The Open Marriage

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at the premise at first—*another* thriller about a crumbling marriage? But *The Open Marriage* hooked me within 20 minutes, and not because of some flashy twist. It’s the *quiet* moments that gut you: the way the protagonist justifies her choices with the same exhausted logic you’ve heard from friends (or maybe even yourself), or how Bronwen Price’s narration makes a thrown-together alibi sound like a confession. Price is the secret weapon here; her voice is deceptively smooth, almost clinical, which makes the rare cracks in her composure—when her breath hitches or her tone drops to a whisper—land like punches. The production is clean, with no distracting edits, letting the story’s claustrophobic tension breathe. That said, the midsection drags slightly. Jenkins spends a little too long circling the same emotional beats—yes, we get it, the marriage is a corpse, stop poking it—and the "open" arrangement’s logistics feel undercooked compared to the psychological fallout. But the final act more than makes up for it, delivering a payoff that’s both shocking and eerily plausible. My biggest critique? The ending lingers on a note of ambiguity that’ll frustrate listeners craving neat resolution. But maybe that’s the point: some wounds don’t close cleanly. If you’re tired of thrillers that prioritize plot acrobatics over emotional truth, this one’s for you—just don’t listen while your partner’s in the room.