What do you think?
Rate this book
Monddood
Zelfs óp de plek waar haar vader zichzelf heeft verbrand, is het voor journaliste Avery Chauvin moeilijk te aanvaarden dat hij tot zo'n wanhoopsdaad is overgegaan. Ze wist dat hij het na de dood van haar moeder moeilijk had, maar dit had ze nooit verwacht. Na de begrafenis besluit ze een tijdje in Cypress Springs, haar geboorteplaats, te blijven om erachter te komen wat er precies is gebeurd.
Ze vindt echter meer vragen dan antwoorden: waarom willen de vrienden van haar vader niet met haar praten? Waarom heeft haar vader een stapel krantenknipsels over een vijftien jaar oude moord bewaard? Hééft hij eigenlijk wel zelfmoord gepleegd? Want wat is er waar van de geruchten over mensen die verdwenen zouden zijn, en hoe zit het met de militante beweging die het stadje zou terroriseren?
Dan wordt er een brute moord gepleegd en verdwijnt een toerist spoorloos. Langzaam dringt de waarheid tot Avery door: in het ogenschijnlijk vredige plaatsje huist een meedogenloos kwaad. Beschermd door het collectieve zwijgen van de bevolking, heeft het ongestoord zijn gang kunnen gaan. Tot nu toe...
Ze vindt echter meer vragen dan antwoorden: waarom willen de vrienden van haar vader niet met haar praten? Waarom heeft haar vader een stapel krantenknipsels over een vijftien jaar oude moord bewaard? Hééft hij eigenlijk wel zelfmoord gepleegd? Want wat is er waar van de geruchten over mensen die verdwenen zouden zijn, en hoe zit het met de militante beweging die het stadje zou terroriseren?
Dan wordt er een brute moord gepleegd en verdwijnt een toerist spoorloos. Langzaam dringt de waarheid tot Avery door: in het ogenschijnlijk vredige plaatsje huist een meedogenloos kwaad. Beschermd door het collectieve zwijgen van de bevolking, heeft het ongestoord zijn gang kunnen gaan. Tot nu toe...
414 pages, Paperback
First published May 23, 2003
95 people are currently reading
1522 people want to read
About the author
Erica Spindler
99 books2,544 followersA New York Times and International bestselling author, Erica Spindler's skill for crafting engrossing plots and compelling characters has earned both critical praise and legions of fans. Her stories have been lauded as “thrill-packed page turners, white- knuckle rides and edge-of-your-seat whodunits.”
Erica loves meeting and interacting with her fans, both in person and online. She has a wicked sense of humor, an optimistic spirit and loves coffee, chocolate and red wine, not necessarily in that order.
In 2002 her novel Bone Cold won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence. A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels Forbidden Fruit and Dead Run and was a four-time RITA® Award finalist. In 1999 Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel Shocking Pink a Listen Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998.
Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons.
Erica loves meeting and interacting with her fans, both in person and online. She has a wicked sense of humor, an optimistic spirit and loves coffee, chocolate and red wine, not necessarily in that order.
In 2002 her novel Bone Cold won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence. A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels Forbidden Fruit and Dead Run and was a four-time RITA® Award finalist. In 1999 Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel Shocking Pink a Listen Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998.
Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
September 19, 2015
Avery Chauvin an investigative reporter with a newspaper in Washington, D.C. returns to her hometown of Cypress Springs, that she had left behind years before, to bury her father after receiving the news of his death by suicide.
As she draws her car to a stop on Main Street, it’s like she’s travelled back in time…..everything is the same as when she was living here. ….the quiet, slow-paced, peaceful, perfect, charming and safe place she knew. She finds the small town unchanged….the perfect, charming quiet, slow-paced and safe place, where everyone knows each other…a sense of peace… as she knew it from all those years ago…
Feeling consumed by sadness and guilt for her reason for leaving and not being back to see her family, she finds comfort in the arms of the Stevens family, who were very close to her family and the one twin son, Matt, that she had a relationship before leaving town.
