The groundbreaking thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama, Lynda La Plante, and the basis for Steve McQueen's critically acclaimed motion picture. WIDOWS is a fast-paced heist thriller with an all-female cast you won't forget.
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Facing life alone, they turned to crime together

A security van heist goes disastrously wrong and three women are left widowed.

When Dolly Rawlins discovers her gang boss husband's plans for the failed hijack, an idea starts to form . . .

Could she and the other wives finish the job their husbands started?

As the women rehearse the raid, it becomes clear that someone else must have been involved.

But only three bodies were found in the wreckage.

Who was the fourth man?

And where is he now?

'The perfect summer read' My Weekly

The basis for Steve McQueen's major motion picture, WIDOWS is a fast-paced heist thriller with an all female cast you won't forget

About the Author

Lynda La Plante was born in Liverpool. She is the author of over forty novels, all of which have been bestsellers. She trained for the stage at RADA and worked with the National theatre and RSC before becoming a television actress. She then turned to writing - and made her breakthrough with the phenomenally successful TV series Widows.

Lynda's original script for the much-acclaimed Prime Suspect won awards from BAFTA, Emmys, British Broadcasting and Royal Television Society as well as the 1993 Edgar Allan Poe Award.

Lynda is an honorary fellow of the British Film Institute and was awarded the BAFTA Dennis Potter Best Writer's Award in 2000. In 2008, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to Literature, Drama and Charity.

Lynda La Plante is the first layperson to be awarded an honorary fellowship to the Forensic Science Society. In 2020 she launched the acclaimed Listening to the Dead podcast with former CSI Cass Sutherland, exploring forensic science and its impact on solving crimes.

Reviews
This tale of female empowerment, evolution, and enrichment...provides more than enough thrills and plot twists to satisfy any crime novel enthusiast * Library Journal *
Packed with high-tension, fast-paced action, an unforgettable cast of characters, plenty of twists and turns, and La Plante's dark and satirical brand of northern humour, this is crime fiction and excitingly visual storytelling at its best...just when you think you have the denouement sussed, La Plante delivers a brilliant coup-de-grace in the shape of a gobsmacking twist in the tail. With nostalgia for older readers, and a voyage of discovery for the younger generation, Widows is an exciting summer crime read with a feisty feminist flavour! * Lancashire Evening Post *
With the benefit of hindsight, La Plante was ahead of her time. The idea of a group of women, housewives, living very ordinary lives becoming a heist team was wholly original. Widows has strong social themes about grief (Dolly ironing her dead husband's shirts) and how life goes on after the death of loved ones. Basically showing how women are every bit as determined, fierce and clever as men... Maybe this novel attracted a lot of non-crime readers to the form long before the psychodrama became popular. La Plante wasn't the first crime writing woman to champion the cause of real women in the genre but she gave it a shot in the arm * Nudge Books *
This is classic Lynda La Plante. Widows is simply stunning. There is no one like Dolly Rawlins. Highly recommended * Northern Crime *
A terrific story and a cracking good read * Love Books Read Books *
Quality reading that is exceptionally well told * Woman's Way *

The perfect summer read

* My Weekly *
A great book -- Alex Heminsley * BBC Radio 2 *
La Plante writes characters that you can believe in and want to root for and these women are no different. Each one is flawed and vulnerable, as they struggle to come to terms with their new lives without their men. At the heart of the story are themes of survival and friendship and how loss can bring very different people together. A real page-turner stuffed with gasp-out-loud surprises * The Pool *
La Plante's terrific characters and serpentine plotting still deliver a gripping read * Irish Independent *
It's good, dark fun: a feminist noir love child of Thelma and Louise and The Godfather * Kirkus *



Book Information
ISBN 9781785763328
Author Lynda La Plante
Format Paperback
Page Count 448
Imprint Zaffre
Publisher Zaffre
Weight(grams) 412g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 31mm