Wall of Silence

by Gabrielle Goldsby

When police detective Foster Everett witnesses the unspeakable, average becomes deadly. A cover up ensues and Foster begins numbing herself with alcohol at a neighbourhood bar. There she meets Riley Meideros, the one person strong enough to hear Foster's painful secret and not turn away.

Genres: Lesbian, Lesbian Fiction, LGBT, Romance, Queer, Fiction, Mystery

289 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Gabrielle Goldsby is the author of several novels including Forward Magazine finalist, Remember Tomorrow, the Lambda Literary Award winning Wall of Silence, and The Caretaker’s Daughter, recipient of the Alice B. Lavender Certificate. A Northern California transplant, Gabrielle currently resides in Portland, Oregon. When not writing, she enjoys reading, camping, hiking, and lifting the heaviest things she can get her hands on.

Reviews

[Alena · Rating 3 out of 5]

First novel I read by Gabrielle Goldsby, and it was a good, entertaining read.

There were several things about this book that were a bit different than your standard lesfic fare. While many cops in the genre are loners and have intimacy/commitment/etc. issues, Foster seems to be spinning towards losing control fast. This is very interesting to read and the narrative captures her personality well. It is written in first person, something that, IMHO, can go very wrong, but here, it works, it allows a glimpse into Foster's brain and her confusion when everything around her crumbles and she has to figure out how to save herself. The cast of secondary characters is diverse, and in one way or another they all serve to show Foster's confusion about who she can trust.

Interwoven with this crime/suspense storyline is romance, seemingly a first for Foster. I admit I could have done without that, were it not for Riley, another intriguing character. The romance takes a backseat to the mystery and all in all they worked together very well.

Towards the end it dragged a bit, usually I enjoy detailed descriptions of investigations, but this was a tad too long, but it picked up speed again towards the very end.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because years ago I’d read it for free online, and the story stuck with me. It was romantic suspense, and a little darker than I normally like, and features a lesbian couple. My love for trope-ridden male/male romance is legendary, so I figured it was time I read a bit more lesbian fiction to balance the scales.

The story holds up very well. Foster, our first-person heroine, gets herself caught up in the middle of a situation that is rapidly getting out of control, involving crooked cops and lots of dead bodies. Quite frankly, she has no idea how to cope. Enter Riley, who is sweetness personified, and acts as a lovely foil for Foster. She’s also a big, bulked-up amazon, which I liked.

Both the mystery and the romance were well-done. I liked the fact that neither Foster nor Riley entirely fit the mold of a romance heroine. Foster in particular is really flawed in a way I found believable.

There is violence, and there is sex. The sex descriptions were typical of most romance novels I’ve read, and the violence is mostly not protracted, though there’s a scene toward the end that was fairly awful.

I’m not much of a mystery reader, nor do i read romantic suspense, but I really liked this book, and recommend it for anyone looking for something different from the usual fare.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thin Blue Line at its most dysfunctional

“The weird thing was, I was wanted for murder, had no money to speak of, was in hiding, had even gone out of my way to disguise myself, and all that aside, I was happier than I had been in years.”
+ • + • + • +

This is an exciting, entertaining, engaging & emotional story with characters that are so authentic they truly become like real people that live in your world & a compelling & captivating plot lines that draws you in so effortlessly & subtly without you even noticing you're totally riveted.

+ • + • + • +
“All of my life I had been telling people that I didn’t need anyone. Going out of my way to push people away, even holding my own father at arm’s length, for fear I would become tied down. But the real truth of the matter was I didn’t want them to leave me. Being left alone and being alone because you choose to be alone are two different things.”
+ • + • + • +

[Sine Timore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Empezó siendo una buena historia pero con el paso de las páginas cada vez se volvió más aburrida. El inicio de los personajes era bueno pero el caso en sí me resultó demasiado soso. No me enganchó y eso hizo que dejara el libro apartado durante unas semanas hasta que volví a retomarlo para acabar con la historia. Para pasar el rato.

[Jesalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn into this story by the characters who were flawed and believeable. The chase and who dunnit of the story keep it moving. I would have liked a little more romance but considering the main character's personality, it takes a back seat. The author writes as if you are sitting having conversation as opposed to listening to a story, I love that!

[Alealea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is quite the unbalanced mystery. First chapters are a mess like the main character.

The whole thing is hard to believe for the three quarters of the book and I had too push myself to reach the moment where it switch from ok read to interesting but at that point you had to swallow quite a lot of inconsistencies.

[Debra Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

I really liked this story. Cops, bad guys and romance, all rolled into one. I look forward to other stories by this author.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

honestly not what i was expecting after reading the blurb for this

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It was alright but I lost interest pretty quickly, just didn’t really capture my focus. But I did enjoy the premise of it.

[Linda Strong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detective Foster Everett has a secret and it's tearing her apart. She and her partner go to arrest a child molester and Foster absolutely loses it. Coming to her senses, her partner informs her that she's killed the man... but she doesn't remember hitting him that hard. And thus the entire ordeal becomes a cover-up.

But this is one secret that won't remain hidden long. Her partner bends under the scrutiny and drives his car off a cliff. Suicide ... or was he murdered?

It's when the very cops she works with try to arrest her she knows it's time to run. Confiding to a new friend, Riley, Foster swears she's going to uncover the truth. But someone is bound and determined to silence them both.


The story premise was good. But it seems like the whole middle of the book was the back and forth between Foster and Riley. Fighting their attraction .... giving in to the attraction...learning what made each tick. None of it rang true for me. They're on the road .. no money ... looking for a safe house. Knowing that someone is out to kill them to protect themselves ..and not knowing what the truth is.

I didn't connect with any of the characters. Foster comes across as a badass, tough broad, drinking too much and showing that she's as good as any man even when it wasn't called for. Riley is an amazon of a woman, but she's so soft and hurt mentally easily although she's working as a security guard/bouncer.