Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2021
432 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
For fans of The Wife Between Us and The Dry comes a chilling murder mystery that takes a domestic thriller's classic question―"Did his wife kill him?"―and twists it into an completely new type of suspense.
Polygamist Blake Nelson built a homestead on a hidden stretch of land―a raw paradise in the wilds of Utah―where he lived with his three wives:
Rachel, the first wife, obedient and doting to a fault, with a past she'd prefer to keep quiet. Tina, the rebel wife, everything Rachel isn't, straight from rehab and the Vegas strip. And Emily, the young wife, naïve and scared, estranged from her Catholic family.
The only thing that they had in common was Blake. Until all three are accused of his murder.
When Blake is found dead under the desert sun, all three wives become suspect―not only to the police, but to each other. As the investigation draws them closer, each wife must decide who can be trusted. With stories surfacing of a notorious cult tucked away in the hills, whispers flying about a fourth wife, and evidence that can't quite explain what had been keeping Blake busy, the three widows face a reckoning that might shatter all they know to be true.
"Original, informative, suspenseful—the big three in a literary slam bang." – New York Journal of Books
"Powerful." - Bustle
"A compulsively readable page-turner… not to be missed." - CrimeReads
"The reader learns much about fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints culture and religion as the plot labors toward an unexpected answer to whodunit. An uplifting ending may mollify those put off by some graphic sex and disturbing scenes of cult practices involving underage girls. Quinn is a writer to watch." - Publishers Weekly
"Black Widows is an absolutely thrilling novel. I devoured it over a weekend, unable to put it down. It's a clever and completely original take on a domestic thriller. Highly recommended." - Alex Michaelides, author of #1 New York Times bestseller The Silent Patient
"Black Widows is a bombshell of a suspense novel! The story unfolds through three sister-wives married to the same man, and each woman is unique, fascinating, and full of surprises. This tantalizing and troubling story will keep you guessing right up to the end." - Samantha Downing, bestselling author of My Lovely Wife and He Started It
"Black Widows is a tense portrayal of an unconventional family and the secrets each one of them carries. With the murder of their husband, three sister wives must contend with their own pasts while suspecting the others of the crime. Quinn masterfully paints each woman with a different brush, making her unique, compelling...and suspicious. As tensions unravel and secrets are revealed, you will race to the end, watching the puzzle assemble into a picture you never imagined." - Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight
"Part page-turning whodunit, part desert domestic noir, Black Widows is a sly, contemporary crime masterpiece. I loved it." - Adrian McKinty, author of The Chain
"Quinn gives her readers an exquisite murder mystery, taking us through uncharted territory of off-the-grid, modern-day intentional communities. Black Widows is a steady, slow boil you'll be happy to immerse yourself in." - Christina Dalcher, international bestselling author of Vox and Master Class
"Black Widows is a brilliant joyride in the company of three unforgettable women, sister-wives with nothing in common except their dead husband. Completely compelling and vividly told, the story plays with your loyalties and makes you question what counts as moral behaviour. This is a hugely enjoyable and original mystery with real heart, and I loved it." - Jane Casey, author of The Burning and How to Fall
"It's unusual to read a story that reveals a completely different life, but that's exactly what Black Widows does. A thrilling tale which twists and turns along an immersive desert landscape, with a surprising Thelma & Louise style ending that makes you feel proud of the sisterhood." - Araminta Hall, author of Our Kind of Cruelty
"Oh my God, THIS BOOK! Mormon man--three wives, living survivalist lives-is murdered. Each wife is a suspect. I could NOT put it down!!! Utterly compelling, nuanced characterisation, such atmosphere. I LOVED it!" - Marian Keyes, international bestselling author of The Break and Grown Ups
"I loved this book. It's both a fascinating glimpse into a hidden world and brilliantly twisty crime novel. Three wives, three motives, three utterly compelling stories." - Elly Griffiths, author of the Dr. Ruth Galloway mysteries
"The marriage thriller given a wicked new twist. Claustrophobic, intense and absolutely gripping Black Widows announces the arrival of a major new talent into the halls of domestic noir." - Eva Dolan, author of the Zigic and Ferreira series
"Everything about this book-the plot, the characters, the telling-is strikingly original. And highly recommended. Brilliantly imagined, compellingly told, a tale of survival against the odds, told with insight and compassion. The voices of the three wives will stay with the reader long after the book is finished." - Chris Hammer, international bestselling author of Scrublands and Silver
"It's a great hook and a tremendous read-I thoroughly enjoyed this. The tension ramps up all the way to the end and I loved the relationship between the wives." - Harriet Tyce, international bestselling author of Blood Orange
This information about Black Widows was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Cate (Catherine) Quinne was a travel and lifestyle journalist for The Times, The Guardian and The Mirror, alongside many magazines. Prior to journalism and fiction, her background in historic research won prestigious postgraduate funding from the British Art Council.
Combining research skills with far-flung travel experiences helped her delve into different communities and worlds to create page-turning thrillers in interesting locations. She is currently a novelist both as an independent author and with Amazon publishing. Her novels have sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.
Cate is based in Brighton, England.
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