Book Review: The Next Widow by C.J. Lyons

I really liked this one in the beginning and middle and the beginning of the end – then, well, it was the beginning of the end… I found the pacing and revelations and misdirection fascinating and edge-of-your-seat compelling for so much of this book. I honestly didn’t know who the baddies and the goodies were – or if there were honestly any of each (beyond the named characters in the series title, who obviously weren’t going to turn out to be the evil-doers, or there wouldn’t have been much of a series).

Then when the Big Revelations started rolling out things felt like they veered out of the realm of a *real* horror story and into that of a movie one. It felt like they went too dark, too fast and it stretched the bounds of credulity for me. I still read it, mind you, and flipped pages pretty furiously – but it felt a little overdone compared to the more subtle psychological cat-and-mouse teaser of the vast majority of the book.

I’m still a fan – this was a horrifying nightmare of a story, but in a very readable (even if I sometimes wanted to half-close my eyes while doing so) way. I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for more from CJ Lyons…

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.