Black Widows: these women will blow your mind

What is this about?

Blake is dead, and one of his three wives killed him — and each thinks one of the other ones killed him.

What else is this about?

Some deft characterisation makes each of these women distinct, complex characters that kept me riveted to the end. I didn’t even realise how close I was to the end.

Blurb

Blake’s dead. His wife killed him. The question is… which one?

For fans of The Dry and The Wife Between Us, this thriller is a unique and riveting murder mystery.

Against the wishes of his family and the laws of the elders of the Mormon church, Blake Nelson has adopted the old polygamous ways and lives alone with his three wives miles from anywhere in rural Utah, where he built a raw paradise in the wide open country. It there’s that strange ideas take seed and communities can turn in on themselves, Blake and his wives kept to themselves—and kept most folks out. That is, until his dead body is discovered.

BLACK WIDOWS is told in the three voices of Blake’s very different wives, who hate each other, and who sometimes hated their husband: Rachel, the first wife, obedient and doting to a fault. Tina, the other wife, who’s everything Rachel isn’t. And Emily, the youngest wife, who had a lot to learn.

They had nothing in common. Except Blake. Until all three are accused of his murder. Because when Blake is found dead under the desert sun, the questions come fast and furious.

Black Widows is a book that exceeded all my expectations. Before I start talking about the wives, let me talk about the plot.

Blake Nelson is dead 

Blake Nelson and his wives live on a remote parcel of land, far from the law and gossips where he and his wives can live in peace. Blake has removed himself from the religion he grew up with much to his family’s disgust, and his mother who cannot believe her son has left their family like this.

He is not anything like his wives expected, and is prone to bouts of depression that they each recall during the book. When he is murdered, suspicion falls on the wives because of the circumstances and location of his death.

The wives: Rachel, Emily and Tina

Each wife is able to tell their story in this book, with chapters going from one to the other and then the third with ease. I was seriously riveted by how Quinn created and developed these women, using their contrasting POVs to tell the tale of their life with Blake and each other. No-one knew all of him, but all were jealous of what the other women had of him.

As the story develops, we realise that Blake was far more manipulative than anyone gave him credit for,  preying on his wives and their insecurities with skill to get them to marry him. The truth of marriage with him was never what they expected, but they couldn’t rely on each other to be able to understand him better because they were always at odds with each other.

At the same time this means that the wives suspect each other of his murder. Quinn makes each into a complex woman, with their own hopes and fears and needs (from Blake) before she lets them begin to understand each other as the book progresses.

That’s what I enjoyed — that the women were learning about each other as much as we were learning about them.

Each woman is distinct, and Quinn creates them with efficient prose, within the confines of the plot.  Free from Blake and his needs they begin to understand each other and themselves better — and inbetween all this is the far more complicated plot than the blurb would have you believe.

There are secrets laid bare with far reaching consequences for them all, but most especially Rachel. She is the epitome of the wive that Blake wanted — who does the right thing, does what he wants and accepts whatever he tells her to. Even though there are central elements that revolve around Rachel, Quinn never lets that overtake the book — Tina’s and Emily’s stories are as valid and important to the story with each complementing each other’s and the plot.

Now I have repeated myself several times in this review, but let me finish by saying it again: Quinn has created a trio of complex women at the centre of this mystery, each with their own story to tell. They were far more than their husband thought they were.