Code of Silence (Ben Reese Mysteries (Severn House)) (Hardcover)

by Sally Wright (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Ben Reese, an Ohio State archivist and amateur sleuth in the 1950s, is still struggling to recover from the tragic death of his wife and child four months earlier. Eventually, though, knowing he can’t grieve forever, he attends a concert, where he plans to meet Carl Walker, a casual acquaintance. Carl never shows, and a few days later, his body is found. The initial verdict is suicide, but Ben isn’t so sure. It turns out that Carl, who worked in intelligence shortly after the war, had discovered that one of his colleagues was a spy and a murderer. Sensing danger, Carl left behind a series of puzzling clues for Ben to unravel and use to nail the killer-traitor. Meticulously researched, skillfully conveying the ambience and paranoia of the cold war years, and chockablock with suspense, Wright’s latest Ben Reese mystery will appeal to fans of both spy thrillers and mainstream mysteries. --Emily Melton

Review
Meticulously researched, skillfully conveying the ambience and paranoia of the Cold War years, and chock-a-block with suspense, Wright's latest Ben Reese mystery will appeal to fans of both spy thrillers and mainstream mysteries. --Booklist, December 1, 2008

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 251 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727866796
• ISBN-13: 978-0727866790
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #634,153 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, April 20, 2009

By	thomas olsinski - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just finished reading Code of Silence and enjoyed it immensely. The Ben Reese character is great. I have also enjoyed previous novels with this hero. In this novel the antagonist is seen early and helps balance the perspective of the story from both sides, giving the story more depth. I really enjoyed the Venona Code angle that I knew only a little about beforehand. Sally Wright weaves the technical with the action so the reader doesn't feel overwhelmed (as is the case with some tech type thrillers). The coding and espionage story adds much interest to the character driven story. I enjoyed the combination of history, characters and action. I looked forward to reading each chapter throughout the book, hence my title above as a great read. Highly recommended and I look forward to more novels by Sally Wright.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Brilliant Ben Reese Mystery, February 15, 2009

By	F. Isaacs - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

American author Sally Wright has done it again with her sixth Ben Reese mystery. CODE OF SILENCE combines mystery and suspense with a fast pace and more than a touch of Cold War espionage. Although CODE OF SILENCE is the latest of her six Ben Reese mysteries, it is actually a prequel to the other five novels in the series, introducing characters who will appear in later novels.

CODE OF SILENCE begins shortly after World War II, with the murder of a code-breaker, and then picks up a decade later with a second murder. Unlike the other novels in the Ben Reese mystery series, however, in which the murderer is not known until near the end, this story lets the reader in on the secret of who the killer is while focusing on the suspense of a cat-and-mouse game between the killer -- a determined foreign agent who may or may not still be working for "the other side" -- and archivist Ben Reese. For those unfamiliar with the series, Ben Reese is a Midwestern academic who served as an Army Ranger, scouting behind enemy lines during the last year of WWII. Horribly wounded during the war, he later suffers the loss of his wife, an English professor, and has to rebuild his life.

As with the other five novels in the series, CODE OF SILENCE is a first-rate book, displaying the "can't put it down" writing one finds so rarely these days. A "must read!"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another fantastic Ben Reese book!!, January 28, 2009

By	Avid Reader - See all my reviews

Sally Wright has written another fantastic Ben Reese book. The suspense is there from beginning to end; nothing drags here. The characters are well developed, even to the point where the reader becomes emotionally attached to them and feels their joy and grief. It's a well-researched book and I learned a great deal about such things as decoding, Russian spies and other aspects of the clandestine field of spydom. The plot is believable and the book kept my attention throughout. Code of Silence is a great read!!