This novel has been compared to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, but I believe that is only because they are both psychological thrillers told from alternating husband/wife perspectives and not a reflection of their style. Without spending this whole review comparing the two novels, I'll just say that The Silent Wife lacks the creepiness factor and the page turning quality of Gone Girl.
The crux of the story deals with the psychological effects of a couple in the process of separating after being together about 20 years. Jodi never thought marriage was important until her live-in boyfriend Todd decides to leave her for a younger woman and she discovers that she has no claim on any assets since they never married. Todd is a philanderer whose womanizing ways come to a screeching halt when he gets caught up with a college girl. The story is laid out in a very straight forward manner, which doesn't lend to surprises in plot twists. Even though you could see it coming, the end is interesting and unique, but it does leave a lot of unanswered questions.
If you are interested in psychology you would definitely like this book, as it goes into great detail analyzing the thoughts and motives of each character and giving lots of information on perspectives of particular psychologists like Adler and Freud and Jung.
I read this a while back and agree - it was enjoyable but it was no Gone Girl. Speaking of which, did you hear that they are making Gone Girl into a movie?
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