Widows

Dolly Rawlins #1

by Lynda La Plante

THE BASIS FOR STEVE MCQUEEN'S UPCOMING MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, WIDOWS IS A FAST-PACED HEIST THRILLER WITH AN ALL FEMALE CAST YOU WON'T FORGET.

Before PRIME SUSPECT there was WIDOWS . . . Facing life alone, they turned to crime together. Dolly Rawlins, Linda Pirelli and Shirley Miller are left devastated when their husbands are killed in a security van heist that goes disastrously wrong. When Dolly discovers her husband Harry's bank deposit box, containing a gun, money - and detailed plans for the hijack - she realises that she only has three 1. Give up and forget she ever found them; 2. Hand over Harry's ledgers to the police, or to the thugs that have been hassling her for information they think she has; 3. She and the other widows could carry out the robbery themselves Novices in the craft of crime, the three women make their preparations. Along the way they discover that Harry's plan required four people, not three. But only three bodies were discovered in the carnage of the original hijack - so who was the fourth man, and where is he now? Recruiting hooker Bella O'Reilly as their fourth, the widows are determined to execute their plan. Facing mounting pressure from DI Resnick, and local thugs Arnie and Tony Fisher, can they stick together and finish the job their husbands started . . .

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh) is a British author, screenwriter, and erstwhile actress (her performances in Rentaghost and other programmes were under her stage name of Lynda Marchal), best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series.

Her first TV series as a scriptwriter was the six part robbery series Widows, in 1983, in which the widows of four armed robbers carry out a heist planned by their deceased husbands.

In 1991 ITV released Prime Suspect which has now run to seven series and stars Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison. (In the United States Prime Suspect airs on PBS as part of the anthology program Mystery!) In 1993 La Plante won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on the series. In 1992 she wrote at TV movie called Seekers, starring Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon, produced by Sarah Lawson.

She formed her own television production company, La Plante Productions, in 1994 and as La Plante Productions she wrote and produced the sequel to Widows, the equally gutsy She's Out (ITV, 1995). The name "La Plante" comes from her marriage to writer Richard La Plante, author of the book Mantis and Hog Fever. La Plante divorced Lynda in the early 1990s.

Her output continued with The Governor (ITV 1995-96), a series focusing on the female governor of a high security prison, and was followed by a string of ratings pulling miniseries: the psycho killer nightmare events of Trial & Retribution (ITV 1997-), the widows' revenge of the murders of their husbands & children Bella Mafia (1997) (starring Vanessa Redgrave), the undercover police unit operations of Supply and Demand (ITV 1998), videogame/internet murder mystery Killer Net (Channel 4 1998) and the female criminal profiler cases of Mind Games (ITV 2001).

Two additions to the Trial and Retribution miniseries were broadcast during 2006.

Reviews

[Jess☺️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The widow's by Lynda la plante Is full of strong women characters who have up and down moments in their friendship when trying to pull off the heist their husbands died trying to get away with.(come on the girls)
It's an easy paced book where you have a slow beginning then it's just heart racing thrill whilst your sat on the edge of your seat screaming inside ' COME ON ' and then 'oh my god' in other parts whilst rolling your eyes all the way to the finish .
I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants a little emotion, a lot of worthwhile frustration and heart pounding fun, then this is the book for you.
(Roll on book two).

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agora é que vão ser Elas 😉


No papel batia tudo certo. Todos os detalhes e pormenores foram contemplados e revistos — tudo fora previsto, desde o principal ao secundário — o plano era perfeito.

Tudo fora previsto... exceto, claro está, o imprevisto 😜

A Vida acontece num emaranhado de planos engendrados por cérebros anónimos que se cruzam e interceptam, e... quando colidem ... acabam logo ali ☹️

E foi esse o caso!

O plano infalível embateu noutro falível, foi contaminado e malogrado, não chegando a concretizar-se. Três homens-chave pereceram deixando 3 viúvas destroçadas e sem rumo.

Porém... o Plano sobreviveu.

Sobreviveu... e agora a elas pertence...

