Widows

A dynamite premise and ample plot twists help compensate for the glacial pace of La Plante’s novelization of her breakout TV series, originally published in the U.K. in 1983. After Dolly Rawlins learns that her husband, Harry, died in a fiery wreck while attempting to rob an armored car along with two other men, she discovers that Harry, the gang’s leader, stashed a written plan for the failed heist in a safe deposit box. This find inspires Dolly to team up with Linda Pirelli and Shirley Miller, the widows of Harry’s two assistants, to try and accomplish what their spouses couldn’t. The job requires four people, necessitating the recruitment of street-savvy prostitute Bella O’Reilly and raising the question: why did the authorities recover only three bodies from the crash? Complications include a London cop who’s determined to uncover evidence of the crew’s prior crimes. La Plante (Good Friday) does a fine job showing the widows rise to the occasion. This reissue arrives just in time for filmmaker Steve McQueen’s Hollywood adaptation. Agent: Nigel Stoneman, La Plante Global. (June)