My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Many Thanks to Net Galley, Wild Rose Press and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

Wendy Webb is an established author in the paranormal genre with excellent spooky stories set around huge mansions or old haunted houses like The Vanishing, Daughters Of The Lake etc. As a fan of this genre, I have read almost all the works published by the author.

Widow’s Walk is a book in the same genre, the cover image of the book prominently displaying Wendy Webb’s name. BUT fair warning dear readers, both authors are totally different and I feel the publisher might need to change the author’s display name to differentiate between the two. I feel it is an injustice to both the authors when there’s no particular distinction betwixt the authors’ names and the genre it falls into. A reader might expect one author and inadvertently read the other and feel a disconnect and be disappointed.

Widow’s Walk is a ghost story focused on the concept of possession more than any ghostly chills. Manchester Place in Mico Island is haunted by a tragedy that took place almost 200 years before but the echoes of the past have made its presence known over the years and the current owners Sybil and Winston Mann along with Eleanor Trippett have lived with the grief ever since.

The story follows the trials faced by Annie who has rented the place for a short vacation and her son Charlie and their psychic grandmother. As Annie begins to hear voices things escalate to a fever pitch amidst the raging storm placing Charlie’s life in grave peril.

Widow’s Walk has a solid plot which I feel could have developed into much tighter and more concise spooky thriller. There are elements of it that are quite interesting like the grandmother and grandson talking in their minds but the climax where everyone gets involved in the ghostly menace didn’t feel conclusive. The reveal of Sybil’s past, likewise was lukewarm when I expected some fireworks. I loved how the author has characterized Charlie and his special ability to talk thru pictures and the lovable bond shared between him and his grandmother.

This is no spine tingling scared to the bone thriller but the author has captured the madness and evil intentions of the ghost wonderfully.

Escaping a troubled marriage, Annie Cameron brings her autistic son Charlie and mother-in-law to Mico Island. With the friendship of Winston Mann and his wife, their new home becomes a sanctuary. Until the dreams start.

Years ago the Manns’ son mysteriously drowned. Winston thinks the woman who once lived in Annie’s house caused his death. Except she’s been dead for two hundred years.

Charlie and his mentally fragile grandmother sense a malevolent presence in the house. But they don’t know how to fight back as Annie slowly becomes possessed.

Now Annie has discovered the door to the widow’s walk and the house’s dangerous past. A storm is brewing. Someone waits to finish what was started long ago. And Annie will keep a promise she never made. 

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.wordpress.com/; Amazon India, Goodreads, and Twitter.