The Widow cover art

The Widow

the unforgettable new courtroom drama from the master of the legal thriller!

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Widow

By: John Grisham
Narrated by: Michael Beck
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

 'A classic, compulsive, taut and thrilling novel from one of the great storytellers of our time. No one does it better' CHRIS WHITAKER

SHE NEEDS A LAWYER. HE NEEDS A PAYDAY.

Lawyer Simon Latch is struggling with debt, gambling issues and an impending divorce. But when Eleanor Barnett, an 85-year-old widow, visits his office to secure a new will, it seems his luck has finally changed: she claims she's sitting on a $20 million fortune and no one else knows about it.

Once he's hooked the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But it's a terrible mistake. Hidden secrets have a way of being found out, and when Eleanor is hospitalised after a car accident, Simon realises that nothing is as it seems.

As events spiral out of control, he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn't commit: murder.

The Widow is classic Grisham courtroom drama combined with a confounding murder mystery that will enthral his legion of fans.©2025 Belfry Holdings, Inc. Crime Crime Thrillers International Mystery & Crime Murder Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting

Editorial Review

There oughta be a law
To start listening to John Grisham’s latest incredible legal thriller, I had to put a whole lot of things on hold. Like my weekend to-do list and my Sunday call to my mother (she was busy anyway). Yeah, it’s that good. Nothing like the trials and tribulations of a Southern US lawyer whose life seems to going further south. It has all the “fixins”: plenty of money, dubious relatives, biscuits, bourbon, and a marriage also on the rocks. Narrator Michael Beck does an excellent job insinuating himself into every character, male and female. I admit to chuckling more than a couple of times. I wanted the story to go on and on, but I had to go back to my daily life—which isn’t all that bad, but this audiobook is all that good and then some.—Yvonne D., Audible Editor

Critic reviews

A classic, compulsive, taut and thrilling novel from one of the great storytellers of our time. The Widow is John Grisham at his irresistible, unforgettable best. No one does it better
The Widow is primarily a moral parable ... it's a murder mystery, too, and permeated by evidence of John Grisham's often overlooked skill as a social observer
A twist-laden tale of greed, deception and privilege from the master of courtroom suspense
This is classic Grisham; the story of a small-town lawyer caught in a fix
Grisham is adroit at dealing with moral ambiguities, and they are all over this novel ... when that Grisham grip takes hold, readers will be unable to switch off their bedside lamps
Another nerve-shredding tale of a flawed justice system from the prolific past master of the courtroom drama
All stars
Most relevant
the story kept me engaged throughout with many interesting characters and plot developments. the narration was excellent too

couldn't stop listening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is the first John Grisham I've enjoyed for a while, all the older ones are superb reads, the more recent ones, not so much. The Widow is back to the old style and substance. I would recom it.

Back to the old style John Grisham

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
didn't like the voiceovers in the audio book, felt amateurish so there ye go. needed he me actors

ok story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliant story. I enjoyed listening to it. Looking forward to choosing another book by this author

The widow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s a fairly typical Grisham book - even though the pacing of the story is uneven. The first third is slow and (at times) tedious. The middle and final sections are faster paced and seemed compressed. A lot of time is spent setting the scene and relatively little in reaching the resolution.

Slow start but worth the wait

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews