Widows

The planned heist of an armored car in central London goes horribly amiss. The bodies of the ringleader and two accomplices, charred beyond recognition, are found in the burned-out shell of one car. A second car, driven by a fourth man, is unaccounted for. The police investigate. Other gangland figures jockey to fill the void left by the loss of the top guy. But it is the three weeping widows who act. The boss's wife finds her meticulous husband's ledgers in which he has outlined step-by-step how to carry out the perfect crime. Can she and her fellow widows, plus a fourth conspirator, manage to accomplish what their menfolk could not? Thus they set off on this tale of female empowerment, evolution, and enrichment. This first U.S. publication of La Plante's ("Prime Suspect" series) novelization of her successful British TV series precedes the November release of a film adaptation from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), with a screenplay coauthored by Gillian Flynn, and starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, and Daniel Kaluuya.