Silent Wife

Jodi Brett and Todd Gilbert seemingly have the perfect relationship. Jodi is well educated, well dressed, well spoken and always keeps a level head. Todd, despite his lack of schooling has built a successful business for himself. He can be rough around the edges and unkempt. Jodi takes care of him in the typical housewife way and Todd handles the majority of their finances. Although he had asked her numerous times for her hand in marriage, Jodi always refused, seemingly due to her father's infidelity and failed relationship with her mother. She never felt the need to "make it official", as she was confident that Todd was hers and hers only. She could not have been more wrong. Natasha is a curvy, twenty-something who has bewitched Todd's eye. After she reveals a forever-changing detail to Todd, his life becomes a source of turmoil. He bounces back between the passionate spark he has with the demanding Natasha and the stability he has grown to love from the patient Jodi. Scared to lose her beautiful home and possessions to a naive, disrespectful girl, Jodi does something unthinkable. Does she get away with it? You'll have to read for yourself.

All in all, I believe A.S.A. Harrison, who died shortly before publication, wrote a beautifully worded novel with exuberant vocabulary. I was, in some ways, put off by the ending. The final questions are not quite resolved but the book was good nonetheless. (For those who'd rather see the movie, there's a rumor Nicole Kidman's film production company may recreate "The Silent Wife." Kidman, of course, playing Ms. Jodi Brett.)

Rating: 3.9/5