The Silent Wife

Starred review from April 1, 2013
Canadian author Harrison’s first novel is a smart, nuanced portrait of a dying marriage. Psychotherapist Jodi Brett is content with her tidy, tranquil existence—cooking for her husband, Todd Gilbert; walking the dog; seeing a few clients out of their gorgeous Chicago condo—while headstrong Todd works as a professional renovator. As Jodi sees it, they complement each other, and she doesn’t mind pretending to disregard Todd’s indiscretions (which he clumsily attempts to cover up) in exchange. Accepting the peccadillos of her adulterous husband is one thing, but when Todd takes his infidelity to the next level and tells her that he’s leaving her, the existence she’s clung to so dearly is destroyed. And Jodi will do anything to take it back. And she does. Harrison (Zodicat Speaks and three other nonfiction titles) breathes life into Adlerian psychology, and weaves theory into a heart-pounding thriller that will keep you up at night. Agent: Samantha Haywood, Transatlantic Literary Agency (Canada).

April 1, 2013
Harrison's first novel tells the story of a couple splitting apart, with alternating chapters featuring the viewpoints of the main characters. Jodi Brett and her longtime companion, Todd Gilbert, have been in a satisfying 20-year relationship. Jodi, a psychotherapist, works out of their expensive Chicago condominium, seeing two clients a day during the week and spending the remainder of her time taking classes in flower arranging, walking their golden retriever, Freud, and preparing gourmet meals. Todd, who worked his way up in independent development by flipping properties, had an unhappy childhood. Their comfortable life, marred only by his occasional straying eye, seems to suit them both, at least until he catches sight of Natasha. The daughter of an old friend, Natasha is no longer a pimply teenager with black nail polish and garishly dyed hair. Instead, she has turned into a curvaceous coed who becomes involved in a tempestuous relationship with Todd, the man Jodi thought would always be there for her. Now, Natasha is demanding that Todd leave Jodi and seems determined to make that happen, even if she has to resort to a few nasty tricks of her own. But Jodi isn't through with Todd, nor is she ready to roll over and play dead: In fact, if anything, she's prepared to make sure someone else meets that fate if that's what it takes to stop the events that threaten to disrupt her carefully ordered existence. Harrison, who in real life is also a psychotherapist, writes a neat atmospheric tale that examines life from both characters' points of view but sometimes works a bit too hard to cram extraneous detail into the story, particularly when it comes to psychotherapy and Jodi's present clients. While readers can probably get over a few mentions of Jodi's work, the Q-and-A style rendition of her own therapy and references to different schools of psychological thought may make readers' eyes glaze. Harrison pens a good, basic story stretched thin by unnecessary and distracting detail.

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April 15, 2013

Jodi has led a quietly ordered and opulent life with her partner, Todd, for the past 20 years. She considers herself to be a flexible and understanding better half, who reacts to Todd's indiscretions by cooking him his favorite meal to remind him of their stable home life. A psychiatrist, she perceives an insurmountable difference between herself and her clients, whom she thinks would benefit from accepting the low points of their lives along with the high ones. But the events that Todd is about to set in motion will test Jodi's limits to a harrowing degree and cause a secret that she buried long ago to resurface. Told in the alternating voices of Jodi and Todd, Harrison's novel is the story of what happens when the life we've worked so hard to achieve is exposed as an illusion. VERDICT Reminiscent of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, Harrison's (Zodicat Speaks) fiction debut is at once coolly detached and heartbreakingly accurate. Sure to be a hit with psychological-thriller fans.--Caitlin Bronner, St. Joseph's Coll. Lib., Brooklyn, NY

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