The Black Widow by Wendy Corsi Staub
ISBN: 9780062222435 (paperback)
ISBN: 9780062222442 (ebook)
ASIN: B00FJ33276 (Kindle edition)
Publication date: February 24, 2015
Publisher: Harper
In a chilling new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub, one woman looking for love online is entangled in a killer’s terrifying scheme . . .
In the moonlight, shovelfuls of earth fall on a wooden crate at the bottom of a deep pit. Soon the hole will be filled and covered over with leaves, erasing all trace of the victim below, waking to the horror of being buried alive . . .
Newly divorced Gaby Duran isn’t really expecting to find her soul mate on a dating site like InTune. She just needs a distraction from pining over her ex-husband, Ben, and the happy marriage they once had. And she’s wise enough to know that online, the truth doesn’t always match the profile. Almost everyone lies a little–or a lot.
But Gaby quickly discovers there is much more at stake than her lonely heart. Local singles are going missing after making online connections. And a predator is searching again for the perfect match. One who will fulfill every twisted desire . . . or die trying.
Ben and Gaby Duran had a perfect marriage until the death of their child. Gaby was mired in depression, guilt, and anger and Ben wasn’t able to breakthrough and help Gaby with her grief. The marriage ended in divorce. Now Ben and Gaby both want to make a fresh start. Both have profiles on a local dating site, unfortunately one of these profiles catches the attention of a killer.
The Black Widow was a fast-paced and tension-filled suspense-thriller read. It took me awhile to get into the story simply because there are four stories going on and it was a little difficult for me to switch from a Gaby storyline to a Ben storyline then over to a police storyline and back to the killer’s storyline. Once I got all of the storylines straight in my head and understood the interrelationship among all stories the reading pace picked up and I simply had to know what happens next. What happens next is a lot!
There’s the story of the police investigating missing Hispanic adult males: there’s Ben and Gaby reconnecting after being divorced and apart; there’s Ivy on the hunt for a missing co-worker; and, there’s the killer out to recreate her past. Okay, there’s a lot more going on (abduction, mental illness, arson, and murder), but if I tell you too much you won’t need to read the book, and if you enjoy reading suspense-thrillers then you’ll definitely want to read this book. I’ve read and enjoyed numerous books by Ms. Staub and The Black Widow was another enjoyable read. The characters were fully developed and wholly believable, and the action was plausible. Was there anything I didn’t like about this book or the story? Not really . . . okay, I read an advance reader digital copy of the book and it didn’t feature any breaks between the changes in character stories. That made it a little difficult for me to switch gears mentally and keep up with the story initially, however, that wasn’t enough to stop me from purchasing a copy of The Black Widow for my library.
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Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free for review purposes from the publisher via Edelweiss. I was not paid, required or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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The Book Diva's Reads 
Oh, my goodness…what an awesome review! Thank you so much! I'm honored that you enjoyed it and am grateful that you took the time to read AND post! Wendy Corsi Staub
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