USA Today Bestseller ONE OF KIRKUS’ BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A deadly cruise ship tragedy leaves behind a sea of secrets—and hints of foul play—in “one of those rare thrillers that will really keep you reading all night” (Kirkus, starred reviews) Ana Bacon, a beautiful young wife and mother, tumbled off a cruise ship into dark and deadly waters. Ana is gone—leaving behind her wealthy husband and … waters. Ana is gone—leaving behind her wealthy husband and adorable daughter—but not everything about her disappearance adds up. What secrets did she leave behind?
Investigator Ryan Monahan is a numbers man. So when his company sends him the Bacon case, which could net a ten-million-dollar payout, Monahan doubts that her death is just a tragic accident. But the husband has a substantial alibi and a number of witnesses claim to have seen Ana fall, and the official ruling seems to hold up.
Still, the more Monahan uncovers about Ana’s life, the more he realizes how many people would kill to keep her secrets hidden. And the closer he gets to the truth, the greater the odds grow that he, too, will take a fatal fall.
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Put on your safety belts and grab on for the ride of your life. This book’s pace was great. The chapters move from the husband and wife to the investigator Ryan Monahan. Ryan Monahan, and ex-NYPD Detective now works for the insurance company looking into if they should pay out a ten-million dollar life insurance policy on Ana Bacon. The couple, known as Ana and Tom Bacon are a continued mystery themselves where the web becomes so tangled you get caught up in it yourself. I enjoyed the pace and the mystery about Ana Bacon falling off of a cruise ship since I cruise quite a bit. This much anticipated book lives up to the hype. This was a one day read so get ready to be annoyed by any interruptions.
The Widower’s Wife by Cate Holahan is a suspense novel written in 2016 and told in several POVs. I’d read another book by this author last year and enjoyed the plot, so I decided to download a few of her previous works. Immediately, this one gripped me as I had to know whether the wife committed suicide, accidentally fell overboard, or was murdered by someone. It’s a classic plot, but it was told adeptly and keenly kept my interest.
Ana Bacon was a good wife. Her husband, Tom, was not very good. He messed up at work and lost all their money, and then instead of trying to figure out a way to support his family, he began to drink too much and get angry that his wife left their toddler at home with him while she went out to earn a living. As the story unfolds, we learn they both (or perhaps just one of them, it’s unclear purposely) planned a fake death to collect on insurance money, so they could afford their expensive home and other bills. Slowly, we learn that Ana’s boss had attempted to sexually assault her. Tom might also have a girlfriend. And when Tom tries to collect on Ana’s death payment, after she went missing when falling overboard, an insurance investigator tries to piece the puzzle together.
Wow! From the beginning, I was hooked. Tom was an arrogant jerk, yet I knew he had to have some good in him. I hoped so, at least. Ana was charming, but she fell prey too easily to others. Had they schemed together? Was she really dead? How do her somewhat confusing parents fit in? The neighbors? The daycare who has a different take on why Sophia, the toddler, was always stuck late without a parent to collect her. Switching back and forth from the past and the present, sometimes not even knowing when the date was happening, really amped up the suspense. I thought this would be a 5-star read for me… then came the ending.
I can’t spoil it, but I will say, partially predictable and somewhat open-ended, the culmination lacked a bit of shock factor for me. The intriguing part: insurance payout would only be provided under certain circumstances, which meant depending on if it was ruled murder, accident, or suicide, the money might not need to be paid out. When we learn who was telling the truth, and who really played a good game, it was definitely an intense moment, but in the final chapter had an abrupt ending that left readers thinking… hmmm… was all this drama worth it? The actual payoff (not the money) left me a little disappointed, so I backed down to a 4 star rating.
Still very much worth the read, but I think had a little more effort been put into the ending to leave us panicked and breathless, I would’ve been like “Oh, wow, Holahan went for it and this is AMAZING.” Nonetheless, the characters are quite strong, the tone and way to reveal facts were brilliant, and I could feel the tension between Tom and Ana. I knew who should win, but was I happy? You’ll need to read it to find out!
Good read. Lots of twists to the plot.
I really enjoyed this book due to its unpredictable turns, and characters.
I enjoyed this book until the rather hasty and unfinished feeling end.
A bit slow and predictable.
This book got off to a slow start. It didn’t immediately pull me into the plot. But I’m so glad I persevered! I could not put it down. So many plot twists and turns—felt like a mental yoga class!
good beach read type of book. The narration was a bit like Gone Girl.
I couldn’t put this book down! Fast paced story of greed, betrayal, investigations and a twist at the end. It’s told from two points of view; that of an insurance investigator and a wife at the center of the story. Don’t miss it!
The title of this book drew me in, then the first chapter grabbed and didn’t let go. I enjoyed the writing, the premise, and even some of the less realistic predicaments of the main character. The author peppered in the backstories, no dreaded information dumps. Well written and all in all a good read. I look forward to more books from this author.
Kept my attention and I didn’t immediately figure everything out.
Entertaining but feel apart at the end
I liked this book and it kept me reading late into the night. The only thing I did
not like was that the main character walked into trouble too much and that really made me want to scream!
Had an unusual ending which made it more realistic.
I will look for more books from this author….Great read.
Great thriller. Good from the start and when I was half way through I couldn’t stop till it was finished. Enjoy.
Unusual plot and interesting read.
Good read
Ok. Didn’t grab me like I had hoped. Rather predictable.
Just when I thought I had it figured out, I had to go back and read the last few chapters again to see what I missed. It really kept me thinking all through the book. This would make a great movie!!!!