Author: Nikki Leigh 

ISBN: 1-59431-343-1

It’s 1841, and Lizbeth Sullivan is putting together the finishing touches for her wedding to her beloved William, which is only a few days away.  Lizbeth’s father, Captain Sullivan, is at sea on the last fishing trip of the season.  A violent storm comes up, but Lizbeth is sure that the Captain will get his crew safely home; he’s the most experienced and most careful ship’s captain in the area. 

She’s sure he’ll be home soon—until she goes up to the widow’s walk to watch for him and discovers there is no light in the lighthouse.  The Captain’s ship runs aground and he is killed.  Just a few days before her wedding, Lizbeth’s life is turned upside down.  Her father is gone, and she is an orphan.

Fortunately, Lizbeth is a strong woman.  She needs all of her strength plus William’s love and support to get through what’s ahead.  Her wedding must be postponed until after her season of mourning is over.  Instead of finalizing wedding plans, she’s arranging her father’s funeral.

Over the next few years, Lizbeth endures a nasty investigation into the shipwreck, and learns that the lightkeeper allowed the light in the lighthouse to go out because he was drunk.  She eventually marries William, and they have a baby, who dies before William can hold him.  Various friends and neighbors move through their lives, weaving a pattern of 19^th century life that feels authentic.  This is a story involving real people, who have faults and hurts, who pout and cut off friends, and who love and care for each other. 

Nikki Leigh’s characters are solid, three-dimensional and dynamic and the book is well-paced.  There are some loose ends, but this is the first book in a series, and they will, hopefully, come together in a later book.

Unfortunately, Widow’s Walk needs a good edit.  There are many grammatical errors and typos.  The book is written from a shifting first person point of view, and the shifts are unclear; sometimes it’s hard to know who is speaking.  Widow’s Walk deserves a second look.  With some good editing, it could be the beginning of a wonderful historical romance series.

The above review was contributed by: Penny Watkins, Free Lance Writer, Mother, Grandmother, and Cat Lady:  CLICK HERE  to read more of Penny's Reviews.