“Viúvas” é um thriller no feminino que as mulheres irão adorar e os homens aplaudir 😁😉👍
Quanto a mim, o cromossoma que estabelece a diferença não me impediu de aplaudir com eles 😜
São 4 estrelas cintilantes 🌟 — adorei e ovacionei!!! 🥰👏

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Rawlins, Joe Pirelli and Terry Miller were part of a four-man team whose plan for the raid on the security van was foolproof. Harry was the boss; meticulous in everything he did. But something did go wrong that day – and all three men died; incinerated in their vehicle. The three widows were devastated; the funerals were well attended, especially Harry’s. But trouble was only just beginning…

Harry’s wife Dolly discovered details of all his criminal activities – it felt like Harry was talking to her from the grave. Her decision wasn’t that hard – she certainly didn’t want Detective Inspector Resnick (Harry’s nemesis) to receive Harry’s ledgers; nor did she want Harry’s rivals to get them. So why couldn’t she and the other two widows follow Harry’s detailed plan and finish the job – benefitting from the windfall themselves of course. What could possibly go wrong?

Widows by author Lynda LaPlante was a fast-paced crime thriller which kept me enthralled right the way through. The tough gangs with their stand-over men; the constant threats of death; the intense pressure on Dolly and the girls to stay one step ahead of Harry’s rivals – as well as the police. A well-crafted novel, Widows is the first in the Dolly Rawlins series, and well worth the read. Recommended.

With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my ARC to read and review.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really wanted to read this prior to the movies release, the idea of a group of recently widowed women stepping up to continue their husbands criminal activities seemed like such a great story.

I was surprised to learn through the foreword that the story originated from a 1980’s British Mini-Series, with this story being set in early eighties London it made me love it even more.

After their husbands deaths, Dolly along with Linda and Shirley soon realise that they have got a great opportunity to continue with the plans but on their terms.

I loved the charters and setting of this story, the dialogue felt so authentic to the time.
It was easy to get attached to the characters and be swept along with their plans for the heist.
I was so gripped by the conclusion!

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Inherited Plan


The Plan was Perfect!

Everything was predicted, revised, analyzed... till the last micro-detail!

Everything was predicted except the unpredictable:

Life is a result of an entangled Web of Plans created by anonymous minds. Some of them collide ... stumble ... and... fall... ending exactly where they started! And this has been one of those unfortunate accidents:

The Flawless Plan bumped into a Faulty one, got damaged and... crashed!!!

3 key men were now dead, leaving behind 3 devastated widows 😢😢😢

Now it’s up to you girls!...

[Aria · Rating 1 out of 5]

---- Disclosure: I received this book for free from Goodreads. ----

So, here I am in the minority regarding this book. To start, I'll say I liked the cover. It's well done & appropriate for this title. I also enjoyed the introduction, which left me thinking, "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this." Then in the 1st chapter everything got confusing. So many people. I couldn't quite keep it all straight, & found myself wondering if I might have gotten excited about the book prematurely. 2nd chapter, omg, how cliche can one be w/ cop characters? No need to even read this chapter. We all know our cliche cops. Chapter 3 I was hoping I might finally get some story & perhaps the book might redeem itself. No such luck. By that point I'd considered walking away from the book twice already. It was just a whole lot of nothing. Since I'd received it on promise of a review I felt obligated to at least push forward beyond the 3rd chapter. Had I gotten this book from any other source, I'd have chucked it right then. Press on I did, though.

Fast forward to chapter 9: How long does it take to get a bloody freaking car?! WTH?! WHY IS THIS STILL GOING ON! GET A DAMN CAR ALREADY! ----- Um, yeah, so I stopped reading in Chapter 9.

Here's the thing. I get that the premise of 3 crime widows finishing the jobs their husbands had lined up is a hot Hollywood premise. (Nothing really new here, but I mean, it's Hollywood. Safe & formulaic is what they do.) It's a good concept to pitch to that group of film makers, although I do wonder if it wasn't picked up b/c the current times are all about safe film projects w/ female leads to sell as "strong-females." (In other words, pandering.) No real problem so far, as relates to why this fit the bill the film industry was trying to fill. However, the book itself just sucked. Hard. So hard. Everything in it was so utterly flat. Story never took off. Ridiculous, undeveloped caricatures of characters. Final assessment is it was a fair concept with really crap execution, so that decent idea never landed. It died before it could even get off the ground. I'm really confused as to why so many people thought it was great. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I was painfully bored, which is ever so much worse.

Sometimes a story is just not my thing & I can recommend it for other kinds of readers. That's not the case here. I didn't feel like I wasn't in the intended target readership. I just think it was bad work. Sad, but true. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Maybe the movie idea will be altered into something palatable. (They will prob. have to re-write nearly everything, but so be it.) One can hope.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited to read that this great story was going to be made into to a film, I wanted to reacquaint myself with this wonderful book.

Dolly Rawling is married to Harry who appears to be a respectable antiques dealer, but is also the mastermind of a criminal gang. When a failed robbery of a security van goes wrong it leads to the death of Harry Joe and Terry. The 4th man is unknown but manages to escape unscathed.

Dolly, Linda and Shirley are now widows struggling to cope without their husbands. When Dolly gets her hands on Harry’s ledger of future planned robberies she decides to carry out the next robbery.

This is such an amazing story, full of wonderful strong female characters. Dolly comes from a working class family and reinvented herself when she married Harry, she is strong and determined that she can do whatever she puts her mind to. I loved the way she manages to unite the women and plan the robbery, she is the glue holding them together. Her sneakiness at evading the police surveillance made me laugh and you really want them to get away Scot free.

I would definitely recommend this book and I’m looking forward to Widows 2. Wished I had watched the series “Widows” but will look forward to the film.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

[Alex Cantone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in London in the 1980s, three men die in a fireball and a fourth escapes when a heist on a security truck masterminded by Harry Rawlins goes wrong. The Fisher family of rogues tries to take over Rawlins’ patch, to get hold of the ledgers Rawlins kept, meticulously detailing past robberies and others planned, the money trail and men involved. An embittered DI Resnick from the Met is on the tail too, shadowing Rawlin’s widow, Dolly, who, after a period of mourning gets the other widows together to pull off the heist themselves, and escape to a country with no extradition order.

This had glimpses of the “The Great Train Robbery” twenty years earlier, and might have worked if not for the characters themselves. The first 100 pages were mawkish before we get into the heist proper; Dolly the stand-out, brave, tough, organised, able to adapt when things go wrong, but the other women came across as a wailing self-obsessed knitting circle, who would stand out like a sore thumb in another part of London, let alone overseas. The males too seemed one-dimensional, the villains violent or stupid, the police little better.

Okay, so in the early eighties computers would be mainframes (IBM), with the police typing up their reports, and no mobile phones. I get that. But surely banknotes could be traced? This was one of the “Queen of Crime Drama’s” earlier works and from the blurb on the cover I was expecting something better.

[Maria João (A Biblioteca da João) · Rating 5 out of 5]

9 de 10*

Quem lê muitos livros sabe como é difícil encontrar um livro diferente, quer seja pela história, quer pelo registo. "Viúvas", de Lynda La Plante, conseguiu ambas as coisas. Uma história original, contada num ambiente noir pouco utilizado na literatura, mas que lhe assentou como uma luva!

Comentário completo em:
https://abibliotecadajoao.blogspot.co...

[simona.citeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

O poveste foarte alertă și pe alocuri puțin cam încâlcită dar cu multă acțiune, detalii și personaje.
Eu mi-am pus mintea cu ea și am citit-o aproape dintr-o suflare, curioasă să aflu finalul.
Are un final satisfăcător deși este primul volum dintr-o serie.

[Barbara K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heist thriller featuring women, set in early 1980's London. Great idea, but what to expect from the delivery? Turns out, Lynda La Plante is up for the challenge.

Dolly, Shirley and Linda are all widowed when their husbands die in a botched holdup of an armored vehicle. The contents of the secret safe deposit box maintained by Dolly's husband Harry, the ringleader, reveal not just cash but another form of wealth: his ledgers. These include records of every illicit transaction he's ever been involved in (blackmail against anyone who might wish to do him harm), plus detailed plans for future robberies.

Dolly shortly finds herself under surveillance by both DI Resnick of the police and the Fishers, a thinly disguised version of the Kray brothers desperate to get their hands on those ledgers. In an effort to save herself and the other widows, Dolly decides they should re-attempt the failed heist, with some modifications to improve the likelihood of success.

La Plante's characterizations of the women elevate the book above similar fare. The plot is clever and there is plenty of tension, but it is the way the women, especially Dolly, jump off the page that held my attention. They all show strength and weakness at different times; they all demonstrate confidence in and suspicion of one another as the story unfolds. And of course, this being a heist story, they each bring special talents to the team.

Although the book was written (ye gods!) 40 years ago, it has a contemporary vibe in many ways. A rare delight found among my backlist of impulse-purchase audiobooks.

