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A review by bandgeek3997
The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison
4.0
This is actually a 3.5 book, but I'm the kind of person who rounds up with his stars.
I checked this book out on Goodreads before I read it, and I discovered the mass amount of reviewers who said that this book wasn't anything like "Gone Girl," despite what the book publishers said. So when I was reading, I knew not to expect the same level as Gillian Flynn, and I think that helped from the very beginning.
I have many mixed feelings about this book. I love thrillers, particularly psychological thrillers, mostly because I find them better written than the usual detective book. But I don't think this book falls under that category, or if that's what the author wants, then she doesn't succeed very well. You see, with thrillers that are ranked along with a book like this makes the reader sweat, turn, think, race to the end. There was no quickening pace here. It was just all... kind of happened.
The characters were interesting. I loved to hate Todd. He was such a pitiful person, and I could not believe he possessed so much stupidity. But at the same time as feeling bad for Jodi, I felt that Todd's lack of monogamy stemmed from her spirit of carelessness in their marriage. Natasha, on the other hand, was a character around my age, and I'd like to think if I knew her in college, I would steer clear of her at all cost. Clearly she was a lunatic, and how Todd never realized it until it was too late is beyond me.
Overall, the book was alright. I didn't get hung up on the writing, but I think there could have been a thicker plot to help the intensity factor step up a bit. It's sad that this was the author's first and last fiction book since she died this past April. I believe, with some honing, she really would've found how to better write a thriller novel, and then she would be on the same page as Gillian Flynn. Darn shame.
I checked this book out on Goodreads before I read it, and I discovered the mass amount of reviewers who said that this book wasn't anything like "Gone Girl," despite what the book publishers said. So when I was reading, I knew not to expect the same level as Gillian Flynn, and I think that helped from the very beginning.
I have many mixed feelings about this book. I love thrillers, particularly psychological thrillers, mostly because I find them better written than the usual detective book. But I don't think this book falls under that category, or if that's what the author wants, then she doesn't succeed very well. You see, with thrillers that are ranked along with a book like this makes the reader sweat, turn, think, race to the end. There was no quickening pace here. It was just all... kind of happened.
The characters were interesting. I loved to hate Todd. He was such a pitiful person, and I could not believe he possessed so much stupidity. But at the same time as feeling bad for Jodi, I felt that Todd's lack of monogamy stemmed from her spirit of carelessness in their marriage. Natasha, on the other hand, was a character around my age, and I'd like to think if I knew her in college, I would steer clear of her at all cost. Clearly she was a lunatic, and how Todd never realized it until it was too late is beyond me.
Overall, the book was alright. I didn't get hung up on the writing, but I think there could have been a thicker plot to help the intensity factor step up a bit. It's sad that this was the author's first and last fiction book since she died this past April. I believe, with some honing, she really would've found how to better write a thriller novel, and then she would be on the same page as Gillian Flynn. Darn shame.