In Silence (Hardcover)

by Erica Spindler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The old adage, "You can't go home again," doesn't apply to Cypress Springs, La., a picaresque little town that goes to extreme-and sometimes deadly-lengths to keep the outside world and its corrupting influences at bay. The town's outward calm provides an eerie counterpoint to the struggle occurring beneath the surface, which makes it the perfect setting for Spindler's latest thriller (after Dead Run). When investigative reporter Avery Chauvin returns to Cypress Springs to put her father's affairs in order after his apparent suicide, she takes comfort in the familiar attentions of her high school sweetheart, Matt Stevens, and his loving family, who treat her as one of their own. It soon becomes apparent, however, that things aren't as they seem. For starters, the Stevens clan seems uneasy, particularly when she mentions Hunter, Matt's fraternal twin. Then she receives a call that leads her to suspect that her dad was murdered. Her fears are sharpened when a local woman turns up dead, and "outsider" Gwen Lancaster tells Avery about her brother's disappearance. Despite the overwhelming evidence, Avery's investigative instincts take a while to kick in, but once they do, she uncovers clues indicating that a vigilante group has taken it upon itself to police and punish the town's citizens. Most disturbing is the fact that Hunter, with whom Avery becomes romantically involved, fits the killer's profile. While smoothly written, the book's absurdly macabre (and somewhat implausible) denouement will disappoint. Still, once readers get past the sluggish first half, they'll be chilled by the town's creepy Big Brother rhetoric and pulled inexorably onward by the question of whodunit.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Readers will be pulled inexorably onward by the question of whodunit." -- Publishers Weekly

Erica Spindler "skillfully takes her readers into the subtle areas of crime scenes." -- Yong-Myun Rho, M.D., consultant in forensic medicine --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira; 1ST edition (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551666995
• ISBN-13: 978-1551666990
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #982,373 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling Drama with a twist!!, May 13, 2004

By	Elaine C McTyer "avid reader" (Dawson, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: In Silence (Mass Market Paperback)

I have all of Erica Spindler's books, because she always surprises me. They are tightly plotted and full of unexpected twists. IN SILENCE is no exception.

When Avery Chauvin returns home after several years, it is to face the death of her father. Avery is a reporter. She comes home and immediately gets involved with the friends she left behind. Including two brothers, one a cop, like his dad, and the other a lawyer, trying to put his life back together.

Cypress Springs, Lousianna is a small town, that faces all the small town problems, as well as, some big town problems.

There is a great deal of tension in the family of her friends. Especially between the brothers.

Suddenly, this small town has had a rash of unusual, unexplained, deaths. Alot of people have died, either in weird accidents, or some have just gone missing, Or like Avery's father, committed suicide.

The feeling of a tightly closed community comes through clearly. And now Avery is on the outside. She tries to understand what is happening. But her conclusions not only scare her, but put her on a direct course to confront true evil of the mind.

This is a gripping story, and anyone who has lived in a small community can understand the terror of knowing someone you know is capable of true horror.

The terror and fast pace of the story kept me glued to my chair. I read it in one sitting. This is an exciting and unusual book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Surprisingly Good Read, July 18, 2005

By	Norrcorp (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I bought this one at discount and figured, at most, it would occupy some summer "laying by the pool" time. To the contrary, I was pleasantly surprised and was drawn into the story. I had never before read any of Spindler's books, but now plan on reading some others.

The story has a great hook and the action moves at a good pace. The characters are believable and interesting. Although there are only a few obvious suspects, the author actually got me misdirected a few times and the ending was in (relative) doubt until the climax. All in all, well worth reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Highly Suspenseful Story Told in Quicksilver Prose, July 19, 2003

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

Avery Chauvin is a hotshot investigative reporter with an important Washington, D.C. newspaper, when she receives a phone call " ... From Buddy Stevens. Family friend. Her dad's lifelong best friend. Cypress Springs' chief of police. Avery, it's Buddy. I've got some bad news, baby girl. Your dad, he's ... Dead." Awash with grief, consumed with guilt and haunted by a deep sense of foreboding, she takes a leave of absence from her job and goes home to Louisiana to bury her father.

" ... He had killed himself. Gone into his garage, doused himself with diesel fuel, then lit a match." He left no note, said no good-byes, and the only thing Avery finds from him is a message on her answering machine. He had wanted to speak to her. But his last words did not sound desperate, so Avery went about her business and let the message sit. She had no way of knowing what was on her dad's mind.

Cypress Springs is one of those anachronistic American towns that appear, for all intents and purposes, perfect, safe, unchanged, homogenous and crime-free. "Avery ... drew her rented SUV to a stop ... [on] Main Street." As she looks around, she realizes that all of the familiar landmarks that encircle the town square are as they were when she was growing up. The place looks as if it is stuck in a time warp. After twelve years away from here, living in the city, working for a national newspaper and moving on with her life, Avery is amazed to see that everything in Cypress Springs is as she left it --- except that now both her parents are dead.

Once she settles in, Avery listens to everything she is told by the sheriff; after all, he has been a surrogate father to her all her life and she relies on his reportage. However, much of what he tells her just doesn't make sense. Slowly, as she delves into her father's death, she tries to fit the clues into some kind of clear picture. But she soon becomes consumed with haunting questions about her father regarding the kind of man he was, her relationship with him, and how he, a doctor, a person who loved life, could immolate himself. But in her shocked state, it is difficult to put her finger on exactly what sounds "wrong."

IN SILENCE is a very suspenseful story told in quicksilver prose. As the narrative races to its climax, Avery Chauvin is forced to shed every single notion she has ever had about where she grew up and the people she knew. Little by little she begins to suspect that something is dangerously wrong in her hometown. Could it be that under the façade of pretty houses, attentive neighbors, little league and girl scouts, a sinister evil operates under a shroud of dark secrets? And while these thoughts make her uncomfortable, she is too smart to ignore them.

After learning the number of "accidental deaths" that occurred over the last year, Avery's professional antennae start to crackle and every step she takes sets off alarms. "She had always been so firm in her beliefs, so self-confident. She had been able to access the facts, make a decision and move on. That's what she wants to do, that is who she believes she is and what makes her such a good journalist. But, now she doesn't know what or whom to believe. Could it be that people who she has known all of her life, depended on to always be there for her" have always been involved in a conspiracy of discrimination and murder?

IN SILENCE immediately captures the reader's attention and asks provocative questions: Do we really ever get to know anyone? Are our beliefs based on truth, interpretation of "truth", or is truth a slight-of-hand phenomenon created by what others want us to believe? How do private agendas shape and direct action? And at the center of this aggregate of conundrums, who can we really trust?

More than just a beach read, IN SILENCE explores the prejudices and preconceptions that can fulminate in an isolated and insulated community. The deadly consequences born of a narrow worldview that puts one in a position wherein s/he becomes the center of the universe. Spindler examines how ordinary people, who mean no harm, can get caught up in a mob mentality, which reduces individual responsibility for acts they would never commit on their own. Readers may ask themselves, "If my life and the lives of my family members would flourish in perfect surroundings and never be threatened with crime or outside influences, would I choose to live there? And at what price?

Erica Spindler is a terrific writer. She has a body of work that speaks to her talent and each of her thrillers is better than the last. With IN SILENCE she proves once again that she is one of the best mystery writers out there. Enjoy!

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum