cleaned him out and it’s there that he sets out for revenge and one last job.

There’s a lot of threads holding this story together. In a role reversal of the first book, Harry is the one trying to pull a heist together with a less than ideal team while Dolly and the other women are in survival mode, desperately trying to hold their lives together while staying one step ahead of a vicious criminal. This book has a real human element to it. A sudden fortune doesn’t fix the women’s problems and they endure a lot of heartache as the book hurtles towards a conclusion.

The plot flies by at a breakneck speed. La Plante is an experienced and smart writer and knows just how to keep the reader on the hook. The dialogue feels real and the violence is pretty visceral, it’s not a book for the faint of heart! If you’re willing to buckle up then you’ll certainly enjoy the ride. Fantastic stuff.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

This was as an enjoyable read as the previous outing for the Widows. I was on the edge of my seat from the start and I welcomed the ladies back into my life.
While being part of a series, you can read it as a stand alone. However the character development and the reader’s engagement and investment in the characters would benefit from reading the first one.

Lynda La Plante is an amazing writer- she keeps the reader on the edge of their seat with quick fast paced plots, and plots within plots! This was a great follow up to Widows and doesn’t disappoint.

I have read each and every book ever written by Lynda la Plante, and once again I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I was not disappointed, and devoured it in one sitting.
Highly recommended!

This is the sequel to widows which I really enjoyed. This book does need to be read as part of a series as otherwise it will not make any sense.
This book is not as good as the first book.

I read the original Widows many years ago but, it didn’t matter too much, as with the notes at the beginning I was able to remember what had happened previously. I found the plot fairly predictable, but overall this was an ok read for me - definitely not my favourite from Lynda

I rather enjoy this series by Linda la Plante so was delighted to find this one on Netgalley for review. The story follows on immediately from its predecessor, Widows, and gallops along at a cracking pace as one expects from this author. The action focuses mainly between the UK and Spain.
Dolly, who leads the group of women into a life of crime after the death of their husbands in book 1, has to continue to deal with leading teh group but also the fact that her own husband is not dead. This leads to suspicion from her co-widows and her own anger at her husbands deceit and lies.
There are a number of fairly far fetched incidents and coincidences and the deaths of some surprising main characters, but its a good read and holds you from start to finish.

Widows’ Revenge is the sequel to Widows and it doesn’t disappoint. . Dolly, Bella, Shirley and Linda are in Rio sorting out their futures and out of nowhere Harry, Dolly’s dead husband, resurfaces. Furious that Dolly has cleaned out all his bank accounts, even those he was sure she had no knowledge of, Harry is out for blood. The women realise that Harry will not stop till he gets what he wants and that it’s not just the money he wants. Terriefied that he will not stop till they are all dead, they deicde they need to stop him first.
Once again Lynda La Plante has written a book that captures you from the very first page and keeps you on tender hooks till the very last word. As with all her novels the characters are a joy to read, they make you laugh, they make you cry and they keep you enthralled from start to finish. Another wonderful book by this excellent writer.

A Disappointing sequel to the brilliant Widows

I received an advanced copy from the publishers (via Netgally) in return for a truthful review.
After fully enjoying the first book Widows and following from the recent successful movie we now have a follow up.
The book starts where the previous book left off with Dolly and the girls enjoying life in Rio unaware that Harry is hot on their heals and he wants revenge.
Without giving much of the plot away the girls are forced to return to London as they believe there money is in danger of being discovered. Meanwhile Harry is planning an other heist which will top Dollys involving 8 million pounds of jewellery. All the while the police are trying to recover the stolen money and are investigating to see if the remours that harry is still alive (after faking his death in the first book).
I had doubts when I heard about the sequel as it's pretty obvious that the author has gone back to write a sequel (remember the first book was written in the 80s) to cash in following from the success of the recent movie. I believe there was no need for a sequel especially as the first book ended on a high which I felt was best leaving as it is.

This is a big disappointment after fully enjoying the first book which I read in a few days I struggled to get to the end of this one.
I think the main problem with this unlike the first book where we were rooting for the woman to carry out the heist, this book had none of this as it was literally characters shouting and moaning at each other to until some event happened.
And unlike the first book where the characters were likeable this book was a completely change and you started not liking them and didn't really care about what happened to them.
The main focus of the first book was the heist (which was the most enjoyable part of the book), whereas this book deals with the aftermath which I didn't enjoy one bit.
Widows is the only book I read by this author so I can't compared this book to her other works, so if your a fan of this author and enjoy her books you will probably enjoy this book more than I did. If like me you read widows are were after more of it then you will be felt disappointed.

Thanks again to the publishers at Netgally for the advance copy.

In the first part of this book the reader feels the women are the strong characters who have out-smarted the men, but this gradually changes as the book continues. Laced with an increasing fear and pity for the women, despite their criminal acts, La Plante ensures the reader is hooked. She doesn't shy away from the brutality that would be realistic in a plot such as this and the reader could be surprised by several events.
The main characters have their own strong personalities and flaws which helps us to accept the rising tensions and the mistakes they make. The plot is plausible although I did feel it was sometimes a tad unrealistic as they seemed to get away with things just a little too often.
It was difficult to imagine just how La Plante could conclude this but she quite successfully neatens off a few edges, whilst also leaving one unsolved element - perhaps the basis of a future book?
Overall, a gripping read for fans of criminal and detective mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zaffre Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review.