Book Review: Wicked Wanted Widows by Kimberly Belle, Cate Holahan, and Vanessa Lillie

Still Fun Yet Very Different From Earlier Books. This was a pretty decent departure from the previous books in that while still technically a mystery, it has a *lot* less 80s flair and a *lot* more David Wood/ Matt James/ Rick Chesler kind of Indiana Jones adventure vibe... while still solidly set in the Boston/ Rhode Island region.

Hell, the main 80s vibes really were some of the tech used that many younger readers will have now only seen in museums as well as a direct reference to (and vibing off of) a movie very popular with Gen X/ Elder Millenials that those younger readers may not have even heard of. (Even though it helped launch the career of at least one MCU star...)

Another seemingly major departure here was the more overt political tone. While this series has always been a "girl power" type tale, this one had a lot more explicit political discussion common in 2020s leftist circles that I don't remember being as prevalent during the time period in question. (To be clear, I was also just in my mid single digit years when the decade came to a close, and I lived in a *very* different region than where this series is set. A region where some of these discussions weren't theoretical debates, but lived realities for *generations* - even deeper than at least some of the issues at hand here.) Still, even these discussions are more annoyance level for those with different views, and will likely ingratiate this series further to those who agree with them.

Overall still a very fun book, but also very different from the prior two in many ways. It will be interesting to see if this series continues and what direction it will go if it does, or if this is it and as far as this world goes.

Very much recommended.

This review of Wicked Wanted Widows by Kimberly Belle, Cate Holahan, and Vanessa Lillie was originally written on October 1, 2026.