Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Silent Wife - A.S.A. Harrison - Review and Giveaway

The Silent Wife marks A.S.A.Harrison's fiction debut.

I love psychological thrillers and Harrison has written a doozy. (Don't you love that word!?)

Jodi and Todd are one of 'those' couples. Successful, well to do and leading a seemingly perfect life together. Oh, there are a few little bumps, but this is the life Jodi has created and she likes things just so. And yes, Todd wanted children, but over their twenty year relationship, it's been accepted that there won't be any. Well, yes he might cheat once in a while, and Jodi is somewhat aware of it. Todd knows she knows, but it's not spoken of and life goes on.

"At forty-five, Jodi still sees herself as a young woman. She does not have her eye on the future but lives very much in the moment, keeping her focus on the everyday. She assumes, without having thought about it, that things will go on indefinitely in their imperfect yet entirely acceptable way. In other words, she is deeply unaware that her life is now peaking, that her youthful resilience - which her twenty-year marriage to Todd Gilbert has been slowly eroding - is approaching a final stage of disintegration, that her notions about who she is and how she ought to conduct herself are far less stable that she supposes, give that a few short months are all it will take to make a killer out of her."

That's the second paragraph in the book - and I was hooked. Harrison explores this marriage in alternating chapters - Her and Him.

Harrison is a talented wordsmith who skilfully depicts the disintegration of not just a union, but of the individuals as well. Jodi's chapters are eerie and disturbing as she maintains a perfect, cool, calm exterior, keeping to her routines in her spotless home. Just as disturbing is the self centred, pleasure seeking Todd, who can explain away and justify any of his behaviors and actions.

It is one of those actions that starts the beginning of the end......

There is no overt gore or violence in The Silent Wife. Rather there is the slow, building journey to a conclusion I couldn't predict. Along the way, we learn more about Jodi and Todd's childhoods.The Silent Wife is a fascinating exploration of both a damaged relationship and its affected inhabitants. I really enjoyed the building tension as the chapters alternate and the layers and the civility are peeled away. Its impossible not to read just one more chapter...

Read an excerpt of The Silent Wife. Sadly, A.S.A. Harrison passed away earlier this year in Toronto, Canada and did not live to see her book release last month.

Thanks to the generous folks at Penguin Books, I have a copy to giveaway. Open to US only, no p.o. boxes please. Simply leave a comment to be entered. Ends August 3/13.

18 comments:

Andrea @ Cozy Up said...

Wow, I hadn't really heard much about this book, but I have it sitting on my shelf, now I'm really intrigued and think I need to read it. I love psychological thrillers and this sounds perfect!

bermudaonion said...

This sounds wonderful!

DarcyO said...

Ooh, this sounds very intense. I'd love to read it. Thanks for the chance.

valleyreader(at)gmail(dot)com

Mona said...

This sounds like my kind of book! I enjoy psychological thrillers and just finished Gone, Girl(which I LOVED, except for the end).

I really enjoyed the excerpt you provided in your review. Her passing is so sad and a tragic loss.

Thanks for the giveaway :)

Mary Jo Burke said...

Very intriguing!

rhonda said...

This book sounds perfect for me.thanks for giveaway

JJT said...

Sounds great. Thank you for the giveaway. jtretin at aol dot com

petite said...

I find this book fascinating and unusual. Many thanks. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

traveler said...

thanks for this suspense filled novel. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a doozy!!!! Would love to have a chance at winning. Thanks, Pam Bartholomew

Carl Scott said...

It sounds brilliant, I can only guess at what the ending might be. Sorry to hear of the author's passing though, so sad for one so talented. Thanks for the giveaway. carlscott(at)prodigy(dot)net(dot)mx

Carol N Wong said...

Your review of this book is making me drool over it. It sounds like a perfect psychological thriller.

CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

lag123 said...

I love psychological thrillers. This storyline sounds very "deep" and riveting.

Anita Yancey said...

This is a great book. I have always been told that it is the quite ones you really have to watch. Thrillers are my favorite books, so I would love to read this one. Please enter me. Thanks!

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

Reader Of The Pack said...

This book sounds great! I love a good psychological thriller. readerofthepackATgmailDOTcom

Charlotte said...

I like the sound of this book.
CABWNANA1@bellsouth.net

Maureen said...

It sounds like an intense story.
mce1011 AT aol DOT com

Unknown said...

This sounds intriguing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and hosting the giveaway!

funmail07 at gmail dot com