The Silent Wife

The Silent Wife s a heart wrenching and gripping tale. I was hooked from the very first page. Kerry Fisher’s brilliant writing talent is showcased beautifully in this book. There are no filler pages. Each sentence moves the story forward. It’s exceedingly evident that every word in this book was thoroughly thought out and carefully placed, for maximum effect. Although this book is sure to, wreck havoc with your emotions, it will also warm your heart and make you laugh. Maggie Parker came to the classy Farinelli family from a poor drug-infested section of town. She was the first in three generations of Parker women to nab a husband. Nico Farinelli wasn’t just any guy, though, he was a successful, kind, and handsome man. Nico loved Maggie’s sincere, honest, full-of-life manner. Anna, the matriarch of the Farinelli family, however, was nauseated by the fact that the Parker’s, were infiltrating her perfect Italian nest; especially Beryl, Maggie’s mother, a no-nonsense loving woman, with absolutely no filter. Out of the two Farinelli brothers, Maggie’s husband, Nico was the quieter one. Massimo was a larger-than-life, center of the universe, charismatic, charmer type of guy. He was also his mother’s favorite. From the outside, the Farinelli’s appeared to be the perfect loving family. Maggie, however, knew that to be a falsehood. She accidentally discovered a terrible secret, one so awful that if it were ever exposed, would tear the Farinelli family apart. She struggled to protect the people she loved, but secrets have a way of being unearthed at the worse possible moments. I highly recommend The Silent Wife. It’s an extraordinarily well-written book with many witty one-liners, realistic dialogue, and complex characters. This is the second 5-star novel that I have read by this talented writer. I love finding new favorite authors. I’ll be reading Kerry Fisher’s next book for sure. Thank you so much Bookouture, and NetGalley, for my advanced review copy.

This is a book that flows along easily without requiring laser focus or great concentration on the part of the reader. For those of us who enjoy our intrigue without a lot of gore and without it getting downright creepy, this is a great choice (won’t have you hiding under the covers on a dark and stormy night). When I evaluate a book or a movie, the first question I usually ask myself is: do I care what happens to these characters? Whether it’s the hero or the “villain”, do I find myself rooting one way or the other? The answer here is absolutely; the characters are relatable, and I was invested in the outcome. The book is written in first person, from the perspectives of two sisters-in-law, Maggie and Lara. Though there are several trite, eye-rolling moments (and behaviors, come to that), I was definitely rooting for both. I think another point to make is that this book, while perhaps exaggerating it at times, truly illustrates how little we know about other peoples private lives, specifically their marriages. Do I think it’s brilliant prose or the most unputdownable book I’ve ever picked up? No, on both counts, but I don’t think those were the objectives, and I found myself heading right back to it whenever I had a spare moment, and I enjoyed it cover to cover.

I had a hard time getting going as the flip flop of perspective by different characters did not start smoothly for me. However, after getting into the flow, I found this novel immensely satisfying. The characters for the most part were well developed, but it was the overall storyline that was so fascinating, original, and delightful. The plot twists were unpredictable and numerous. The characters all had such defined but different personalitites While I loved Maggie, Beryll stole the day. I would love to have people with these kinds of personalities in my world, they were so funny and fun. Nico was the hardest to understand but with all the secrets of the rich, everyone in the family had his/her own quirks. Amazing plot: Ms. Fisher has a great career ahead of her. I went from crying to laughing out loud. I read the novel in one sitting, so, for me, that's a sure sign of intrigue and talent by Ms. Fisher. This is a hard novel to review without giving away any of the plot, but reading it with no expectation/foreknowledge is truly the best approach. I certainly hope Kerry is able to continue with her originality; the hardest thing to do in this particular genre. From the first page to the final page, this is a definite showstopper! Not only are the characters original but the various combination of events that occur throughout the entire book is mind-blowing. It's going to be hard to go back to the usual novel by numbers that often plagues books of this genre after this satisfying read. I highly recommend this novel, I think you'll fall in love with some of the characters, distain others, but you won't come away untouched. It was also easy to picture the different locales, which added to the enjoyment factor. Ms. Fisher has become one of my new favorite authors.

I'm not sure why I purchased this book (probably under the influence of cheap box wine), but I sincerely enjoyed it. My normal reads are usually non-fiction, literary winners, police procedural, etc. I found this book to be a nice palate cleanser between my normal reads. I wouldn't say her writing was on the same level as say Nora Roberts, but she was definitely a solid writer with a good plot, and an attention keeping read. If you're looking for a break in your normal reads, kind of a guilty pleasure that is a twist between a suspense novel and a mindless summer read, give this book a try. Would I try another book from this author? Yes, yes I would.

good

I thought that Kerry handled a difficult subject like domestic abuse realistically and sensitively. We usually hear about the really violent outbursts, but the subtle psychological and emotional abuse tend to go hidden. I felt terrible for Lara as her situation resonated with me....I know someone who also lives her nightmare. I don't usually read chicklit but this story really drew me in, made me care about the characters and left me with a good feeling. Kerry's writing is very British so there were a lot of expressions and words I am unfamiliar with but they were so colourful and vivid and her comparisons are genuinely funny. She manages to give her characters well-rounded personalities....they are not all good or all bad, they are flawed humans. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and as I'm Italian that twist made it more interesting. I appreciated the lack (almost) of stereotyping.

I enjoyed everything about this book. Beautifully written, sensitive yet humerous, with credible characters. My favourite being the truthful, say it as it is Maggie. Great dialogue all through. I'll be reading more from this author.

A perfect holiday book. The author is a good story teller and keeps you engaged through her characters. An enjoyable read.

First things first, I'm a guy, I have tried books by other women authors (authoress's?) and had mixed feeling about them, there is no reason why they can't write stuff that I like to read, not the J K Rowling Harry Potter stuff, that's not my thing at all. So when my latest e-mail from Amazon arrived, special offers and recommended for you, that type of thing, The Silent Wife was there, so I checked out some of the reviews and found that most people seemed to quite like the book, and the author, although up to that point I had never heard of her. I have now, and I am going to join the chorus of people who enjoyed this book, not only enjoyed, but a book that had me reading until the early hours of the morning as I didn't want to stop reading although I knew I needed some sleep. A story of 2 women, totally different but marrying into the same Italian family, the two husbands, were like the women, very different. I don't need to go into detail as that had already been done in other reviews, but we follow the lives of the 2 women, and their Italian husbands, throw in a typical Italian mother, and in one case the brothers second marriage, the first wife died, so the complication of his new English wife and her son, gelling with an Italian man with a daughter. The 2 brothers were chalk and cheese, one athletic and outgoing, the other has a garden centre business and is rather gentle and not sporty, and so here we have the main characters Massimo and Lara, Nico and Maggie the second wife, but throw in Anna, the Italian mother, and Beryl, fiercely protective of her daugher Maggie as she enters the Farinelli family, where everything is overshaddowed by the death of Nico's first wife Caitlin. We follow the lives of Maggie and Lara, worlds appart it seems, but are they? as the story unravells we find that Lara also happens to be a second wife, Massimo being divorced from his first, but although not apparent at first there is a secret that bounds both Maggie and Lara which has been buried deep down. Until that is Lara's dad, who has been in a nursing home for years, and is slowly losing his memory except that he knows something that no one else realised, but how could you belive a guy has memory loss? As I said, I was reading until the early hours of the morning because of the twists and turns in this story, beautifully written and a book that gave me a lot of enjoyment to read. Yes is was on offer at 99p, the best bargain I have had yet for my Kindle, but having been bitten by this author I shall be seeking out her other books, thank you Kerry for as well as the suspense there was humour, not least from Maggies mother Beryl, but it was, overall, an excellent read.