THE BADASS WIDOWS

In Saul’s novel, the water rescue of a battered widow spurs the formation of a group of women who help people in need.

Four months ago, Beth Winstead lost her husband, Jamie, whom she was caring for after a five-year battle with early-onset dementia. Ever since, she’s tried to find peace at California’s Sausalito Rowing Club, where she’s befriended Charlie, her octogenarian rowing teacher, and Anneke, a strapping woman in her mid-50s who works as the club manager. Rowing out one day, Beth notices a blood-stained boat and a disoriented swimmer, and her former-FBI-agent instincts activate. She saves a Cuban woman named Elena Maria Benitez, discovering that she was drugged, kidnapped, and raped by a man named Jack Lewinski, who claims to be “untouchable” and above the law. Beth immediately takes Elena in, and as her friends rally around her, she begins to wonder if helping others could imbue her life with newfound purpose. (“Beth looked around the table at the eager, smiling faces. Kindness, curiosity, and humor showed in each one. What a gift they were turning out to be.”) Saul evokes the Bay Area setting and rowing culture in careful detail, but the dialogue can sometimes feel prosaic. The resolution feels rushed, but the book’s strength is not its mystery plot—it’s the spotlight the author shines on a community of strong women who persevere after their partners’ deaths and rediscover their identities beyond their roles as wives and mothers by creating change in their community. The women provide critical support while the narrative effectively explores the grief and other difficulties that come with being widowed and touches on issues including ageism and the struggles of motherhood. The result is a mystery grounded firmly in the mundane and a narrative that will resonate with many—older women readers, especially.

A mystery debut that emphasizes grief and community, to soul-nourishing effect.