“The Widows kept me on the edge of my seat. Montgomery is a masterful storyteller.” —Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize-Finalist The Bright ForeverInspired by the true story of Ohio’s first female sheriff, Jess Montgomery’s powerful, lyrical debut is the story of two women who take on murder and corruption at the heart of their community.Kinship, Ohio, 1924: When Lily Ross learns that her … community.
Kinship, Ohio, 1924: When Lily Ross learns that her husband, Daniel, the town’s widely respected sheriff, has been killed while transporting a prisoner in an apparent accident, she vows to seek the truth about his death.
Hours after his funeral, a stranger appears at her door. Marvena Whitcomb, a coal miner’s widow, is unaware that Daniel has died and begs to speak with him about her missing daughter.
From miles away but worlds apart, Lily’s and Marvena’s lives collide as they realize that Daniel was perhaps not the man that either of them believed him to be.
*BONUS CONTENT: This edition of The Widows includes a new introduction from the author and a discussion guide
”The Widows is a gripping, beautifully written novel about two women avenging the murder of the man they both loved.”—Hallie Ephron, New York Times bestselling author of You’ll Never Know, Dear
“Jess Montgomery’s gorgeous writing can be just as dark and terrifying as a subterranean cave when the candle is snuffed out, but her prose can just as easily lead you to the surface for a gasp of air and a glimpse of blinding, beautiful sunlight. This is a powerful novel: a tale of loss, greed, and violence, and the story of two powerful women who refuse to stand down.”—Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Ballad, A Land More Kind than Home, and This Dark Road to Mercy
“[A] flinty, heartfelt mystery that sings of hawks and history, of coal mines and the urgent fight for social justice.”—Julia Keller, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Bone on Bone
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The Widows by Jess Montgomery, set in the mining country SE Ohio in 1925, is rich and evocative, with a strong sense of history, but it’s the characters and storytelling that stick with me. At 26, Lily Ross becomes the first female sheriff in Ohio after the death of her husband, Daniel — a historical fact that sparked the author’s imagination. She immediately recognizes that the story she’s been told about his death doesn’t add up, and though she’s a town girl, she knows the countryside well enough to identify critical clues in the landscape. At the same time, widowed organizer Marvena Whitcomb has her own connection to Daniel and her own grief. The two women, the story’s narrators, come from worlds apart, but work together to identify Daniel’s killer, weave justice out of a tangled web of lies and abuse of power, and create the opportunity for a better life for the miners and their families. I felt their emotion; I went through it with them. One of the best books I’ve read in ages.
A solid debut historical novel/mystery set in 1924 Ohio coal country. Two women are drawn together after the death of Daniel, the sheriff, because one is his wife and one is his oldest friend (and former lover) and both want to know the truth about his murder. The historical details are feathered in organically (no info-dumps) and although at times I found myself feeling as if the emotional lives of the women were laid just a tad bit thickly on the page for my taste, the plot ratchets up the tension consistently with shifting loyalties, threats and violence, and the growing resentment of the miners over the abuses perpetrated by the system. (Yes, there’s a mine cave-in.) But the most compelling plot arc belongs to Lily, Daniels’ widow, the new sheriff, who uncovers hidden relationships among the townspeople, as well as secret motivations, and slowly realizes how to use that personal information to resolve a public crisis. In the end, these two women produce a solution that is arguably feminist–they neither enact a vengeance (that would appease their rage) against the villain nor let him go (out of abject fear) but find a way to force him to behave with decency. I think fans of Amy Stewart’s GIRL WAITS WITH GUN series, with its emotionally astute and courageous NJ police woman, will enjoy this. (NOTE: I discovered this author through a panel at the virtual Bouchercon 2020.)
