In the Dead of Night

Silence Jones Action Thrillers Series, Book 11

By: Erik Carter

Narrated by: Gary Bennett

BETRAYAL IN THE SHADOWS.
AN ENEMY HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT.

The world of vigilante assassin Silence Jones is rocked to its core when his clandestine organization faces an unprecedented threat—a breach from within. As their most guarded secrets teeter on the edge of exposure, the very existence of his justice-driven group hangs in the balance.

In the midst of this chaos, a scar-faced man emerges, leading an enigmatic self-help group that's rumored to be a façade for darker motives. As Silence delves into this mystery, he uncovers unsettling ties between the security breach and the charismatic leader's true intentions.

With time running out, Silence must unravel the truth to tear down a plot orchestrated by an adversary who masks evil with benevolence, threatening not only to destroy Silence's organization but also to ensnare countless innocent lives.

The next standalone action thriller in the pulse-pounding series. Enter the world of Silence Jones. Hold on tight…

If you like action heroes with the steely resolve of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, the calculating will of Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X, and the raw power of Mark Greaney’s Gray Man, then you’ll love Silence Jones.

Unlock IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT and start your Silence Jones mission today!

©2024 Erik Carter (P)2024 Erik Carter

Your past will always haunt you

The writing of Erik Carter and Audible narrator Gary Bennett involving the “Silence Jones Action Thriller” series just keeps getting better and better over time. Much like an aged wine or cheese, one sees that the latest release titled “In the dead of night”, is one of the best yet and we are on the eleventh book and counting. If you like your action and adventure more on the gritty and messy side, I cannot recommend this series enough. I have found that Erik Carter’s storytelling and writing style resonate with me, and add to this the exceptional voicing of Gary Bennett, and one has a winning series on their hands. Here in the eleventh book, we have some additional background details around Silence himself and quite a bit of trouble brewing in the secret organization called the Watchers. There were a few times I was almost late to my meetings as I did not want to stop the audiobook. This audiobook, and the series, has always had wonderful twists that often are not predictable. I like when an author uses smart or clever ways to get the hero out of a given situation. If you like your vigilante justice served at the end of a pair of Berettas, I think you will find this story well worth your credit. These audiobooks never seem to be too long nor short, they are in enjoyable bite-sized pieces.

I know I have said this previously, with other audiobook in the series, but I do like when an author takes some time to provide a prologue chapter. Even a few sentences or paragraphs to give the listener some background detail greatly assist me in getting back into the story. I also felt that the author spent more time on allowing the audience to learn more about Silence Jones and get a glimpse at his personality. And even with him being a hired assassin, there is a side of him that is humble, joyful, and fun. In this audiobook we get a bit more of what makes him tick and I found that rather insightful. What starts off as a routine hit on a drug dealer, quickly escalates to something that even Mr. Jones could not have expected. This leads him down a path of a modern-day Jones’ Town incident along with some trouble inside the Watchers that could turn the tide of this organization who exists to help those who do not get justice in other ways. I can say that this story turns up the action and adrenaline knobs compared to previous ones in the series.

With all the backstory and details leading up to the main goal of the audiobook, this story took a bit longer to get to Silence passing off his business card to the intended target. I guess I had been used to this happening early in the tale, so this was another first in this series. With so much happening, it was a bit of a twist to see how one’s past becomes the bonds that can lead to future blackmail. Even when you think others are unaware of your past, here we see that such things never go unseen or unnoticed for future leverage. It was also rather interesting to see how our main character was going to be vulnerable in this audiobook. Silence has never felt invulnerable to me, but often his strength and wit gets him out of most situations in the end. Here though, we see that strength and knowledge are not always winners when it comes to drugs. A simple dose of a given drug can impair one’s judgement and reduce them to a near catatonic state. Here again, we are given some wonderful flashbacks and a view into how one’s past often has consequences in the present or future. Silence needs to remember all he had done to try solving this mystery. It may surprise you the level people will go to when it comes to revenge.

