The Widow

the unforgettable new courtroom drama from the master of the legal thriller!

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Michael Beck

'A classic, compulsive, taut and thrilling novel from one of the great storytellers of our time. No one does it better' CHRIS WHITAKER

SHE NEEDS A LAWYER. HE NEEDS A PAYDAY.

Lawyer Simon Latch is struggling with debt, gambling issues and an impending divorce. But when Eleanor Barnett, an 85-year-old widow, visits his office to secure a new will, it seems his luck has finally changed: she claims she's sitting on a $20 million fortune and no one else knows about it.

Once he's hooked the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But it's a terrible mistake. Hidden secrets have a way of being found out, and when Eleanor is hospitalised after a car accident, Simon realises that nothing is as it seems.

As events spiral out of control, he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn't commit: murder.

The Widow is classic Grisham courtroom drama combined with a confounding murder mystery that will enthral his legion of fans.©2025 Belfry Holdings, Inc.

Critic reviews

A classic, compulsive, taut and thrilling novel from one of the great storytellers of our time. The Widow is John Grisham at his irresistible, unforgettable best. No one does it better

The Widow is primarily a moral parable ... it's a murder mystery, too, and permeated by evidence of John Grisham's often overlooked skill as a social observer

A twist-laden tale of greed, deception and privilege from the master of courtroom suspense

This is classic Grisham; the story of a small-town lawyer caught in a fix

Grisham is adroit at dealing with moral ambiguities, and they are all over this novel ... when that Grisham grip takes hold, readers will be unable to switch off their bedside lamps

Another nerve-shredding tale of a flawed justice system from the prolific past master of the courtroom drama

Really slow start but a somewhar stronger finish

At first, I thought I'd made a mistake and bought a book I'd already read because the setup in the first several chapters was so similar to another book I read a year or two earlier by a different author.

This one seemed interminable through, perhaps, the first third of the book and never really got out of 2nd gear at any point.

The lawyerly maneuverings in this book were nowhere near as slick or unexpected as most Grisham novels I've read before; in fact, the lawyers on both sides seemed to miss a lot of obvious arguments and lines of reasoning.

Had this been the first John Grisham novel I ever read, I doubt I'd've been back for a second one.

I've read every book John Grisham has published, and, of the ones that focus on lawyers and courtrooms, this is my least favorite.

a Scary wrongful conviction

Not John Grisham at his best...
But still somewhat enjoyable and I stile like his writing style very much...

Great book by a great author

Plot was open and kept us guessing. Good selection of voices for each person easy to visualise the characters.

Couldn’t put it down

Usual John Grisham style, immediately hooked with a story that keeps you guessing. Loved it

Really boring….couldn’t finish it

I’ve read nearly every John Grisham novel, and loved most of them, but this one just did not grab my attention. I got a good 25+ chapters into it and I couldn’t drag myself through it any more. It is just boring, plain and simple.