But the perfect picture of Cypress Springs and the Stevens family is a deceptive one. Also she begins to question the manner of which her father died.
And when she starts looking deeper into his death, she discovers that there are things in this town that aren’t what they seem to be.
Great plot that moves at a good pace, keeping you turning the pages. Taut, suspenseful, danger, obsession, jealousy, family secrets, betrayals, diabolical killer and what can happen when people take judgments into their own hands. Good character development.
Despite having a few suspects of my own, I was totally surprised when I discovered who the killer/s are…the many turns and twists just never gave it away!!!!
Another good book by Erica Spindler.
As she draws her car to a stop on Main Street, it’s like she’s travelled back in time…..everything is the same as when she was living here. ….the quiet, slow-paced, peaceful, perfect, charming and safe place she knew. She finds the small town unchanged….the perfect, charming quiet, slow-paced and safe place, where everyone knows each other…a sense of peace… as she knew it from all those years ago…
Feeling consumed by sadness and guilt for her reason for leaving and not being back to see her family, she finds comfort in the arms of the Stevens family, who were very close to her family and the one twin son, Matt, that she had a relationship before leaving town.
But the perfect picture of Cypress Springs and the Stevens family is a deceptive one. Also she begins to question the manner of which her father died.
And when she starts looking deeper into his death, she discovers that there are things in this town that aren’t what they seem to be.
Great plot that moves at a good pace, keeping you turning the pages. Taut, suspenseful, danger, obsession, jealousy, family secrets, betrayals, diabolical killer and what can happen when people take judgments into their own hands. Good character development.
Despite having a few suspects of my own, I was totally surprised when I discovered who the killer/s are…the many turns and twists just never gave it away!!!!
Another good book by Erica Spindler.
September 10, 2018
Avery Chauvin headed back to Cypress Springs, Louisiana when she heard the shocking news of her father’s death. The fact that his death was ruled a suicide shocked her to the core. A respected physician who had worked his life for the care of his patients, she couldn’t fathom how he would suicide, let alone set himself on fire to do it. And how she didn’t see it coming…
Avery was a journalist and the little things she found and heard had her writer’s antennae jangling. So she decided to do a little investigating herself. But would it put her in danger? The unexpected and sinister phone call on the night of her father’s funeral was chilling – she knew there was something wrong in the peaceful and beloved town of Cypress Springs.
In Silence by Erica Spindler is an intense and gripping psychological thriller which was unputdownable! Gripping and chilling, the evil jumped off the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and highly recommend In Silence to fans of the genre.
Avery was a journalist and the little things she found and heard had her writer’s antennae jangling. So she decided to do a little investigating herself. But would it put her in danger? The unexpected and sinister phone call on the night of her father’s funeral was chilling – she knew there was something wrong in the peaceful and beloved town of Cypress Springs.
In Silence by Erica Spindler is an intense and gripping psychological thriller which was unputdownable! Gripping and chilling, the evil jumped off the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and highly recommend In Silence to fans of the genre.
January 12, 2021
This book was highly recommended by a friend. It was with some trepidation I began reading it, as it was categorised as romance, despite the thriller-crime element. Unfortunately, it failed to deliver on the first genre and was okay in regards to the latter. The protagonist was not the strong female I expected and the plot was somewhat apparent despite the twist at the end. Disappointing, so only a two-star rating.
August 9, 2011
I loved this book ! How it was predictable and then something happens that makes you second guess yourself to where it's unpredictable. If you want a thriller and romance with a huge twist this is the PERFECT book.
May 2, 2018
Avery is a big-city journalist who returns to her hometown of Cypress Springs after father's suicide. Once there, she's amazed to see how nothing seems to have changed. Her old friends welcome her back with open arms, and the town's seemingly peaceful existence appeals to her. What is the price of this perfection? Rumor has it that years ago a council of citizens, called the Seven, used drastic measures to clean up the town, but now several people have disappeared or been killed in suspicious ways. Have the Seven returned?
