TBR Pile Challenge: The Silent Wife

I’m loving participating in Roof Beam Reader’s 2015 TBR Pile Challenge because it’s really forcing me to finally read books that I’ve been meaning to get to for ages. And just like finally cleaning out your closets feels amazing, so too does crossing off long standing members of one’s TBR List.

Which brings me to A.S.A Harrison’s The Silent Wife. I’d been meaning to read it for ages, had flipped through it in bookstores many times but I hadn’t made the commitment to purchasing it. Then I had it on a Christmas list and my mama came through for me (speaking of my mama, some of you may have noticed my new banner. My mama did it for me because she’s talented like that! If you want to see more of her work, please visit her site). Once I’d added it to my list AND I had a copy kicking around, it was only a matter of time til I actually read it.

Jodi Brett is a psychiatrist who lives a very orderly life. She sees clients in her home in the mornings and then spends the rest of her days running errands, attending professional events, and caring for her home and common law husband, Todd. Todd is a self-made man with a wandering eye. And even though Jodi is aware of his penchant for a little skirt on the side, since he’s never flaunted it and has always come back to her, she’s content to let it slide.

But then Todd meets Natasha and he’s not sure that he wants to go back to Jodi. Which is when we begin our methodical and completely gripping ride to this book’s conclusion.

This book definitely belongs to the Domestic Noir genre that we’re all into right now but I’m not going to compare it to any other books because I think we’re all done with that. It’s a domestic thriller all right but it has it’s own characters and flavour. I thought this book was flawlessly executed. It was precise, each page peeling back the layers of back story, each chapter adding additional complications. Harrison was insanely skilled at creating a paced story that leaves the reader wanting more.

I will say that there was one story thread, involving a molestation, that I wasn’t convinced was necessary. It seemed to give the reader an excuse for one character’s motivation but I’m not sure that it was needed. Aside from that, this book was the perfect kind of domestic thrill ride I so love.

Back when I read Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series I was saddened to read that Larsson had passed away before his books became the international phenomenon we’ve come to know. That feeling was echoed this week as a I read Harrison’s brilliant debut novel.. She passed away about two months before her book was published. I’ve since read that she did know that advance copies were received well but she didn’t get to see people reading her book. I hope that wherever she is now, she knows that her book is still being read and raved about.