I love the cat 🐈‍⬛
He is perfect
What a great mystery, a lovely old lady lead character coming to terms with her grief
Twists and turns, lots of characters but they come together well

It was refreshing to read a book about some middle-aged men and women for once instead of a group of teenagers. I am in my early 30s and I can tell you that I am already looking forward to retirement.
The book is about Ginny, she has just lost her husband and taken a new job at the library. Soon she finds herself in the middle of a murder and, along with other middle-aged ladies, she plunges into the investigation.
What I found difficult about the book were the many people and names involved. Like I was reading Game of Thrones. Amanda writes very descriptively and you have to love that. Sometimes this took me slightly out of the story.
Nevertheless, a book I finished within a day!

A new author to me and a book I devoured! Ginny has not long been widowed and has moved to a village where she has taken a job helping in the library. Louisa, the librarian, is rather a harridan as Ginny quickly finds out on her first day. On her second day there is a queue outside the library and rather a kerfuffle- the door is locked and no sign of Louisa. On being told where the spare key is, but no one dares go in for fear of Louisa’s reputation and treatment of many of the locals, Ginny braves it only to find Louisa dead. A group of widows soon make themselves known to Ginny and before she knows it they are investigating the crime. Who killed Louisa and why?

I so loved this, it's a wonderful, comfortable, easy read with a smile. There is far more than the crime going on, as in any village, and also those who know everyone else's business one way or another which makes for good opportunities for the amateur detectives. Ginny is a great lead and her warm heartedness and skills she never realised she had from her past life, make her a perfect sleuth (strangely!!)
Sometimes you take a chance when reading a new author, and I'm so very glad I did- I’ll be happily reading other books as it’s a style I very much like. A wonderfully entertaining read and I very much look forward to more from the widows detective club.
For more reviews please follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @nickisbookblog
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I was invited by the publisher to review this book. This is the first book in a series about widows who wind up solving mysteries. This book follows Ginny, who may not be okay with being a widow and other circumstances, but nevertheless accepts her role in life - and then discovers the body of her new boss, who she did not like anyway. She finds herself with other widowers, and they work to solve the mystery of the death of her boss. With her sleuthing, Ginny learns something about herself - that while she may not have initially liked where she was in life, she was ultimately happy to accept and keep that life.

This book had a great lesson in it: treasure your life, even if it is not how it envisioned and try to look at things in a different light. On the flip side, the book was fun and engaging, and the murder mystery kept me intrigued. I also liked the other widows, and look forward to more from this group.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you like cozy murder mysteries then this book is for you! Ginny is a widow that moves to Little Shaw to have a fresh start after her husband’s untimely passing. She starts working at the local library where she soon finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery of her own.

Ginny is instantly a likable character and I felt really contented with her like she was my own grandma.

This is the first book in what is bound be a successful series!

Thank you, Storm Publishing, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I appreciate a new series with an older protagonist that is confronting widowhood and the challenges of the later years in life. The book aligns with the British cozy mystery genre with the “interfering “ amateurs rescuing the police but the characters are quirky and interesting and I was taken by surprise at the end.

The Widows' Guide to Murder (The Widows' Detective Club #1) by Amanda Ashby is a delightful cozy mystery set in the quaint village of Little Shaw. Ginny Cole, recently widowed, seeks a fresh start and takes a job as a librarian's assistant. But her quiet new life takes a dramatic turn when she discovers her boss's body in the library. Determined to uncover the truth, Ginny teams up with three other widows – Hen, JM, and Tuppence – forming an unlikely detective club.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly the dynamic between the four widows. Their witty banter and genuine camaraderie added a warmth and humor to the story that I found captivating. The mystery itself was well-paced, with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing until the very end.

I would recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries who appreciate strong female characters, a touch of humor, and a charming village setting. Readers who enjoy books with a focus on friendship and found families will also find much to appreciate in this delightful story. I am looking forward to reading the next installment – The Widows' Guide to Backstabbing!

Thank you to Storm Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Amazing Cozy Mystery!

Loved every pages of it. Perfection at pure nature.

