Customer Reviews

Dangerous Silence

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A bitter estranged daughter returns to aid her stubborn but injured father, with the help of a roaming farmhand, on his wheat farm. As she confronts her past including her mothers death she discovers that nothing and noone is quite as it seems. Even the old farm itself holds an ancient and dangerous secret. Lots of suspense and mystery keep you turning the pages and burning the midnight oil. Realistic characters and a believable story make this one of the best I have read.

I grabbed this off the shelf one week while my daughters took ballet. While some romances bore me, Catherine Palmer's Heartquest titles always keep my attention and fed my spirit. I wondered if ***A Dangerous Silence***, her suspense debut would be as good.

I wasn't disappointed. In a whirlwind of a story, Palmer took me to Kansas to save a family, a farm and the faith of burned out FBI agent. When old Ed Morgan falls out his barn loft and can no longer run his farm, his pediatrician daughter, Marah, must decide whether to return to the home she fled so long ago.

When she gets there, she finds more than her father's shattered leg--a team of archeologists from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a drifter looking for work, and harrowing details of her mother's death years before.

With fluid ease, Palmer weaves a tale between tornados and family secrets with her telltale romantic thread in the seams. Perky, the child character, is so realistic she could have been my own daughter.

Tyndale has a winner in this one. Don't miss it!

A Dangerous Silence by Catherine Palmer proved to be a captivating novel. The story makes you feel for the characters and want to reach out and help them in any way possible. It beautifully illustrates an emerging relationship between a father and his daughter. Marah, the daughter, goes back to her family farm to help her father, Ed, after he suffers from an injury that prevented him from taking care of the farm. Marah had been gone for eighteen years and she despises her father initially upon her return. As the story progresses they both mature and eventually form a strong bond of respect and love. Marah begins as a failure and disappointment to Ed, but she soon gains his reverence and admiration. The choice of character personalities in the novel adds to the plot and makes the whole story more invigorating. The romantic twist given to the novel between Judd, the farmhand, and Marah adds to the suspense. You yearn for the two of them to just realize their love for one another. Other characters, such as a young girl named Perky, also add to the excitement of the book. Perky lightens the tone and takes away the serious edge. Her insight as a child is remarkable. She sees all that goes on around her and adds her input when she feels it is appropriate. These dynamic characters take an ordinary plot and transform it into an extraordinary and moving story. I recommend this story to any one who wants a good read. Whether you like romance or suspense, this book's for you. A Dangerous Silence has it all.

As a fan of Catherine Palmer's historical romances, I was curious to read this contemporary mystery. My expectations, based on the great quality of her former writings, were surpassed. Her ability to describe the events, people and places is amazing. Even though I know the outcome of the mystery, I will read this well-written book again in the future. To her romance fans: You will not be disappointed!

A Dangerous Silence by Catherine Palmer is a multilayered book with lots of great plots. Marah Morgan returns home to the family farm to help care for her ailing father and try to repair their relationship. Judd Hunter shows up looking for work at the same time an archaelogical team arrives looking for the remnants of a Native American village on the property. Palmer does an excellent job of slowly feeding the reader just enough information to keep them hooked. The several different plots play out slowly until they start to weave together in a fascinating and frightening way. Sometimes Palmer goes a little overboard on Marah's conversations about faith with Judd: they don't always ring true. When everyone's motives become clear, there is a need to suspend disbelief, but the characters are interesting enough to make it worth the while. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of her works.

Marah, meaning "bitter", fits her name. Perky is a precocious little girl and Ed is a grumpy old man.

Marah's dad is recovering from an accident and demands that she, a successful pediatrician, return home to help him run his farm but can she tolerate his surliness? Against her better judgment, she returns to her childhood home, feeling nauseous with memories even before turning into the driveway.

During her stay at the farm, she learns more than she bargained for - so much more. She learns valuable lessons from a 7-year old and from a non-Christian farmhand. She seeks answers from her past but a long-time friend of hers warns her that she may not like what she discovers. She believes she really needs to know. What will she uncover?

There is more to this story than relationships; Just who is this Judd and what about Milton? What are they involved with? Who can be trusted?

Find out for yourself in this wonderfully-written book by Catherine Palmer.

Don't let the religious overtones scare you away. Christian beliefs are only discussed on a few pages and does not dominate the story. A Dangerous Silence is a surprisingly wonderful read, with great characters, an exciting plot, with danger, mystery and a little romance. I'm not a religious person, but I enjoyed the book immensely and would recommend it to anyone.

Books like this one should have a caveat; "From The Christian Reading Shelves."

If you want archaeology, don't go here. If you want Native American History, don't go here. If you want decent science, don't go here.

This book has been categorized "Suspense Fiction", not even close!

Anyone outside of the Bible Belt, either geographically or literally will chafe at the poorly disquised proseltyzing prose.