After Avery discovers her father kept a shoebox box filled with newspaper stories of the murders, her investigative instincts kick in. Why did he keep them? Was he one of the original Seven? Soon she is joined in her search by Gwen Lancaster, whose brother is missing. She becomes involved again with the twin brothers who used to be her best friends, one who she planned to spend the rest of her life with until their paths diverged, and one who is now the black sheep of the family.
There are quite a few twists and turns along the way. There's plenty of action and the suspense remains pretty high. While parts are somewhat predictable, there are plenty of surprises. Some of the characters were well done, even though I found Avery to be a bit of a pill. Her character made so many rash choices and refused to hear anything that criticized the town or her long time friends. However, it was still an enjoyable thriller and I would try another Erica Spindler book in the future.
After Avery discovers her father kept a shoebox box filled with newspaper stories of the murders, her investigative instincts kick in. Why did he keep them? Was he one of the original Seven? Soon she is joined in her search by Gwen Lancaster, whose brother is missing. She becomes involved again with the twin brothers who used to be her best friends, one who she planned to spend the rest of her life with until their paths diverged, and one who is now the black sheep of the family.
There are quite a few twists and turns along the way. There's plenty of action and the suspense remains pretty high. While parts are somewhat predictable, there are plenty of surprises. Some of the characters were well done, even though I found Avery to be a bit of a pill. Her character made so many rash choices and refused to hear anything that criticized the town or her long time friends. However, it was still an enjoyable thriller and I would try another Erica Spindler book in the future.
June 22, 2012
Suspense, check. Romance, check. Hot, sexy men, check, check. Twists, turns, false starts, yep. It's a book by Erica Spindler. What else would you expect? I love her books. You should, too!
December 6, 2017
3.5 Stars rounded up...
May 21, 2015
Well Erica, you sure can write a novel with twists and suspense!! I'm always second guessing myself. Going back and forth thinking I've got it all figured out.. Then nope.. All wrong!!
I really like her male characters... A lot.. Although in this story I didn't like Matt.. He seemed like kinda maybe a pansy - in that he seriously waited for Avery all those years... And then for her to even consider him kinda bothered me.. Hunter was so much better!! Also what's up with Buddy calling her "baby girl"?? These people were all so stuck in the past and I get it.. that's the point.. She wrote it well!!!
I'm Powering through her novels!!
I really like her male characters... A lot.. Although in this story I didn't like Matt.. He seemed like kinda maybe a pansy - in that he seriously waited for Avery all those years... And then for her to even consider him kinda bothered me.. Hunter was so much better!! Also what's up with Buddy calling her "baby girl"?? These people were all so stuck in the past and I get it.. that's the point.. She wrote it well!!!
I'm Powering through her novels!!
December 31, 2015
This was a pretty good book- twists and turns and times where you think you have gotten it all figured out, only for another twist to come. The only reason I gave 3 stars instead of 4 is because I felt like some of the events were implausible- without giving anything away, there were a few times where she came to a conclusion about something that I don't think the average person would have. Overall a good read and one where the ending provides a creepy surprise!
December 14, 2015
All I can say is WOW. Read this book in only two sittings. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved it. The characters and the story line, top marks to author.
May 30, 2019
This is my first book by Erica Spindler and it kept me awake for two nights...A marvelous book.
August 6, 2025
4,5⭐️ odejmuje pół gwiazdki za naiwność głównej bohaterki. Fabuła była niesamowicie wciągająca, aż ciężko było odłożyć książkę. Jedna z lepszych powieści Spondler jaką dotychczas udało mi się przeczytać.
April 14, 2022
I always know Erica Spindler will never disappoint with her fast paced thrillers. She has become an auto buy author for me.
This story takes places in a small town that doesn’t adapt well to changes or new comers in the community. Something and someone sinister is lurking among the residents of Cypress Springs judging their every move and every gossip.
There’s family, friendships, murders, suicide, betrayal, lust, fear and suspense in this book! I had a great time reading it!
