(AUDIO) BOOKS
Mistakes And Secrets Which Define A Future
Book reviews of The Mistake and The Widow, both by K.L. Slater
The first book I read by K.L. Slater was Safe With Me, and because I enjoyed the book and like psychological dramas, the name of this author stuck with me. I listened to that book back in my YouTube days, but many of her books are on Audible too.
Every month, Audible includes several books in your subscription, frequently with an expiration date. This means that you don’t have to buy any credits to listen to these books. That was how I came to listen to The Mistake and The Widow, as shown in the image above.
Both are — just like Safe With Me — psychological dramas with enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Grooming and mistakes
Rose has lost her brother when he was only eight years old. He went out with his kite, and didn’t come back home. Two days later, they found him — dead. The man who committed the murder is serving his time.
When the book starts, you know Rose — a devoted librarian — has gone through a lot, and soon it’s clear it’s not only about her brother’s death.
In her life now, one of the few people she trusts is Ronnie, her neighbor. She frequently checks in on him, brings him meals and makes sure he takes his meds. One day, Ronnie falls ill, and because of a remark he makes when already on the gurney, Rose checks his attic, where she finds something to make her doubt everything she knows.
Rose suffers from anxiety and suspects everyone. The fact the future existence of the library is under threat feeds her anxiety, as does the discovery in Ronnie’s attic.
Then, chapter by chapter, the story unfolds. We learn about Gareth — the man serving time for Billy’s murder — and the time he invested in Rose. It’s a story of grooming and control and domestic violence.
It With this story, K.L. Slater allows her words to emotionally manipulate her readers the same way Rose was while telling this tough story and leading it to a surprising end.
Foreigners and secrets
I love the small-town setting of this story, and even the narrow-minded thinking where every woman seems to think her husband is going to have an affair with the beautiful Polish woman who has moved to their town.
Okay, it’s only two women who think this. One is right — her husband loves to get some strange on the side. Kate thinks this about her husband, Michael, when Suzy, the new woman in town, has made some remarks about him and the time they have spent together.
Then Suzy disappears, and the police suspect Michael has something to do with it. When he steps in front of a truck on a country lane, the suspicion seems to be correct. Since his suspected suicide seems to admit guilt, the villagers ostracize Kate from the community. She’s determined to protect her six-year-old daughter, and does a bit of investigation of her own.
There is a backstory of a Polish worker who has worked for Mrs. Wadebridge, an elderly lady who lives outside of town but watches everything. This man has disappeared without a trace, and no one knows what has happened to him.
The story has many twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat until you reach the surprising denouement.
Recommending both books
I have said it before — I love psychological dramas. These two books both fed into that. I think K.L. Slater is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. If you like a story that will keep you turning page after page, then these two books are for you. These stories are so gripping, you might want to lock yourself in for a weekend to read them in one sitting!
