The Widow [Mass Market Paperback]

Charlie married Pompasse when she was seventeen to his sixty something. He'd been everything to her. He was her father, protector, someone who needed her. He provided the one thing she craved the most. A home and stability she had never had. Five years later after being immortalized in a series of paintings, Charlie realized Pompasse owned her body and her soul. It was time to leave and try to find the person she was.

Returning is as hard as Charlie thought it would be. Even though Pompasse is dead, he stills controls and manipulates the lives of people around him. Charlie has to contend with the malicious behavior of Gia, the mistress that took her place. Also in the picture is Connor Maguire, a journalist who was once respectable, but now burnt out and working for a tabloid. Maguire is posing as an insurance investigator trying to find the goods to write an expose on Pompasse.

There were several things I liked about this book. Most notably was the relationship between Charlie and Maguire. But, there were several things I did not like. I personally found the character of Pompasse repulsive which is probably the way the author intended. I had trouble dealing with the fact Pompasse; a man in his seventies usually had mistresses around the age of seventeen. The second thing I had trouble with was the fact that Charlie was engaged to man twice her age. I mean you get rid of a controlling manipulative husband three times your age then get engaged to someone twice your age? Yes, I understand the author was trying to show a pattern, but it was still repulsive to me.

I guess my final thoughts are if you want something different, this book definitely fits the bill. Yes, it is intriguing in way. Maguire starts out as slime and become likeable as a leading man, Charlie works through emotional problems and becomes a likeable leading lady. For me, however, I found the thought of Pompasse and his young mistresses repulsive enough that it took away from the book. Read at your own risk.

Aristide Pompasse was the world's greatest artist. He is renowned for his fabulous portraits all of which are worth millions. He is also notorious for having young mistresses. All of them reside at his estate. He allows no one to escape from his Tuscan villa. That is, until his young wife flees.

Charlotte Thomas is the much younger, former wife of Aristide. She flees him and settles in Manhattan. For five years, she has been desperately trying to recapture her life - her soul. Hearing of her former husband's death sets into motion a series of events that changes her life.

She is called back to Aristide's villa to settle his estate. Once there she encounters his formers mistresses and a mysterious man, Connor Maguire.

Connor passes himself off as an insurance consultant. What he is really after is the biggest story of his life - the murder of world famous artist Aristide Pompasse. He is a reporter for the tabloid, THE STARLIGHT. He is there at the estate searching for Pompasse's diaries, hoping to find more skeletons carefully kept hidden. What he does find is a rumor of murder, missing masterpieces and of course, the artist's former wife and muse - Charlie.

Charlie is cool, calm and controlled. An ice princess and the kind of woman that had never appealed to him. So why can't he keep his eyes and hands off of her? What is he so drawn to her?

Amidst this temptation, danger awaits! Someone very calculating and dangerous is residing at the villa. Who hated Pompasse enough to kill? Everyone seems to have a motive . . .

This is a highly recommended book. Ms. Stuart's carefully penned words set Pompasse up as the bad guy; a lecherous old man who had a weakness for seventeen year old girls and for controlling everything in his atmosphere. Blend in murder, betrayal and yes, DESIRE. Mix it all together and you have got on heck of an exciting read.

I liked The Widow because it was so different. I liked the relationship between Maguire and Charlie. I liked trying to figure out who killed Pompasse. The location, the characters are all very interesting.

I found I had to read the book slowly to understand the true development and change of the relationship between Maguire and Charlie. Maguire seemed like a shallow person, until you really saw where his feelings came from. Charlie is hard to understand until you realize she really never had a father. Perhaps she was looking for him in her men. Maguire will change that. Enjoy this book for both the romance and the mystery.