Let me say up front that I very much enjoy Mr. Bennett’s narration work as it is always near perfect and professional. He can keep the voicing consistent along with knowing his material and reading as if describing a movie or TV show. I always feel engrossed in the story as I listen to his smooth and pleasant voice. I did notice a few audio patches/plugs while listening to this audiobook which I do not recall from others in the series. This did not take away from my enjoyment of the story, but I do know there are some that like when I mention such in my reviews. With so many near perfect narrations under his belt, I can give some grace when it comes to a few bumps. Mr. Bennett is still one of my top narrators on Audible.

For parents and younger listeners, I would not recommend this series of audiobook for younger audiences. They contain a fair amount of graphic violence along with some rather mature subject matter (sex, drugs, etc.) which may not be appropriate for less mature listeners. Outside of these, the storytelling is rich and exciting.

In summary, many authors would stop a series halfway from where this one is now. Being at the eleventh one, it is hard to believe this series is still going strong, and I do not see it running out of steam anytime soon. Even with a few audio edits, the narration was what I have come to expect from this narrator, professional and engrossing. I have not once walked away from one of the audiobooks in this series feeling let down. Just the opposite, it is thrilling and exciting nearly all the way. Keep up the great work both of you.

Top Notch!

In the Dead of Night is the eleventh book in the Silence Jones Action Thrillers Series Books and since I have not read or listened to the previous ten, I was a bit concerned I would be lost from missing out on important backstories. However, the author, Erik Carter, brilliantly weaves just enough history to get me up to speed in this standalone thriller.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the main character, Silence Jones, who is an assassin employed by a mysterious, clandestine organization within the U.S. government known as The Watchers. When his handler, Doc Hazel, informs him The Watchers have been breached from within and the organization is now under Code Red, the action grabs you and doesn’t give you time to catch your breath until the very last paragraph.

Erik Carter is a master wordsmith, immersing the reader inside an intricate plot with perfect pacing and action sequences and memorable, realistic characters. As a listener, the icing on the cake to this intense novel is the impeccable narration by Gary Bennett, especially when voicing Silence’s harsh, gravelly voice.

Silence Jones is an efficient, deadly killer, tasked with taking out humanity’s trash, but what I found most fascinating about him is the internal struggle of holding on to the moral person he’d been before becoming an Asset of The Watchers or losing the connection to his old life permanently and becoming fully immersed as a cold-hearted killer.

I highly recommend this book for fans of action, adventure, vigilante justice, mystery, and a main character with grit and heart.

Silence Almost Meets His Match

4.5 out of 5 stars

I can’t believe this is the eleventh book in the Silence Jones series. I know I’ve been flying through them because of the excellent writing from Carter and perfect performances by Bennett, but each one of these works so well as a standalone and is even better as part of the whole series. In the latest Jones story, In the Dead of Night, Silence is thrown into a world of a potential suicide cult that turns out to be so much more.

In the Dead of Night was one of those books that as it progressed just kept getting more and more interesting. Carter kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. A few times I wondered if this might be the last book in the series. I don’t want to say I can tell that Jones is winding down, but some of the focus within this one was some self-reflecting from Silence and the offer of taking some time off.

The story has some flashbacks which are rare and then helped set the scenes for later in the book. I found the self-reflection angle worked well for both Silence but also his journey. I won’t spoil it any more than that, so… moving on!

Overall, I thought this one was excellent. This one showed how incredible Silence is at his job but reminded me that he is still human. The combination of these two makes me like him even more.

(The review is officially over, but slight spoiler — so please don’t read if you haven’t read the book) — the personal vendetta for Silence was an excellent plot point but I felt like there maybe should have been some more remorse for how terrible of a person the father was. The things that he did and specifically why he was “punished” for them were things that would’ve made it hard for me personally to have a vendetta. But I guess each person has their own moral compass)