Jess Montgomery’s crackling, charismatic historical whodunit is based on the true story of Ohio’s first female sheriff, appointed to fill her husband’s post for a few months when he’s murdered in the line of duty. The Widows is a scintillating blend of elements about what ensues when a woman is handed power by those foolish enough to think she won’t use it, won’t make wrenching compromises and compacts needed to redefine revenge and force a higher good. The writing is both gritty and poetic, the detail authentic, and that’s saying something as the story revolves around the ugliness and brutality of the mine wars of the 1920s, and moves through the worlds of boxing, bootlegging, the Great War, and gender issues. Bravo, Jess! I’m looking forward to The Hollows.
Good Evening my Fellow Book Dragons. Our Gem this evening is deceiving. It looks like but a plain chunk of bituminous coal. Flat black, a bit shiny in places, nothing to write home about…but wait, crack it open, there are lines within and a large piece of something else in the middle. The lines are blood red, the large piece within appears to be a diamond in the rough. This is Gem Maker Jess Montgomery’s “The Widows”.
I am writing this from an undisclosed mountain somewhere deep in the Appalachians. This tale hit home and hard. I have watched the coal miners and the businessmen. I have ached for the wives and the little children heading to the script store, the rented houses, the aching bellies. Listened to the stories told. Watched the stories from the point of view of the law, as well. This book is not made from whole cloth, this tale has legs.
Ms. Montgomery’s Lily Ross is her husband’s Deputy. When he is killed while out transporting a Miner who is a prisoner, she seeks the truth as to his cause of death. She will not accept that it is an accident. She is not a weak woman. She handles herself well in the jail. She is pregnant and the mother of two small children. But she may not be the only Mrs. Ross. She may not be the only woman who loved Daniel.
This is a story of grit, determination, and bravery. Something most Appalachian women have – because they must – it is born and bred into them. They watch their mothers, their grandmothers, their great-grandmothers. Without it they would not have survived nearly 300 years in these hills.
This is the fictionalized account of the first female sheriff in the state of Ohio. Ms. Montgomery has hit a deep vein. Her characters are three dimensional. These are the women one expects to find here. Hard working, tucking heartaches away because stopping to mourn is not an option most of the time. Things are hard here much of the time and “The Widows” highlights this. There is little romanticism here. Cold hard facts like hardtack and black coffee stream across the page like frost on a May morning.
If you want a story that is real, that is human and will hold your attention from start to finish, this is it. Bravo, Ms. Montgomery! I look forward to your next one in your Kinship Series!
I would also suggest after you read Ms. Montgomery’s book, if you are still interested in the subject, you watch the documentary “Harlan County, USA” on YouTube.
Until tomorrow, I remain, your humble Book Dragon,
Drakon T. Longwitten
I received a copy of this book from #minotaurbooks as part of a Good Reads giveaway. My opinions are my own.
“The Widows” is a powerful, evocative historical fiction debut that is also a fine mystery.
With luminous prose, descriptive prowess and authentic dialog that give you a wonderful sense of time and place, it tells the tale of two women coming together to find the truth behind the death of a man they both loved.
1925 – coal mining country, southwestern Ohio:
“I, Lily Ross. do solemnly swear that I will support, uphold, and defend the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Ohio, and the Charter and laws of Bronwyn County, Ohio.”
Lily Ross is a widow. She is sworn in as interim Sheriff, the first ever in Ohio, in the wake of her sheriff-husband, Daniel’s, death. He was supposedly shot by an escaping prisoner.
Lily will come to believe otherwise.
Marvena Whitcomb is a widow. Her husband died in a coal mining accident six months back.
Lily’s father was also killed in the same incident.
Marvena had a relationship with Daniel for many years.
She has taken over her late husband’s role as an organizer for the unification of the mine workers.
Lily’s brother-in-law, Luther, owns Ross Mining.
These two women will discover more connections between themselves, Daniel, and Daniel’s murder.
That is one of the one of the many joys in reading this accomplished novel.
Uncovering those connections and clues along with these convincing characters, as they work together in their search for truth and justice, in this lavishly absorbing, fast-paced read.
Discover for yourselves that Jess Montgomery is a first-rate storyteller.