The Silence

DC Goodhew, Book 4

By: Alison Bruce

Narrated by: Jonathan Broadbent

Joey McCarthy is stabbed to death in a pub car park in a random act of violence. Shortly afterwards Charlotte Stone's terminally ill mother dies, and then, within weeks, two of her teenage friends commit suicide. With her home life disintegrating and both her father and brother racing towards self-destruction, Charlotte realises that her own personal nightmare may not be over yet.

When DC Gary Goodhew finds the body of another suicide victim, he is forced to recall some deeply buried memories of an earlier death; memories which lead him to Charlotte Stone and the events in her life. From their individual points of view, they both begin to wonder whether all these tragedies are somehow linked to a bigger picture. And if they are right, then who will be the next victim?

©2012 Alison Bruce (P)2013 Audible Ltd

An improvement on the last

I was on the point of giving up with Alison Bruce despite these novels being set in my home town but thought I would give her another go. Only a limited amount of gratuitous sex in this one (an improvement) and the plot was good. I still find the narrator to be the weak point in this series although there werent as many glaring mispronunciations of local names in this book.

Heavy, dark and intricate

Would you listen to The Silence again? Why?

Probably not. It was good, in fact a challenging listen, due to the (early on) confusing strands of characters perspectives and incidents that were difficult to integrate till some way into the book. Were I to listen again, it would be to hear the early lines of the development with better (retrospective) clarity.

Note: it might have been easier to have grasped this earlier grouping of various perspectives and vignettes if reading. If the listener understands that these are integral to the rest of the book, and that it *will* all come together pretty soon into the book, it might be easier to put things together and not feel so confused.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Goodhew

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

At first I felt confused, wondering if I had wasted a credit. By about 1/4 of the way through, I realized I had encountered the work of an author with great skill for presentation of a complicated, deep work.

This was not a "light read." It requires some effort to assimilate the early parts and work in and out of the story as it unfolds. It moves back and forth in time, and that might somehow have been more obvious if reading the book? Maybe, I say that because print books show divisions somewhat better.

I am very glad I stuck with it--it was only confusing at the beginning. After that I was completely intrigued, and wished I could have listened all at once (but it was too long).

Any additional comments?

I think this book is an ambitious read, but excellent in mystery and worth the effort!