The Undertaker's Widow

This is not the most finely crafted novel I have ever read but it is one who's plot I hope I forget soon so I can read it again. Sometimes you just need the kind of book where you step into the first chapter and step out the last page and just enjoy it. That's this one. Judge Richard Quinn is working his way up the judicial ladder but he's still a man - pretty flawed as it turns out and not able to pick up on the big clues, but you like him. The philandering husband of a local husband is murdered in an apparent robbery…. Even if all you've read is this paragraph and the one above it, you get the gist pretty clearly.

From Amazon:
A simple case of self-defense becomes a nightmare in which justice itself is held hostage. Judge Richard Quinn is young, idealistic, and honest to a fault. That's why he's handed the most sensational homicide case in Oregon history. Locked in a race for the U.S. Senate, Ellen Crease gunned down the intruder who murdered her wealthy husband. In a single, brutal instant she became a widow, a victim, and a hero. Yet disturbing questions remain. What secrets did the man who started his fortune running mortuaries keep that might have cost him his life? What about the son frozen out of his will? Or his wife's political enemies? And what about Ellen Crease herself? Soon it becomes clear that a deadly plot of murder, blackmail, show more passion, and double cross is unfolding around Judge Richard Quinn. And unless he breaks the rules, justice will not only be blind, it will be the final victim.

My Thoughts:
Power and greed are always good motives for murder. How could ex-cop, now senator, Ellen Crease be guilty of murdering her billionaire husband, yet all the evidence points to her? Her case lands in the newly appointed to homicide, Judge Richard Quinn's courtroom. He finds that he conflicted because he is a friend of the deceased as well as of the widow. It is then that the plot starts twisting and turning, challenging the reader to figure out who is the victim and who is the villain. The book takes many twist and turns as the police try to find the killer. It will hold your attention. Some of the trial appearances go on a little long but are necessary to the overall story line. A totally likable main character in Judge Quinn and a surprise ending...what more could a mystery fan want? show less

A powder keg of legal intrigue, seductive undertones, and startling twists and turns, this is Margolin at his best. This masterful thriller assigns an obsessively ethical judge to the trial of a flamboyant senator accused of conspiring to murder her husband. In spite of his honorable intentions, the judge makes all the wrong moves, and ends up mired

The Undertaker's Widow was an enjoyable read in the usual legal thriller/surprise at the end. One of the things I do like about Mr. Margolin's books is that there is usually more than one story taking place, but it was not full of endless characters to keep track of .

State Senator Ellen Crease, a cigar smoking ,former police officer is accused of killing her husband, a wealthy businessman who got his start in the funeral parlor business. We also have Judge Richard Quinn who may or may not be ethical who is presiding over her case. and experiencing marital difficulties. Senator Crease's stepson definitely has it in for his stepmother but the reader if left guessing until almost the end if he did indeed have anything to do with the murder show more of his father. This was a suspenseful novel where the ending is not too obvious. show less

This is the third or forth book I’ve read of Phillip Margolin’s. The Undertaker’s Widow was a quick read for me. It was fast-paced, hard to put down, but a little to predictable for me. Not Margolin’s best, but not his worst either.

It is unclear if the author set out to write a book with so many plots. One seems to be superimposed on the other. While there is some of excellent legal argument the author uses in many of his other works, this time there are few and rather obtuse. In the end, we are left with many flaws remaining in many of the characters. It is not clear if any of them learned anything.

husband murdered in bed-son gets undertaking business-wife guilty