The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison

Published by Penguin Books on June 25, 2013

Throughout most of the novel, The Silent Wife alternates third person point of view between Todd and Jodi, who have lived together as husband and wife for many years. Jodi is a therapist with a string of degrees. Todd is a real estate developer. He suffers from long-term depression, an affliction he's treating by having sex with a much younger woman: Natasha, his best friend's daughter.

A lengthy set-up -- the stuff of ordinary domestic drama -- left me scratching my head and wondering why The Silent Wife is marketed as a thriller. A.S.A. Harrison tells a well-written story, but I was waiting for it to turn into Fatal Attraction. That doesn't happen. Although there are elements of psychological tension, they are subdued; the story is more ironic than suspenseful. That doesn't make The Silent Wife a bad novel, but it won't live up to the expectations of readers who are expecting a thriller.

Given the title, it shouldn't be surprising that The Silent Wife is a quiet novel, written in soothing prose. As the novel's title implies, Jodi is not a wife who screams at her husband. "Jodi's great gift is her silence ... but silence is also her weapon." Her silence is "dense and purposeful, a barricade." Her typical response to adversity is denial.

Jodi is an interesting, well-formed, believable character, as is Todd, whose midlife crisis leaves him unable to make (or stick to) a decision. When he is with Jodi, he loves and wants Jodi; when he is with Natasha, he loves and wants Natasha; when he spots another pretty face, he wants her; when he's alone, he is tightly wrapped but coming uncoiled, an unraveling bundle of anxieties and sore spots.

Jodi is in therapy and, from her sessions with her therapist (presented in transcript form), we eventually learn the cause of her disengagement. Todd, on the other hand, doesn't need therapy to help him remember the formative events of his past. He is "ambushed by scenes of his childhood," particularly those involving his abusive father. The reader wonders, however, just how accurately Todd perceives himself. Neither Todd's background nor Jodi's adds much value to the story.

Natasha's naiveté and her shockingly self-centered view of her relationship with Todd is believable, given her age. Todd's willingness to tolerate her bossy, bratty personality is also marginally believable, given his midlife crisis. Jodi's mentally unhealthy response to Todd's behavior is fully convincing.

Even if The Silent Wife doesn't work as a suspense novel, as a story of irony it works quite well. The plot resolution is clever and its impact on Jodi's personality is satisfying. If you ignore the marketing and view this as a domestic novel that happens to include an element of crime, The Silent Wife is a pleasant reading experience. It just isn't a conventional thriller.

RECOMMENDED