Will definitely recommend

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the arc of this book. The Widows' Guide to Murder is the first book in Amanda Ashby The Widows' Detective Club series. Ginny is recently widowed and moves to the village of Little Shaw. Ginny makes friends with a group of widows and they investigate a murder in their village. This book was fast paced with many twists and turns. Ginny and her friends are interesting characters who draw you in. This story was a warm cozy mystery. I read this book in one sitting and cannot wait to read the next in the series.

The Widows’ Guide to Murder is the first book in the new series, The Widows’ Detective Club, by Amanda Ashby.

Ginny recently lost her husband and went through with their plan to retire to the small town of Little Shaw. She just started her job as assistant librarian, when her boss is murdered and Ginny finds her body.

The Widows’ Guide to Murder is full of fun characters, and hilarious escapades, mostly involving the three widows who take Ginny under their wing, and who have a reputation for being troublemakers.

But don’t think this book is all laughs, we also see Ginny struggling to adjust to a new life without her beloved husband of 35 years, Eric. They were not only married, but she worked with him in his medical practice for most, if not all of their marriage, so his death has hit her hard.

Soon Ginny starts to make friends in the village, adopts a stray cat (it might be better said that the cat adopted her), and experiences new things, and it’s obvious that although she still has a lot of grieving to do, she has started to make a life for herself and is coming to terms with being on her own.

I really enjoyed The Widows’ Guide to Murder, and will be looking for future books in the series. I recommend it for any lover of cosy mysteries, if you love a laugh, but also don’t mind reading about a more emotional subject, such as the loss of a loved one.

What a wonderful story! Ginny moves to Little Shaw after her husband's passing, living in the little cottage they bought for their retirement. She gets a job as assisstant librarian and on her second day finds the head librarian dead in her office. She becomes friends with Tuppence, Hen and JM, all widows themselves who understand what Ginny's going through, and together they take it upon themselves to investigate. The ladies are such a fun group! The detective, who also turns out to be Ginny's neighbour, starts out as a real grump, but he's a good man. Loved all the crazy characters we meet along the way and the mystery gets more muddled (with plenty of suspects!) as it progresses until finally all the pieces come together. A thoroughly enjoyable cozy mystery!
Thanks to Netgalley, Storm Publishing, and Amanda Ashby for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.

small-town, library, local-law-enforcement, local-gossip, unpleasant-victims, librarian, extortion, amateur-sleuth, senior-sleuths, women-sleuths, murders, investigations, grief, grieving, secrets, lies, rescue-cat, widowed, attempted-murder, apparent-accident, apparent-suicide, friends, friendship, new-series, first-in-series*****
Recently widowed Ginny Cole has recently moved to the village of Little Shaw, started working as assistant in the local library, and has been included in a group of other widowed friends. Things change when Ginny finds the body of the current librarian murdered in the office. The local DI is also her irascible neighbor and he is less than thrilled with her "interference" and the "meddling" of her group of friends. That's only the first murder! The story goes along into blind alleys and dead ends, murder and attempted murder, and even a couple of deaths that were not as advertised. Great start, and I want more of these characters and their doings!
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected ebook file from Storm Publishing via NetGalley. Pub Date Mar 03 2025
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Ginny Cole is new to the village of Little Shaw, she’s also the new library assistant, and, most upsetting of all, she's newly widowed. While the village is everything she and late husband, Eric had hoped for, the job has its problems, and widowhood isn't something she'd planned for at all! When she discovers a dead body in the library it sets in motion a chain of events which introduces her to three ladies, also widows, who take her under their wing and involve her in activities she definitely would have avoided pre Little Shaw!

Book one in Amanda Ashby's new series is an easy and fun read with red herrings and twists and turns aplenty all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Ginny is a relatable and quite complex character, which is good as there is plenty of potential for the forthcoming series. The three other widows are all likeable, and her next-door neighbour's identity is inspired. I look forward to seeing what everyone gets up to next, -which is lucky as the second book is also released this month.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Storm Publishing, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a good series starter and easy to recommend. 3.75 rounded up to 4*

Hugely enjoyable start to a new series. Ginny and her friends are warm, relatable characters - I also liked Wallace, the grumpy detective, and Connor, the young volunteer. The red herrings are excellently placed and the murderer is hidden nicely. Good dialogue, good plot, and I'm looking forward to the next one!

Let me preface this review by stating that as I age, I'm comforted by the fact that after I am widowed, I can buy a spunky pet, befriend other sassy geriatrics and start amateur sleuthing my way through countries. These books give me hope!!

I have been on a cozy mystery kick and this one is highly recommended if you like the genre!

Ginny Cole has found herself widowed, owner of an unexpectedly rude cat and in the middle of a murder mystery. She is investigating a murder while trying to clear the name of a comrades daughter. She is doing this as she adjusts to the changes in her life, and I found her character quite inspiring and realistic.
Together, with a ragtag group of retirees, Ginny takes us on a little adventure, and I enjoyed it greatly!

My first read by Amanda Ashby, I look forward to more in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read and review prior to it's March 2025 release date.

Amanda Ashby did such a wonderful job on this book. I loved that this book was based on a group of elderly women. I appreciated that it left no stone unturned when it came to explaining each suspect and how they could be tied to the crimes.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Ginny and her friends. Who would have thought there would be so much skullduggery in a small sleepy town. This is a mystery story that throws up lots of suspects until the very entertaining conclusion. I liked the character of Wallace, the grumpy detective, and Connor, the young volunteer. Ginny's own journey is a nice story, as she starts to find her feet in a new town. The small town feeling is handled well, and I look forward to reading the next instalment. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for a copy to read and freely review.

This is my first introduction to Amanda Ashby's writing, and it did not disappoint. Fast-paced, easy to read, engaging, grounded in reality, The Widows' Guide to Murder is an excellent start to a new series about starting over when life hands you something you least expected. It also shows (in this first book) what can happen if you get so fixated on what didn't go your way... and you let it fester, making you bitter, not better.

I found Ginny to be a likable, grieving, growing widow. She's recently been bereaved and moved to a new place. She doesn't just sit and pout though, she gets involved and begins making friends with some resident widows who reach out to her, welcoming her into their circle.

Along the way, murder, mayhem, herrings, and fire all make an appearance.

I am excited to read the second book and thankful it is coming out very soon!

I received an ARC; this is my honest review.

So happy that I was approved by Storm Publishing to read this book. This is book one in the series and it tells us about a woman who is recently widowed name Ginny Cole. Ginny has moved to a new town and has started a new job in the library. Even though Ginny is trying to move on, she’s finding it very hard until she meets a group of women who are also widows.
The first thing that happens is Ginny finds out that her boss has been murdered. Who would want to hurt Louisa? Ginny finds out that Louisa had many enemies. A few weeks later we find that Louisa’s husband Bernard is also killed.. Somehow one of Ginny’s newfound friends daughter is now being charged with both of these murders. How are they going to clear?Allyson’s name, while another attempted murder is happening. A fire in the library has everyone on edge. Ginny and her lady friends are putting more names on their list of suspects but run into trouble when an unlikely person turns out to be the real killer.
I truly enjoyed this book. Besides it being a fast read, I like the characters.. They were very quirky and I imagine these women running around town trying to solve this murder. I like the friendship that they had with each other. They always looked out for each other. They might run into trouble themselves, but they always seem to get out of it by talking their way out of things. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Amanda Ashby is a new author for me so I truly enjoyed reading this and laughing at times . So thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Amanda Ashby’s The Widows' Guide to Murder is a wonderfully entertaining cosy mystery that expertly blends suspense, humour, and heart. Ginny Cole’s unexpected journey from widowhood to amateur sleuthing is as engaging as it is surprising, making this book a thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish.

Ginny’s life takes a sharp turn when she stumbles upon the murdered body of her unpleasant new boss—a discovery that forces her out of her comfort zone and into a world of graveyard investigations, secret sleuthing, and unexpected camaraderie with three fellow widows. Add an opinionated black cat into the mix, and Ginny’s new life is anything but ordinary.

What makes this story shine is its perfect balance of intrigue and light-heartedness. The mystery is cleverly crafted, with multiple suspects to keep readers guessing, while the widows’ antics add plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Ginny’s transformation as she learns to navigate her new reality—and even embrace it—is both heartwarming and empowering.

With its well-paced plot, witty dialogue, and delightful characters, The Widows' Guide to Murder is an easy-to-read treat for fans of cosy mysteries. It’s a story about finding strength in unlikely places, forming bonds in unexpected ways, and discovering that life can still hold plenty of surprises—even if it means coming face-to-face with a killer.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.