[Blair Lochrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Features characters with as much depth as a paddling pool. Disappointing.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmmm......disappointed with this. I remember this TV series from the early 80s (I think!) & have enjoyed other books by this author but this one didn't have the intensity of those, in fact the writing was pretty flat.....it was a bit like listening to someone recounting what they'd watched the night before!

[Laura Wonderchick · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOT DAMN THIS WAS FUCKING GRAND!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the best reads for me this year! This was so exciting and fast paced that at some points I had to set the book down and walk around bc I was so edgy! I can’t imagine how this will transcend to the movie screen but I’d love to see it! Just brilliant!!!!

[Ashley (gotbookcitement) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book from BookishFirst and Zaffre Publishing. Thank you to them for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
I'd never heard of Lynda La Plante before, even though she's a pretty well known author. I think I like her stuff. Widows was pretty fun.
The beginning started off very exciting with the failed heist by Harry Rawlins and crew. It was a very vivid scene. What happened to the crew was pretty awful, pretty painful, and very grotesque. It was a scene I won't forget.
There were a lot of characters to wrap my head around in the beginning, which made for a little confusion as I was trying to get everybody straight. I also didn't expect for the planning of the robbery to take up as much of the book as it did. I mean, I guess I should have, but I didn't. About 3/4 of the book were just Dolly and the girls planning the robbery. It made for when the robbery actually happened more exciting though, because it had been building up to it for so long.
I also expected the Widows to be more friends with each other than they were. They kind of had an antagonistic relationship for most of it. Dolly made sure that all the girls knew she was the boss, which made Linda resent her a lot. It almost seemed like Dolly thought these were her children that she had to take care of, and she didn't think her girls were particularly gifted with intelligence. Dolly didn't see them as equals, which caused a lot of tension.
I did enjoy the twists and turns in this one. If you read it, you'll know what I'm talking about. I can't say that I expected it.
Widows is going to be made into a movie (I believe it was already made into a TV drama at some point, but it's getting a new movie later in 2018). I've seen the trailer, and I'm kind of excited for what they're going to do with it. Reading the book, it does seem like it would make the perfect movie. I think when it gets released, I might see it. Should be a good dose of action fun.
The ending was satisfying, but it didn't conclude everything. There is a continuation to Dolly's story that I'm definitely interested to read. What's going to happen next?? I sense some unpleasantness in Dolly's future. I also want to know what happens with the Police Detective.
This was a pretty fun read. I liked it. I think it's going to make a great movie. I'm really glad I was lucky enough to win a copy. I'd recommend it.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5
Let the Heist Commence

[Helena Magalhães · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que policial feminino tão maravilhoso, que leitura intensa, cheia de reviravoltas e personagens tão bem descritas e construídas. O principio é um pouco lento - estamos a conhecer as Viúvas e as suas histórias, também para nos conseguirmos colocar no tempo e espaço da narrativa e compreender as motivações que levaram cada uma delas a fazer o que estão prestes a fazer: o assalto que os maridos deveriam ter terminado se não tivessem morrido. E claro que este poderia ser um simples policial pelos meandros da máfia mas torna-se uma bela história que nos mostra quatro mulheres completamente diferentes, sem aparentemente nada em comum, e que decidem virar-se contra o meio onde os seus maridos traficantes e assaltantes de bancos trabalhavam, entrando nele e fazendo ainda melhor. Há tantos plot twists nesta história e Lynda La Plante vai-nos revelando tudo lentamente para nos conseguir surpreender com as reviravoltas que acontecem.

Só depois de ler fui investigar mais sobre a autora e percebi que As Viúvas já é um livro antigo, já teve série de TV no Reino Unido há muitos anos e existem mais duas sequelas que entretanto já quero ler. Claro que depois percebi porque tantas coisas desta história só fazem sentido porque era passada há muitos anos. Hoje, com os telemóveis e a internet, seria diferente. Esta reedição deste policial a propósito do filme do cinema veio em boa hora. Recomendo vivamente a quem quer entrar no universo dos policiais porque se vai entusiasmar com este, gostar das personagens e no fim... até ter vontade de assaltar um banco ehehe :)

