I am honestly not sure how I made it through Widow’s Island; I wanted to give up so many times, but I kept hoping things would get better. But, unfortunately, they never did.
There were so many unnecessary things added to the story to make it seem thrilling and keep you guessing, but they just made the story boring. With a dead war veteran husband, a political climate change bill, online trolls, and a creepy island that isn’t welcoming to newcomers, this story felt like it was trying too hard. Also, strange POV chapters from the killer felt clichéd and unnecessary and didn’t hit the creepy stalker vibe that I think L.A. Larkin was trying to achieve.
On top of everything, the protagonist, Stephanie, was nails-on-a-chalkboard level of annoying. Whiny and pathetic, she stumbled from one page to the next with no backbone. She’s supposed to be this impressive scientist and professor, but she came off as ignorant and naive. And the ‘secret’ she’s been hiding from her daughter since her husband died was so dull it made perfect sense – Stephanie is such a tedious character, of course, her ‘deep, dark secret‘ would be pointless.
There are so many good thrillers out there, this does not rate highly on that list.