Book: Sidney Sheldon's The Silent Widow by Tilly Bagshawe

If you are from 80s, like me, it is most likely you would have started your reading journey with a Sidney Sheldon's novel. Hands down, he is a master story teller known for his thrilling plots, inspiring characters, suspense and unexpected twists. Looking at the name of the book Sidney Sheldon’s The Silent Widow, don't mistake it for written by Sidney Sheldon. Tilly Bagshawe is the author of this book. 

Tilly Bagshawe is originally known as Matilda Emily Mary Bagshawe. She is a fictional writer who has written many international best-selling novels like Adored, Flawless, Temptation, The Show, The Bachelor etc.. Sidney Sheldon's estate thought Tilly's writing style is similar to Sidney Sheldon and chose her to write under his name. Thus far she has written 8 books as part of Sidney Sheldon series.

Coming to the story of The Silent Widow, Nikki Roberts is the main character and she is a psychologist. She lost her husband in a car accident and since then is heartbroken not only because of his sudden demise but due to his betrayal. As Nikki is trying to cope up with life after her personal tragedy and trauma, her patients get brutally murdered one by one, with attempts at Nikki's life too. The police investigation doesn't make any progress. So Nikki seeks the help of a private detective, Derek Williams, to unearth the real motive behind the murders and most importantly know about her husband's secret lover. 

That's when the story starts to unfold. Williams has had a close escape from death while he was handling the case of a missing teen girl, Charlotte Clancy. A decade after that case, Williams comes to know a strange connection between Nikki clients’ murders and Charlotte Clancy. Coincidentally, they are interrelated crimes and executed by a gang, part of a nasty and dangerous crime network. Just before William could talk and warn Nikki about these details and the impending threat to her life, he gets killed. Who is involved in all these crimes, the real motto and why Nikki is targeted is the rest of the story.

Initially, I found the story and narration very gripping. There is a serial killer out on the loose and multiple unexplained murders. As a reader, we could identify Nikki as the killer, given her motives and her state of mind after she knew about her husband's infidelity. But as the story gains momentum, there are way too many characters and subplots. That too after William’s death, the story turns out clumsier. It is impossible for anyone to miss the author’s tireless attempt to link all the characters she had built so far to Nikki’s case to bring the story to an end. Too many of anything whether characters, twists or plots could spoil the main intent. Don't they? That’s what has happened with this book.

Another let down for me is, as someone who has read more than half a dozen of Sidney Sheldon novels, I didn’t find any similarity with his work. May be it could be because this is the first book I am reading by Tilly. So I will reserve my comment on all of her Sidney Sheldon's works in general.

Comparing The Silent Widow for now, I found few aspects which doesn't go with Sidney Sheldon's style. Usually Sidney Sheldon’s women characters are strong willed, bold, intelligent and witty. While Nikki the protagonist of this book, was shown to be bold and intelligent at the beginning, as the story progresses, her character appears meek and nothing noteworthy. Within a year of losing her beloved husband she is shown attracted to the police officer Mr.Goodman. At the same time, Tilly openly confesses to her friend about her sexual attraction towards one of her female clients. 

Next is the extensive list of unwanted characters, which actually burdened the author to connect them all to the story before ending it. On top of these, the reader could guess the murderer early on. These are huge let downs given the Sidney Sheldon’s association with this book. If we read this novel as just Tilly’s work, I would most certainly say it is a good read. It is the natural expectation that crops from the title that makes us undermine the book.

 If you like thrillers, can keep track of an extensive list of characters, haven’t read a Sidney Sheldon so far (which I doubt) and have zero expectations on the book based on the novel’s name,  you may choose to read The Silent Widow and might even like it.

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Happy Reading!!