WIDOWS-IN-LAW

In Miller’s (The Thirteenth Step: Zombie
Recovery, 2013) thriller, a deceased lawyer’s illicit acts put his widow
and his ex-wife in danger.

When New York City attorney Brian
Silverman dies in Miami, he leaves behind a wife, Jessica, and a 16-year-old
daughter, Emily, from his first marriage. His ex-wife, Lauren Davis—a family-court lawyer to whom Brian was
unfaithful—is mainly worried about how his death will affect Emily. His demise
appears accidental (a fire from smoking in bed), but his recent actions are
much more mysterious. Jessica finds evidence of lucrative property sales that she
knew nothing about, and Emily suspects that Brian was having yet another affair.
One of Brian’s
associates tracks Jessica down and tells her that her ex had stashed $12 million
away—money that he apparently owed to Jorge Arena, a criminal under FBI
investigation. Arena believes that Jessica and Lauren know where his cash is.
Although the two women aren’t friends, they team up and, along with Emily, dig
deeper into Brian’s secret life. However, even if they find the money, Arena
makes it abundantly clear that he has no qualms about committing murder. Miller
populates her novel with truly dynamic female characters. Lauren, for example,
is shown to have a thorny past; she had drug-addicted parents and mingled with shady people in her
younger days, including a hit man. Likewise, the assertive Jessica turns out to be far more than the mere
trophy wife that Lauren initially suspected her to be, and Emily, despite occasional
brattiness, also shows great
resourcefulness, particularly with computers. The suspense increases as
villains target the heroic trio, and Lauren gets a chance to display her
lawyering skills when Jessica and Emily’s investigations gets them in legal
trouble. Intermittent flashbacks, centered on Brian, prove superfluous, as
readers already know what he’s done—and witnessing his questionable behavior
firsthand adds nothing new to the story.

A tense novel with three remarkable main
characters.