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vaduve este o carte destul de bunicică. Nu am mai citit cărți ale autoarei, nici nu știu dacă are mai multe sau nu, dar am fost placut surprinsa de stilul ei de scriere. Este pe gustul meu. Cartea este plină de personaje puternice, femei cu caractere pregnante, care reusesc sa faca lucruri ce nu le sta in obișnuință, spargand astfel orice barieră. Este o poveste destul de antrenanta, iar faptul că am citit o încet, mi-a dat posibilitatea sa o savurez.
Ii dau 4 stele. Acum am văzut că este o trilogie, ceea ce înseamnă că vor urma alte două volume. Nu stiu cand vor fi traduse la noi, dar sunt curioasa sa vad schimbarile pe care văduvele le vor face în viețile lor, asa ca le astept cu interes.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Million of stars and millions of thanks to my favourite top author. I really enjoyed reading about a robbery. My full review www.bookread2day.wordpress.com

[Liviu Szoke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Din recenzia apărută pe Bookblog:

„În anii optzeci, Lynda La Plante, o scriitoare de talie mondială care a rezistat cu un extraordinar succes de-a lungul mai multor decenii zbuciumate, se ocupa de scenarii de filme. Și uite așa și-a imaginat scenariul unui serial devenit cult între timp (modificat și adaptat în 2018, conform noilor criterii, de către Steve McQueen, cel care dăduse lovitura cu 12 ani de sclavie), în care patru indivizi încearcă să jefuiască un transport de bani într-un tunel rutier din Londra, numai că sfârșesc arși de vii, iar văduva tipului care pusese toată treaba la cale preia frâiele operațiunii eșuate și continuă opera ghinionistului ei soț.

Ca urmare a succesului înregistrat de acest serial ce se numește exact ca romanul de față, Lynda La Plante scrie o novelizare ce va fi urmată de încă două continuări (pe care sper din tot sufletul să le văd publicate și la noi). Și așa a apărut Widows, primul volum al seriei Dolly Rawlins. Văduve în limba română, reluat, cum ziceam mai sus, într-un film cu buget mare și cu o distribuție complet schimbată, dar și cu un succes să-i zicem mai degrabă modest.

Modest, deși materialul-sursă este unul excelent. Are început solid, cu jefuitorii care mor încă de la prima pagină, are o continuare surprinzătoare, însă deloc trasă de păr, cu văduvele îndurerate transformate în jefuitoare de succes, și are și o încheiere pe măsură, e drept că lăsată un pic în coadă de pește, pentru niscaiva continuări. Pe care, cum ziceam mai sus, le-aș citi fără nici cea mai mică ezitare.

De ce? Păi, am zis la început: mi-era dor de un thriller cinstit, fără fasoane, cu acțiune solidă și excelent închegată, dar și cu personaje capabile, solide și excelent caracterizate, cu bune, dar și cu rele, cu calități, dar și cu nenumărate defecte, criticate adesea de autoare atunci când a simțit nevoia, dar și capabile să izbutească acolo unde soții lor mult mai hârșiți în rele și fărădelegi au eșuat.

Acțiunea e solidă, personajele sunt unul și unul, desfășurarea evenimentelor te ține cu sufletul la gură până la ultima pagină. Nu ai timp de pauze de cafea, de lăsat cartea din mână (eu însumi am stat, deloc caracteristic în ultimii ani, până după 2 noaptea, ca să văd ce se întâmplă mai departe), de trecut la altceva sau de notat idei sau personaje. Totul e limpede, închegat, așezat acolo unde trebuie, fără trimiteri peste trimiteri și, mai ales, fără prea multă corectitudine. De niciun fel. Dacă am avut chef să-l fac așa, îl fac așa, pare că și-a zis doamna La Plante. Și exact așa a ieșit! Bun de tot, dur și complex, cu un dram de ironie cât să meargă perfect, un thriller old-school exact ca-n vremurile bune! Recomandat!”

Mai multe, pe Bookblog: https://www.bookblog.ro/recenzie/vadu....

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Bookishfirst for this book.

Not only did I find the cover of this book intriguing, the book intrigued me too. I can see why this is becoming a major motion picture. I'd definitely see it. Not sure who will play who but nonetheless, it'll be an interesting cast.

These women were total opposites in every way but they came together to pull off a heist that I didn't think would happen. Dolly was such a strong woman and Shirley, Bella and Linda became strong women throughout the book that's for sure. So much going on in this book but it was easy to keep track of it since it all blended together.

I've never read Lynda La Plante's books before but now I found a new author to enjoy. I'm sure her others are just as mysterious as Widows was.

I would love to read a sequel to see what happens in the future with these ladies and what happens to the rest of the "bad guys."

