Some thrillers scare you with that impossible-to-believe psycho killer. Others, like this sleeper hit, The Silent Wife, frighten you with a cold, credible dose of realism. Forty-five-year-old Jodi Brett has been living with Todd Gilbert for 20 years, when he suddenly falls for the college-age daughter of Jodi's best friend. Watching his betrayal is maddening—and painful. Willing the careful, controlled Jodi to just do something, for God's sake, is wickedly delightful. But the real chills here come from what Jodi uncovers about her own past as she confronts the disintegration of her marriage. Denying a traumatic event, not speaking about what hurts most, writer Harrison suggests, can be useful sometimes. At least when it comes to revenge.
— Leigh Newman
