Child of Silence [Hardcover]

Abigail Padgett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1993

Assigned to the case of a young boy found abandoned near a local Indian reservation, child abuse investigator Bo Bradley realizes that there are people intent on killing the boy under her charge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This powerful and suspenseful debut features an unusual heroine, San Diego Juvenile Court child abuse investigator Bo Bradley. A closet manic-depressive, Bo fights to keep her job and her equilibrium when she is assigned the case of a four-year-old boy found tied to a mattress in an abandoned house on an Indian reservation. She realizes that the boy is deaf, not retarded as she first thought, and hopes to place him with a family who will teach him to sign. But her intuition and her own experience with a deaf sister tells her that the boy had been tied up to prevent him from straying. Could someone have intended to return to him? She finds a grocery receipt, the only clue to the boy's identity. When two men attempt to shoot him and she receives a threatening note, her mission becomes increasingly urgent. Recognizing and resisting the manic phase of her own disorder, she traces the boy's past to Houston and an important political race. Padgett's deft handling of Bo's mental state and her empathetic rendering of his deafness add originality and depth to a gripping story.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Pr; First Edition edition (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089296488X
• ISBN-13: 978-0892964888
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,294,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Abigail Padgett grew up in Vincennes, IN, and holds degrees from Indiana University, the University of Missouri and Washington University, St.Louis. She has taught high school English and college courses in Sociology and Creative Writing in San Diego and Boston, directed an ACLU chapter in Houston and worked as an advocate for the mentally ill, plus enduring some truly weird temp jobs.

Abbie is the author of seven highly acclaimed mystery novels that have been translated into five languages, one novel among which, CHILD OF SILENCE, was made into a movie in France. (Which must have been challenging, since the novel's action takes place in the California desert and features Native American Paiute people.) Her eighth and latest mystery, BONE BLIND, is set in the Boston suburb of Newton, where two horror novelists and a detective just months short of retirement investigate a decades-old unsolved murder the spin from which proves even more deadly than the original crime.

Two new mysteries and a magical realist novel are in various stages.

San Diego is home, although Abbie spends much time on the East Coast and in France, where one of the new mysteries is set. She is a dog person happiest in the company of dachshunds, a lapsed vegetarian with heartland food preferences, and a lifelong fan of Poe, Algernon Blackwood and the Graveyard Poets.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A completely new type of detective - fascinating..., March 4, 1998

By 

K. Romine (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Child of Silence (Paperback)

The main character of this book is a woman named Bo Bradley who also happens to be a manic-depressive. Sounds strange at first - but it is fascinating. Seeing things through her eyes is educational and makes it hard to put the book down. I learned a great deal about the prejudices and tribulations that a person with this condition has to overcome - and the incredible gifts that can come with it. The author never lectures, though - the book is a quick read. The ending was a little lame, unfortunately. Not uninteresting, just a bit overly complex and unlikely. Her other books are also very good.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Child of Silence, January 5, 2005

By 

Agrigento (Framingham, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Child of Silence (Paperback)

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't put it down. Being Bipolar myself, I could completely identify with the main character, Bo's, inner challenges. The author has done a very, very good job of capturing and describing what goes on inside the mind of a high-functioning person struggling to stay sane, and she's done it in a way that brings a lot of humor. Bo is so likable, so determined, so admirable. The central storyline is very engrossing, and the whole southwestern setting and mystique are icing on the cake. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the next one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compassionate Ride on a Rollercoaster, March 24, 2007

By 

M, Compulsive Reader (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Child of Silence (Paperback)

Mix a child-protection officer with her Irish grandmother's Gift of "knowing," an elderly Indian receiving beneficient messages from The Spirit, and the officer's bi-polar illness, and you have a marvelous ride on a merry-go-round. Add a French pediatrician, a cold-eyed Texan running for office, and the "severely retarded" child who unites all. Allow plenty of time, because you won't want to stop for bedtime. A rare treat.