Dear Great Book Guru, It’s a very cold snowy day as I’m writing to you and I know more days like this lie ahead so please recommend a book that will totally absorb me. A mystery perhaps that will keep me guessing would be great. Surrounded by Snow........... Dear Surrounded by Snow, I have the perfect book for you: THE WIDOW by John Grisham. Simon Latch is a small-town lawyer in rural Virginia when the case of a lifetime walks in the door of his rather shabby office. Eleanor Barnett is an elderly widow who claims her husband amassed a fortune in Coca Cola and Walmart stocks. Dead ten years, he had two sons he was estranged from but aware of this possible windfall. The estate is very complicated, and Simon offers to take it on with a hefty hourly rate built in. When Eleanor demands more and more of his time, he wonders if it is all worth it. Of course it is, he convinces himself – when she dies the payoff will be tremendous. Throughout the novel, we meet a cadre of fascinating characters - his law secretary Matilda, his estranged wife Paula, his gambling buddies, fellow lawyers all eager to cash in too, and, most troubling, the menacing stepsons. When a very drunk Eleanor is involved in a car accident, Simon represents her and a multitude of problems arise including …. a murder charge. How will he extricate himself now?