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A review by gareindeedreads
Part of the Silence by Debbie Howells
4.0
This one started off with a bang! It's not long (two lines) before Charlotte Harrison is interrupted on a beach by a helicopter and all hell breaks loose. I loved that while Evie was a huge character in this one (obviously), this is told from the perspectives of Charlotte, Jack (a cop mourning the death of his son), and Casey (the sister of a little girl who went missing in Evie's care in high school).
Charlotte was very well-written with her promise and desire to help Evie. The character of Jack was by far my favorite. His sadness and ability to work this case basically jumped off the pages and slapped you in the face. As for the character of Casey, I hated her. I think you're supposed to, but I liked that she gave insight into what really happened when Evie was babysitting her sister, Leah in high school. Between the desire to know what happened to Leah, what happened to Evie, and where Angel is if she even exists, I wasn't getting through the pages fast enough. I really found the character development in this strong and at the center of the novel, which is exactly what you want in a psychological thriller.
One thing I do enjoy with a novel like this is that the police procedural aspect is front and center, but doesn't take up too much unnecessary space or steal the limelight from why you're really reading this. There was so much going on, that I didn't at one point feel bored or try to rush through the pages. Everything moved to seamlessly and the flow of this novel went from crazy to intense to mystifying to "holy shit, hold on".
While this would normally be a 4.5 or a 5.0 rating, I did decide to rate this one a 4.0/5 because I put together the pieces as I should have and had somewhat of an idea as to where this was going in the end, but I felt that the ending was rushed and I kind of had to guess a few things as they weren't explained that well.
Overall, I highly recommend this for a beach read or a quick and exciting read on a rainy chilly summer day as I don't anticipate we will be short of those this year. Thank you to Kensington Books for a copy of this one!
Charlotte was very well-written with her promise and desire to help Evie. The character of Jack was by far my favorite. His sadness and ability to work this case basically jumped off the pages and slapped you in the face. As for the character of Casey, I hated her. I think you're supposed to, but I liked that she gave insight into what really happened when Evie was babysitting her sister, Leah in high school. Between the desire to know what happened to Leah, what happened to Evie, and where Angel is if she even exists, I wasn't getting through the pages fast enough. I really found the character development in this strong and at the center of the novel, which is exactly what you want in a psychological thriller.
One thing I do enjoy with a novel like this is that the police procedural aspect is front and center, but doesn't take up too much unnecessary space or steal the limelight from why you're really reading this. There was so much going on, that I didn't at one point feel bored or try to rush through the pages. Everything moved to seamlessly and the flow of this novel went from crazy to intense to mystifying to "holy shit, hold on".
While this would normally be a 4.5 or a 5.0 rating, I did decide to rate this one a 4.0/5 because I put together the pieces as I should have and had somewhat of an idea as to where this was going in the end, but I felt that the ending was rushed and I kind of had to guess a few things as they weren't explained that well.
Overall, I highly recommend this for a beach read or a quick and exciting read on a rainy chilly summer day as I don't anticipate we will be short of those this year. Thank you to Kensington Books for a copy of this one!