Not even close to a widowmaker.
Are you thinking perchance of the Bonanza? It earned the nick-name "Doctor Killer" due to being frequently flown in poor weather conditions by wealthy professionals with little regard for their aviation abilities and limitations. I have 800 hours flying older model BE-58s single-pilot in almost all weather conditions (including light ice and LIFR) and can assure you it's a beautifully-handling bird (if it didn't kill me it's not likely to kill most professionals of average ability, ha!).
As to starting techniques, like other large fuel-injected recips, easier to start cold vs. hot. Low boost, mixture idle cut-off until it begins to fire, then full-rich and close the throttle. Good Luck!