[Julie Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book and I’ll be interested to see what the film is like.
The book begins with a failed armed robbery where most of the men involved die leaving three widows, Dolly, Linda and Shirley.
Dolly gains access to Harry's lockup and finds all his secrets in his ledgers including the plans for the robbery.
Dolly gets the other two widows on board and together they set off to finish what their men started.
Things don’t go smoothly though and the book is full of secrets and lies leading to some great final chapters.
This is a solid 3.5 star review from me.
Thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

[Netta · Rating 4 out of 5]

מותחן פשע מוצלח וסוחף, על שלוש אלמנות טריות המתכוננות להוציא לפועל את תוכנית השוד המושלם שהשתבש לבני זוגן העבריינים (ובו מצאו את מותם). רוב הדמויות פלקטיות, ותחילת הסיפור מקרטעת, אבל הספר מהנה מאד, ויש בו כח ואנושיות, שאפשר לסלוח על הרדידות הכללית שלו.

[Vera Brandão · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://verovsky-meninadospoliciais.bl...

[River Scott Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello Darlin remember me? know well let remind you the names Dolly, Dolly Rawlins but you maybe remember me Husband Harry Rawlins... yeah i thought that would make you remember! you wanna Fag Darlin you look a bit Shocked!?

there is a few things you need to know about Dolly Rawlins
one: shes hard as nails & she ain't scared of know one!
two: loyalty means everything to her you cross her and you will have ya head on a plate!
three: she loves her husband Harry
Oh and you hurt her beloved dog Wolf and she will have your Bollocks for breakfast!

Dolly Rawlins had thought she had it all a big beautiful home a dog wolf who she thinks of as her baby and her Husband Harry his not perfect far from it his a bank robber his the hard man people are scared of but he loves his Dolly, then one day his on a job with his two other lads with the job goes wrong very wrong in fact it goes BANG! up in smoke the van and the men inside including Harry...

Devastated at losing her Harry Dolly can't cope 20 years they was married and now his gone her and wolf alone on that big house, then a friend of Harry's gives Dolly a piece of paper he said Harry ask him to give it to her if anything happened to him, once she reads it she knows what it is she goes to the bank and a private Lock up and there she finds something that everyone wants something people will do anything to get there hands on even kill! a list of names ,contacts and times and upcoming bank jobs

that is when the plan starts to form in Dolly's head so she heads off to a spa with the two other Widows to put her plan in to action and see if they are in or out that they will carry out the next robbery that there husbands was planning to do but like in there husbands last raid they need a forth person and once they have her the job is as good as done! but with a lot of money at stake there will people after them and are willing to kill to get there hands on what they have! with lots of shocks in store before the Widows head of to Rio they will need to think like men act like men to see this job till the end..

i love Lynda La Plante Books but Widows is one that i had not read yet, i grew up knowing the T:V show was legendary and Ann Mitchell was an icon as Dolly Rawlins it wasn't until recently that i picked up Widows in the book store and thought i'm having that and from the very first page i loved it i can't believe that this book has been around so long and i have not read it yet, boy i missed a lot an amazing book with such a fast paced female led story i just loved it and you can not help but picture the amazing Ann Mitchell as Dolly Rawlins when your reading Widows that role was mad her even though i have not seen the tv show yet you just know that role fits her like a glove.. i will be going to buy Widows 1 and 2 and ill be binge watching i am now reading Shes Out as i already Miss Dolly Rawlins an amazing book that everyone should read at least two times in there life!!

[Michaela · Rating 1 out of 5]

My friend had this book. I gave it a go despite her deep sigh when I asked if it was any good. I knew what that meant, so I did that to myself. (She was right.) This was hard to follow, dry, & everything about it was utterly flat. I don't even want to see the movie, having had this experience with the book. So, into the (recycling) bin it goes.

[Raluca Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi-a placut mult. Actiunea te prinde, o carte pe care o lasi greu din mana .

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dolly Rawlins is now a widow, her husband along with a group of other men were killed in a failed armed robbery attempt. While Dolly could just accept this fact and have a very comfortable life living off of the other illegal activities her husband participated in, she decides that she wants to pull off the heist that her husband failed at. She enlists the other help of the other two widows and sets off to accomplish the heist that made all three women widows.