☠️☠️☠️☠️/5
This story takes places in a small town that doesn’t adapt well to changes or new comers in the community. Something and someone sinister is lurking among the residents of Cypress Springs judging their every move and every gossip.
There’s family, friendships, murders, suicide, betrayal, lust, fear and suspense in this book! I had a great time reading it!
☠️☠️☠️☠️/5
March 23, 2011
Avery Chauvin is an investigative reporter who must return to her hometown to bury her father. He was the town physician and a respected pillar of the community. Now, she learns, he has committed suicide. If only she had taken the time to pick up the phone when he called her the last time. But she just couldn’t take the time. She had to do an interview for an investigation she was working on and she couldn’t miss out on the opportunity. If only she had taken his call instead of letting it go to the answering machine. Maybe she could have talked him out of the suicide. His message said he needed to talk to her.
When she returns to Cypress Springs, LA after an absence of 12 years, she is amazed that almost nothing has changed. Her old boyfriend has become the sheriff. His family wraps her in the love and warmth that she needs so much. Her mother has only been dead a year, and now her dad is gone too. But things are not what they appear in this seemly “perfect” small town. After meeting Gwen Lancaster, she learns that Gwen believes Avery’s father was murdered. It rings true to Avery since she just can’t accept the fact that her father would do such a thing. When Gwen tells her that her own brother is missing because he was investigating a vigilante group who keeps the town people in line by killing those with unacceptable behavior, Avery thinks she is simply out of her mind with grief. But when Avery begins to get “crank,” phone calls, she wonders what’s really going on and her investigative instincts force her to begin to look for answers.
The author has developed a mystery that keeps you involved trying to uncover the town’s hidden secrets and to untangle the relationships of the characters. The pages fly by and you will be amazed to see how much you have read when you are finally forced to stop reading, temporarily, due to the interference of your day-to-day reality.
When she returns to Cypress Springs, LA after an absence of 12 years, she is amazed that almost nothing has changed. Her old boyfriend has become the sheriff. His family wraps her in the love and warmth that she needs so much. Her mother has only been dead a year, and now her dad is gone too. But things are not what they appear in this seemly “perfect” small town. After meeting Gwen Lancaster, she learns that Gwen believes Avery’s father was murdered. It rings true to Avery since she just can’t accept the fact that her father would do such a thing. When Gwen tells her that her own brother is missing because he was investigating a vigilante group who keeps the town people in line by killing those with unacceptable behavior, Avery thinks she is simply out of her mind with grief. But when Avery begins to get “crank,” phone calls, she wonders what’s really going on and her investigative instincts force her to begin to look for answers.
The author has developed a mystery that keeps you involved trying to uncover the town’s hidden secrets and to untangle the relationships of the characters. The pages fly by and you will be amazed to see how much you have read when you are finally forced to stop reading, temporarily, due to the interference of your day-to-day reality.
April 4, 2009
Just love Erica Spindler's novels!! Wish she could pump out one of her mystery/thrillers every month!!
"Journalist Avery Chauvin is devastated when she receives word of her father's suicide. How could her father, a dedicated physician, have taken his own life?
Returning to her hometown of Cypress Springs, Louisanna, Avery desperately searches for answers. Instead she hears whispered rumors of strange happenings, of neighbors who go missing in the night. She discovers a box of fifteen-year-old newspaper articles in her father's house, all covering the same event-the brutal murder of a local woman. Why had her father kept them?
Then the past and present collide. A woman is found savagely murdered. An outsider passing through town vanishes. And Avery begins to wonder, could her father have been murdered?
As each step closer to the truth exposes yet another layer of deceit. Avery must face the fact that in this preaceful Southern town a terrible evil resides, protected-until now-by the power of silence."
"Journalist Avery Chauvin is devastated when she receives word of her father's suicide. How could her father, a dedicated physician, have taken his own life?
Returning to her hometown of Cypress Springs, Louisanna, Avery desperately searches for answers. Instead she hears whispered rumors of strange happenings, of neighbors who go missing in the night. She discovers a box of fifteen-year-old newspaper articles in her father's house, all covering the same event-the brutal murder of a local woman. Why had her father kept them?
