THE WIFE AND THE WIDOW is an unsettling thriller written by Aussie, Christian White, telling a stunning story in alternating chapters by the widow, then the wife. The characters, Kate and Abby, perfect strangers, living miles apart, brought together by the actions of their husbands. Kate Keddie is a stay-at-home gal, caring for her doctor husband and Mia, their 10-year-old daughter.
John Keddie is a physician at the Trinity Health Care for Palliative Care. For the past two weeks, he has been attending their yearly seminar in London. Arriving at the Melbourne International Airport, Mia and Kate are excited because they plan to surprise and welcome him home. The surprise falls flat when the plane arrives, all the passengers deplane but he does not. Where is John? A call to his boss was a shocker. Kate met with hostility. She was informed that John resigned three months ago. The explanation given was that after a favorite patient died, John became very severely affected with dark moods and an inability to continue his work at Trinity. This was all news to Kate and as she left she asked herself "Did I really know the person I loved?"
Returning home, Kate immediately reported John missing and an investigation began. Lights were reported seen in their vacation home on Belport Island. Kate, at first discounted that information as John had always hated the beach house, a gift given to them from his parents. After calling everyone she could think of and receiving negative results, she left Mia with grandma and set out to Belport Island. There shocking secrets were uncovered and John's brutally knifed body was removed from the sea. Murder. Who did it? Why?
Abby Gilpin is married to Ray and they have two teenagers. Ray is property manager for all the lovely homes left in his care for all the months they are left empty until the owners return. He has dreams of leaving Belport but money is tight and where would he go? Abby works in the Buy and Bye grocery store and does Taxidermy as a hobby. She finds the garbage can up ended and inside she found his new work boots, and Ray's work shirt and pants. They are seriously stained but Abby takes them into the garage. She is curious because Ray has been acting so strange since the murder. Using Luminol she finds blood, lots of blood on the clothes and shoes. Can her husband be a murderer?
Mr. White is a clever storyteller and takes you on a journey filled with terror, passion, secrets, unanswered questions, shattered memories and two women who thought they knew their mates, and would fight to protect their loved ones no matter what. You need to pay close attention as you read if you want to catch the killer. It is an exciting challenge and I was proud I persevered and found "who done it?" This is a skillful and very creative writer who will have you looking under the beds and keeping all the lights on! GREAT and I look forward to your next one.
The second standalone thriller from the award-winning author of The Nowhere Child, Christian White.
Set against the backdrop of an eerie island town in the dead of winter, The Wife and The Widow is an unsettling thriller told from two perspectives: Kate, a widow whose grief is compounded by what she learns about her dead husband’s secret life; and Abby, an island local whose world is turned upside when she’s forced to confront the evidence of her husband’s guilt. But nothing on this island is quite as it seems, and only when these women come together can they discover the whole story about the men in their lives.
Brilliant and beguiling, The Wife and The Widow takes you to a cliff edge and asks the question: how well do we really know the people we love?