Personally this book seemed highly improbable to me. Yes, everything was laid out and the widows only needed to complete the plan; however, I just did not believe that they would have the skill set or knowledge of how to accomplish this. It is even stated in the book that they knew almost nothing about the illegal activities of their husbands. This made the entire premise fall very flat to me.

I also did not particularly care about any of the characters in this book. It does showcase grieving and how everyone goes about it differently, but these characters could have been anyone, I felt no connection with any of them. I think there were some decent plot points in the book and there are definitely some twists and turns that were well thought out. Also, I think this book left unanswered questions, when it could have been tied up in just one book rather than making it a series. This book was a decent read, but it did not blow me away, I do absolutely love the cover though.

A big thank you to BookishFirst and Bonnier Zaffre for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just saw a trailer for "Widows" the movie, to be released in November 2018. Coincidence: I was almost done reading the book. Lynda LaPlante's all-girl heist novel was penned in the 1980s--before LaPlante's stunning Prime Suspect television series starring Helen Mirren--and, anticipating the film, has just been released in paperback in the U.S. There are no cell phones in the novel, nor do people go around shooting each other. This is England, after all, and it forces the author to get creative when she decides to knock someone off. The book develops the characters of three women left widowed when their bank robber husbands die in a vehicle explosion. Dolly Rawlins, the ring leader Harry's middle-aged widow, decides to honor her husband by recreating his final robbery that was derailed because of the explosion, and enlists widows Linda Perelli and Shirley Miller to join her. As the small band plans their heist, using Harry's notes to guide them, Bella is invited to join them as the missing "fourth man" from the original attempted robbery. The fourth man becomes a major focus of the novel, as the women bitch, fight, rehearse, and slap each other in preparation. Lest we worry that things are too girlie-girl, the action takes a vicious turn when a couple of people close to the action wind up dead. The final third of the book is roller coaster ride, and will keep you awake with the best of them! Can't wait to see the movie.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book you have Dolly Rawlins whose husband along with two other men die in a heist gone wrong.  As Dolly grieves the loss of her husband, she finds instructions on the heist and decides to pull off what he could not.  She then enlists the help of the other husband's widows.  As the story goes on the plot thickens and things are definitely not what they seem.  With witnesses turning up dead and the police closing in, things start to get a bit dangerous for the women.  Can they pull of the heist?  Or will one of them end up hurt or worse...dead?

Wow!  This book threw me for a loop.  I am excited to see the movie now.  I hope it does the book justice.  Lynda La Plante is a crime novel goddess.  I absolutely loved this book.  The concept of women pulling off a caper like this was just awesome.  I like seeing women in a strong character role and this book has that.  These women pull themselves out of the depth of  their grief and pull of this huge heist.  It is crazy.

This book is a highly entertaining thriller with plenty of twists to make you go "WTF!  I did not see that coming".  But in pure Lynda fashion there are plenty of tiny crumbs to follow along the way to help you figure out the who done it.  I am excited to read another one, since Lynda left this one open for more.  What is next for these daring women?

[Ana Stanciu-Dumitrache · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deloc nu a reusit sa ma prinda Lynda la Plante cu acest roman, desi ideea lui mi-a placut. E insa un stil invechit, telenovelistic, specific anilor 90. E un roman ce se focuseaza pe actiune si mai putin pe personaje. A fost destul de obiectiv si impartial pentru gustul meu, caci mie imi place de obicei sa leg o relatie cu personajele, sa ma atasez de ele si de povestea lor.

Intriga e interesanta. Dupa moartea subita a sotului ei, Harry, Dolly are doua variante: sa stea sa isi planga de mila si sa blesteme soarta pentru ca i l-a luat pe barbatul iubit si a ramas singura, sau sa isi canalizeze energia in a-i continua planurile. In timpul liber, Harry se ocupa cu jafuri, afecere preluata de vaduva lui. Acesteia i se alatura si vaduvele lui Joe si Terry, asociatii sotului ei, morti si ei in urma unui jaf nereusit. De aici incolo totul mi se pare ca devine tras de par. E adevarat, trebuie sa ne raportam si la timpul cand are loc actiunea, dar parca tot nu explica anumite situatii. A fost multa actiune, dar a parut lipsita de substanta, iar caracterul vaduvelor nu mi-a placut deloc.
Nu spun ca a fost un roman prost, dar m-a lasat indiferenta. Nu m-a surprins prin nimic si nu simt ca am ramas cu ceva in urma lecturii lui.