From Publishers Weekly
Silence speaks volumes in Benjamin's heartfelt eighth Rachel Alexander mystery (after 2004's Fall Guy), a complex portrait of a severely damaged child and her emotionally cut-off father. The Greenwich Village PI agrees to search for photograper Leon Spector's wife, Sally, who five years earlier took the dog for a walk and never came back. Sally left behind her bereft husband and daughter, Madison, a precocious child who stopped talking three days later. Leon and Madison's obvious pain draws Rachel to them. Suffering from a nervous disorder, the girl has been in therapy with Dr. Erich Bechman, who has used botox to stop her tics. When Bechman turns up dead, apparently stabbed with a syringe following one of Madison's outbursts, the police assume she's the culprit. Leon hopes against hope that Sally's return will cause the girl to speak at least enough to tell what happened. Certain that the girl is innocent, Rachel determines to track down the real killer. In the process, she gives voice to the problems of many people caught up in circumstances beyond their control, for whom only desperate measures seem the answer.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
This eighth entry in the Rachel Alexander series showcases the heroine's ample brains, tough facade, and big heart. In this outing, private investigator Rachel accepts an assignment from gloomy photographer Leon, whose wife, Sally, walked out on him and their daughter, Madison, five years earlier. Shortly after her mother's disappearance, Madison stopped talking and has not said a word since. When Madison is accused of killing her doctor, Leon hires Rachel to find Sally, hoping knowledge of her mother's fate might influence Madison to speak and defend herself. The case takes on a deeply personal feeling when Madison's plight reminds Rachel of her own troubled childhood. Benjamin captures the mood of New York City effectively, and she writes in a fast-paced, matter-of-fact style that is perfectly matched to her protagonist and the setting. And, of course, Benjamin's experience as a dog trainer gives extra panache to her portrayal of Rachel's relationship with her pit bull, Dashiell. An entertaining series for anyone who loves female sleuths, New York, or pit bulls. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