Then the past and present collide. A woman is found savagely murdered. An outsider passing through town vanishes. And Avery begins to wonder, could her father have been murdered?
As each step closer to the truth exposes yet another layer of deceit. Avery must face the fact that in this preaceful Southern town a terrible evil resides, protected-until now-by the power of silence."
July 20, 2015
Avery Chavin returns to her hometown after her father's alleged suicide. Of course, she cannot believe that her father, a respected doctor, would take his own life. But, everyone in town said that he had changed, that he was acting withdrawn and depressed. With her mother dying a year before, people assumed he couldn't get past his devastating loss. When a stranger in town causes Avery to question the facts, more mysteries come to light, and an intense search for the truth ensues. I was hooked from the beginning, and though some parts were a little predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and I was satisfied with the ending. I'll have to check out more of Erica Spindler's novels, that's for certain.
February 18, 2012
I've enjoyed a number of other Erica Spindler books but this one was flat. My main gripe with it is the wishy-washy main character who appears so weak and mindless you feel like slapping her. It's pretty obvious to the reader what's going but not to our heroine who lets herself be led down the 'garden path' by her purported loving friends who, naturally, all have DARK secrets.
They treat her like a moron and she takes it.
Having said that I read it all to the predictable face-off at the end. Unbelievable.
They treat her like a moron and she takes it.
Having said that I read it all to the predictable face-off at the end. Unbelievable.
June 3, 2015
Very entertaining page turner!
July 16, 2015
This one was excellent, too!
August 30, 2014
WOW! Very surprise ending, full of suspense and a sad ending.
May 17, 2020
A journalist from the big city returns to her small home town after her father's supposed suicide. Little has changed since her absence and she is welcomed back with open arms by former friends, neighbors and her high school boyfriend. After awhile it becomes apparent that all is not as it appears.
Spindler has filled her story with false starts, twists and turns and a very believable premise and caught my interest from the first page.
Spindler has filled her story with false starts, twists and turns and a very believable premise and caught my interest from the first page.
February 25, 2022
This felt ever so slightly predictable, but was still a good plot. Hard to put down. Four stars.
March 2, 2020
Great story line, and great twists!
January 5, 2025
Pretty shit but it’s what I could get my hands on at the hostel, it’s like a murder mystery but written like a Hallmark movie. Quite terrible but it was nice to read smt so 2 stars for being able to keep my hands busy thank you Erica
January 30, 2012
Perhaps I'm in a rut, but figured the good guy/bad guy thing out pretty early and just waited to see how it would resolve. Girl loves good guy, but is he? Girl also maybe loves bad guy, but is he?
Set in Louisiana, small town, close knit community, journalist comes home to tend to her father's apparent suicide....
Set in Louisiana, small town, close knit community, journalist comes home to tend to her father's apparent suicide....
March 28, 2014
I particularly liked this story as it moved/and flowed very well with interesting characters and lots of secrets. Our curious heroine returning home to resolve her dad's suicide and estate, etc. and hence a deluded mystery to follow. A twist right after another keeps the reader guessing to near the end. Very very good story.
July 18, 2014
My first but not my last Erica Spindler book. Erica is a good story teller. Great I never thought who the killer was until the very end, Could not put the book down. Finished it in the wee hours od the morning
September 10, 2014
In Silence
This is a real page turner it is loaded with suspense,drama,love and of course murders. If you are a Erica Spindler fan you will just love this latest novel. Once again Spindler has done it again.
This is a real page turner it is loaded with suspense,drama,love and of course murders. If you are a Erica Spindler fan you will just love this latest novel. Once again Spindler has done it again.
September 14, 2015
This was my first Erica Spindler novel. I really enjoyed the writing, characters and story line. Overall, a solid entertaining read that kept me wondering till the end. Can't ask for more than that.
October 17, 2007
I really liked this book. It was fast paced, the plot held my interest, and I actually cared what happened to the antagonist.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews