Book Review: THE SILENT WOMAN

Title: The Silent Woman

Author: Minka Kent

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Pages: 233

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

 

Jade is married to Wells Westmore, the grandson of beautiful and enigmatic Hollywood actress Viviette Westmore. Jade and Wells reside in Westhaven, the sprawling estate that belonged to Viviette. Jade is blissfully happy with a husband she loves and a publishing contract to write the authorized biography of Viviette.

She tries not to think of Sylvie, Wells’ first wife, who is confined to the guesthouse on the estate. Sylvie is catatonic and violent and hasn’t spoken a word since her accident three years ago.

Jade has been told not to engage with Sylvie, as her condition is complex and she mustn’t suffer stress. But when the nurse is called away on a family emergency, Jade has no option but to step in and make breakfast for her husband’s first wife. Imagine her surprise when Sylvie gives her a small note with a single word, R-U-N, written on it. Now Jade is confused. Does Sylvie want to escape or is she warning Jade to run?

 

Part I is written in the first-person present tense PoV of Jade in the present time. Part II is written in the first-person present tense PoV of Sylvie three years ago. Part III reverts to Jade’s PoV again.

One quote I liked from this book:

…insecurities can be passed down generationally, finding their way into fissures and cracks until they’re buried so deep in our marrow they become second nature.

 

I lost interest in the story when Sylvie’s PoV started. It didn’t do anything to upset or upturn our understanding of the story. No twists at all. The account was boring, the writing humdrum, undoing the expectations raised in Jade’s account.

The antagonist didn’t exude a sense of menace. The book could have been better had we been able to see the antagonist’s evil play out in real time, but we don’t get to see it. Being told about it doesn’t have the same impact. I’m still not clear about why the antagonist did what they did.

Right at the outset, Jade gives us a detailed origin story about her writing. How she got into writing biographies of the rich and famous, because she enjoys ferreting out people’s secrets, and how she’s good at it. But when there is a mystery in her own life, she takes forever to unravel it.

One question that was left unanswered was: Why does Viviette’s journal contain a large paragraph about how evil Mary Claire is? Sure, the girl was rebellious and gave her mother a hard time, but that didn’t justify her being called manipulative. 

I’ve read Minka’s books before, but this one was a total disappointment.

(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.)