Book Review - The Widow

Review of The Widow by John Grisham (2025 publish date)

Simon Latch is an attorney in a small rural town in Virginia. He and his wife are married with children, but are planning their divorce. They need to finalize the agreements and figure out how to break the news to their children. Simon no longer shares a bedroom with his wife, and although their older kids are suspicious, the couple maintains a cover story.

The book title comes from Eleanor, a woman who enters Simon’s office seeking a new will. Simon usually charges about $250 per hour, but after listening to her story, he sees a way to get a substantial payout for working with her. As he meets regularly with the widow, he becomes suspicious that what she had told him about her finances is not true. He wonders if he is being duped. They frequent different restaurants that she selects so she can try the food. With her hefty inheritance from her dead husband, Simon wonders how she always sticks him with the bills for lunch. He notices she seems a little forgetful, ignores traffic laws when driving, and likes her cocktails.

Eleanor had a previous will but wants a new one. She claims to be wealthy from her stock holdings in Coca-Cola and Walmart. Simon’s secretary, Matilda, usually draws up wills and other legal documents using templates, but for this client, Simon has asked Matilda to hold off. Simon has another wily reason for keeping Matilda away from creating a new will, too.

Simon continually requests information on Eleanor’s holdings, but the widow is very cagey and doesn’t want to bring in the will she has or any documents proving the stock holdings.

Grisham excels at building the characters and scenes, and takes his time doing so. The descriptions of the lunches Simon and Eleanor had added to the story, as well as the interactions with his wife and children. An old lover of Simon’s, Landy, an FBI agent, adds another interesting aspect to the list of characters.

After an auto accident, Eleanor is hospitalized, and with her advanced age, she begins to fail.

The writing held my interest, with its twists and turns. Several crimes are woven into the main story, keeping the reader interested in solving them. At one point, I thought I knew who was responsible for the main one, but then he led me in an entirely different direction.

I loved all the twisty surprises of the crimes. Simon’s gambling, the shady characters he knew, some hackers who helped him illegally obtain the information he needed, and the NDAs lawyers had signed added depth. I highly recommend the book. Grisham built Simon’s backstory, adding believable characters and plot; the reader cannot guess the ending.

Rating 5/5 star

Copyright © 2/19/2026 by Andrea O. Corwin

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