The Quiet Wife by Diane Saxon is an intense psychological thriller that will send chills down your spine more than once.
Not sure why the name of this book is Quiet Wife as Soriah wasn't one. She was strong and independent and most definitely not quiet.

This story is told from past and present perspectives and the chapters are clearly marked so it's easy to follow. There are several points of view and again, they are clearly separated so no confusion!
The past storyline comes in with some trigger warnings and is heartbreaking at times.

Soriah lives her ordinary life when she gets a message that Craig, the guy who was extremely obsessed with her, is released from prison. Is she safe now?
What to do when you feel that your past is present and you can't feel safe anymore?
Can she rely on her husband for protection? Can she rely on police forces? Or can she trust just herself to deal with all the strange things that are happening?



I can't say this story was full of twists as I kind of guessed them in advance but it didn't spoil my reading journey.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I found it extremely gripping to begin with, however I did find it quite predictable the further into it I got. 4/5 stars

I'm not familiar with Diane's work but now, I want to read some of her others. This is a thriller! Kept me on edge majority of the book. The plot was a TWIST.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I want to be ordinary. To fade into the shadows where no one notices me and live a quiet life. A normal life. But I am not ordinary. Not anymore. I’ve been keeping a secret. From my colleagues, my friends and most importantly, my husband - who knows nothing of my past life. Twenty years ago, at college, a boy became obsessed with me. Craig Lane believed he could make me love him back if he just tried harder. When I rejected him, he did something so horrifying, it’s the stuff of nightmares. All my nightmares.

Now I’ve been informed by Victim Support Services, that boy - now a man - has been released from prison. The news terrifies me. Am I safe? Or does Craig still carry the same obsession he did when we were seventeen? I don’t know. I’ve ignored every letter he’s ever sent me. Now strange things have started to happen: flowers have been left on my doorstep, my cat keeps going missing. Someone is watching me. Knows where I live. I am sure. Worse, something even more sinister could be stalking me from the shadows.

Another gripping page-turner from Diane Saxon. Excellent read. This was super-fast paced and kept me engaged from the beginning. I read this thing in one sitting! Like most of these popcorn thrillers, it's fairly predictable, but that doesn't stop me from reading and enjoying them! 4⭐

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

I thought this was another great read by Diane Saxon who has become one of my favourite authors. This book is not quite as good as My Mother's Lies which I absolutely loved and got 5 stars from me but still well worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Quiet Wife by Diane Saxon due to be published February 20, 2025.
Soriah was leading a normal life at college until a boy became obsessed with her. Craig Lane believed he could make her love him back if he just tried harder. When Soriah rejected him, he did something so horrifying that she wondered if she would ever recover. Twenty years later he is back, Soriah is being stalked again, and she thinks it’s Craig. Will she ever get her life back?
Nothing like a good “stalker” book to keep you on edge – and this one did. It was hard to put down. You felt everything Soriah felt and cheered for her. It was everything a good psychological thriller should be – and more! Another great one by Diane Saxon!
Also recommended by Diane Saxon: My Mother’s Lies.
#NetGalley #DianeSaxon #BoldwoodBooks #TheQuietWife

I absolutely hated this book and it was a pain to force myself to finish it. The main character was so stupid and naive and lacked common sense. She needs to learn to stand up for herself and speak her mind and not worry so much about everyone else’s feelings. She could have avoided so many situations in this book if she would have spoken up. Didn’t like the style of writing either. Felt very juvenile.

I absolutely devoured this book! It kept me on the edge of my seat. I really felt like I was part of the story and even had myself checking to see if someone is outside. you know, just in case..

I am a huge fan of Diane Saxon and have enjoyed her books in the past. I liked this one but unfortunately it wasn't able to keep my attention and was a little predictable. It was enjoyable but not my favorite.

Again Diane does not disappoint with another amazing, gripping psychological thriller. When you think you know where it's going you get hit with a twist. Loved every minute of reading this.

I really enjoyed other books by Diane Saxon and was looking forward to another one by her. as she's one of my favorite thriller authors. I found it was good the way that she gave backstory to Soriah's life, and I'm glad that she has sisters. Carly is her older sister who is at university and Leonie is 12.

The further education college atmosphere is realistic, and the incident in the refectory was shocking. I felt I was nervous every time Craig was around, and Diane Saxon does a really good job of creating tension and keeping it there.

I feel that Diane Saxon goes really deep into the characters' feelings, which makes The Quiet Wife really immersive, just like her other books that I have reviewed.

The novel makes me feel uneasy, curious and also protective of Soriah, and I really want to avoid Craig whenever I can but he keeps appearing. I really didn't like Gilly at times, and then she seemed ok. I felt she was a confusing friend. But also realistic, because I have known people like that as well,

The dual timeline between present day (2025) and 21 years earlier in 2004 is interesting, because it really focuses the chapters on the events at the time.

Thanks to Diane Saxon and Boldwood Books for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

5 stars

What a wild ride! This book was very thrilling and had me hooked from start to finish! I did guess who “The Fox” was fairly quickly but some of the other twists, I did NOT see coming!
Such a good read!
Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this arc!

Diane Saxon’s The Quiet Wife is a thrilling read that pulls you right into a world full of fear and secrets. It follows a woman who's tried for years to lead a quiet life, but everything changes when she finds out that Craig Lane, a guy who once made her life miserable, is out of prison. Suddenly, her peaceful existence is shaken—she starts getting mysterious flowers on her doorstep, her cat goes missing, and there’s this creepy feeling that she’s being watched.

Saxon does a great job of building up the suspense, combining the main character’s anxiety with deeper mysteries. It's not just about Craig coming back; it’s also about all the secrets she's been keeping, even from her husband. The themes of trauma and obsession really hit home, making everything feel both chilling and believable.

If you like thrillers that are eerie, have complex characters, and twisty plots, The Quiet Wife is definitely worth a read. Saxon serves up a tense and haunting story that’ll stick with you long after you turn the last page.

This was not a bad book. Although I enjoyed the thriller of it, it did have a slow build up. Also noticed grammatical errors throughout the book.

Quiet Wife by Diane Saxon offers an interesting premise with a lot of emotional depth, but I found the characters to be less than lovable. While they were well-developed, I struggled to connect with them on a deeper level. The plot twists were fairly predictable, and I was hoping for a bit more unpredictability to keep me on the edge of my seat.

One thing to keep in mind for potential readers is to check the trigger warnings, as the story deals with some heavy themes that might be difficult for some readers to handle.

Overall, the book offers a decent reading experience, but it didn't have the emotional pull or surprising twists I was hoping for.

I received an advanced copy of this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, I can only give 1.5 stars.

It had the potential to be really great with such an interesting premise. Unfortunately, I didn’t like or care about any of the characters and I didn’t love the writing style. The ‘twists’ were so obvious they were practically written in neon, and the main character was completely irritating. I wanted to have sympathy for her, particularly given the harrowing backstory, but I just couldn’t warm to her - and how’s she been married so long and never mentioned anything at all to her husband?? The whole story was really unbelievable (not in a good way) and so disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of The Quiet Wife. This was my first book by this author.

I have given this 3 stars. It easily kept me occupied and entertained, and I had no trouble getting through it. However, I kept feeling like there would be a major twist that I didn’t see coming, but the biggest one that happened I had guessed a while before.

However, in saying that, overall I enjoyed the story and the writing style. Not one of my favourites, but would recommend a read if you can.

This is an unputdownable spine chilling read wonderfully scripted by Diane Saxon. As an author she writes about topics that other authors fear to go and this book epitomises that. Soriah is living a comfortable lifestyle having put events of 20 years previous far behind her. That is until unusual happenings occur and she feels as though someone is constantly watching and stalking her. Her past is coming back to haunt her and she doesn't know which way to turn. She is in genuine fear of her life. The book constantly goes back to 20 years ago and intertwines it with current day. As with any good psychological thriller there are many twists and turns, some more predictable than others!
A wonderful enthralling read

Soriah has be keeping a secret for over twenty years, from almost everyone in her life, including her husband Marcus who she's trying to start a family with. When she's contacted by victim support services her past threatens to destroy the life she's built for herself.

What let this down for me slightly was I couldn't get behind Soriah as a character; based on the title I assumed the trauma would be linked to her marriage; when we first meet Soriah she's experiencing a nightmare which leads to her getting physically hurt which she then lies to her husband about. From this I assumed there was a darker side to her marriage and her husband and was waiting for a twist which didn't really materialise.

We follow three different perspectives across two timelines which I enjoyed as this kept up the pace of the book and kept me interested.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with ARC copy this title in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fantastic thriller based on a very quiet, subdued wife who wants calm and structure and finds herself lacking any desire to challenge different things in her marriage to maintain a peaceful and mundane life. She was violently attacked as a teenager and now the perpetrator has been released, the calm life is thrown into chaos, unravelling and exposing the cracks in the peaceful life she has created. Great characters and storytelling- page turner!