I read The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman a couple of years ago and was deeply impressed with the book. After that, did I read The Ghost Orchid and The Sonnet Lover and was not as impressed (not bad books, just not was good as The Lake of Dead Languages). So, when I saw this book and read the description did I immediately want to read it. I love old mysterious houses and the description of this book, about a couple moving there as caretakers made me think of The Shining. Especially since the husband is a writer.

I quite enjoyed reading The Widow's House, the story is good, and I felt that the characters are complex and there is something very weird going on. Clare Martin has had problems in the past, for instance, a miscarriage when she was in college and her childhood was a hard one. And, now at the house, is she experiencing things that make her wonder if the house is haunted or if she is losing it.

One thing I truly loved about the book is how not everything is at it seems, Clare's husband Jess didn't make a good first impression on me, and although the book did I feel that he was a self-centered son of a bitch. But, the ending, without wanting to give anything away, I love how Carol Goodman decided to write an ending that just turned everything around.

The Widow's House kept my interest up from the beginning until the end. I've been a bit tired of reading psychological thrillers with a woman in center trying to solve a mystery, but this book felt refreshing to read. I felt that I connected with the story and its characters and I was eager to learn the truth about the house.

4.5 stars

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review! ( )

This is a very well done, and intensely interesting novel that literally keeps you guessing until the very end. I loved this novel, and I’m going to look into the author’s other novels as soon as possible. I hope they are just as good.

Cassandra Campbell is the narrator of the audiobook, and she is quite good also. She kept me interested until the very end, also.
Here is a much better review about this novel:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1928403191?book_show_action=true&from_...

Please read or listen to this novel soon. It’s worth it.
4 stars, and recommended. ( )

The Widow's House has it all. There’s a crumbling estate, family secrets, haunting ghosts, a vulnerable heroine, a couple of murders, and lots and lots of atmosphere.

Sound confusing — like it may be too much? Fear not, Ms. Goodman weaves all these elements together into an enthralling and well-crafted Gothic tale.
Ms. Goodman is a master at plotting and building tension as she take the reader through her twists and turns.
The ending of the tale will haunt you with this lingering thought — “was any of this real”? A perfect read for Halloween.
See my complete review at BookBarmy(dot)com ( )

Jess is a selfish douchebag. A cartoon of a villain.
Whats-her-name is mental. whackjob.
too many words repeated - figure, laptop
too many of the same words used in back to back sentences, or in the same sentence. bleah.
story is a bit jumbled in terms of revelations and explaining the past through the present.
community so stratified - rich mansion people, townies and river folk
narrator sometimes mispronounces Concord as Concorde. oy. also idyll - it's not idol.
oy so melodramatic. so histrionic. pretty dumb.
enough with the blood imagery already - all the stupid woman ever sees is ghosts and blood on everything.
oh no. is Claire dreaming/hallucinating this whole thing? oy vey.
everyone is always grimacing and taking deep breaths. ugh.
can't pronounce petite four. I'm really starting to hate this affected narrator.
Sigh. revolvers don't have safeties.
Dunston calls her Clairey? OMFG
Well I like the way it ended with Claire psychically causing everything through her inherited ability, but damn if it wasn’t torture to get there. ( )

Jess and Claire Martin move away from their bustling Brooklyn life in hopes that their marriage and Jess's writing career are rekindled. Due to their dwindling budget they end up in their old college town, taking on a caretaker's job in a large house owned by one of their old writing professors. Soon, it's not Jess's writing career that's rekindled. Between the legends that the house they are now staying in is haunted, and the almost suffocating atmosphere of the deteriorating estate, Claire soon is wondering if her imagination is running rampant, or, is there really some truth to the horrifying legends of the house? Claire is soon delving into a new book of her own, and has a hard time separating truth from fiction. Who can she trust? What's real and what's just in her head? Another atmospheric and absorbing novel by one of my favorite authors!

Sarah M. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

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