Black Widow

A "hair-raising . . . devilishly complicated mystery" from the Scottish crime master. "Don't even try to guess the outcome" (The New York Times Book Review).

Diana Jager is clever, strong, and successful, a skilled surgeon and fierce campaigner via her blog about sexism in medicine. Yet it takes only hours for her life to crumble when her personal details are released on the internet as revenge for her writing.

Then Diana meets Peter. He is kind, generous, and knows nothing about her past—the second chance she's been waiting for. Within six months, they are married. Within six more, Peter is dead in a road accident, a nightmare end to their fairy-tale romance. But Peter's sister doesn't believe in fairy tales, and tasks rogue reporter Jack Parlabane with discovering the dark truth behind the woman the media is calling the Black Widow.

Still on the mend from a turbulent divorce, Jack's investigation into matters of the heart takes him to hidden places no one should ever have to go.

Winner of the 2017 Theakson Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award and the 2016 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year

"Brookmyre excels at melding the true chills of a psychological thriller with rollicking—if dark—humor. A witty and wild page-turner, Black Widow shines in showcasing this winning combination." —The Boston Globe

"Exceptionally good—a knotty mystery that's . . . one of the most perceptive excavations of a dysfunctional marriage I can remember reading." —The Guardian (UK)

"A tense and provocative read." —Entertainment Weekly

© 2016 Atlantic Monthly Press (Ebook): 9780802190123

Release date

Ebook: 1 November 2016