Silent Witness: A Novel

by Amy Maida Wadsworth

Accidents happen. But Tony Rodriguez's death wasn't an accident, it was murder. Clues to the crime lay hidden in the journal that was in the back seat of Tony's crumpled car. Now, months after the tragedy, the book remains unopened and neatly wrapped, just as it was when Becca James gave it to her friend Annette, Tony's widow.

Annette has moved away to be near family and get on with her life. She believes she may have even found love again. And Becca would like to forget the night when she saw Tony struggling to survive. However, a series of unusual events in both Becca's and Annette's lives suggest that Tony's death was intentional, and they must uncover the truth. But the closer the pair comes to learning what really happened, the closer they are to becoming the next victims of a murderous conspiracy.

Genres: Lds Fiction, Adult Fiction, Mystery

262 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2004

About the author

Amy has wanted to be a writer since she was just big enough to pick up the family typewriter and lug it to the kitchen table. She was obsessed with Nancy Drew when she was in first grade, and has pursued the fanciful ever since. Amy published three books in the LDS market, and is currently working on a childrens' novel, a sci fi novel, and another LDS novel--they are racing to see which gets finished first. Amy also teaches creative writing to fifth and sixth graders and frequently works as a writing coach.

Reviews

[Tamra Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this out from the library as a audio book because I liked the sound of the mystery, but was surprised to find that it was an LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) mystery novel.

I thought that LDS novels could be a bit cheesey, and this one was a bit, but I found myself enjoying that perspective of how other LDS people deal with real every-day problems and how they might put the gospel in action. I found myself liking it more than I thought.

[Lynda Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprises along the way. Keeps you moving along.

[Krista Rowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 13
Annette just found out hat her husband was killed. Or was it murdered? Tony was her husband and he loved to write in his journals! He even wrote about the person that killed him. Well he knew him but he didn't know that he would kill him. Annette moves back home close to her mom and so she has family around. She meets a new guy and they fall in love. Her son is friends with Phillip's son also so that was good.

Some figurative language was "Her eyes are as green as Oak leaves." He eyes must be really green then. "She smelt clean and smooth like lavender." She must have just taken a shower to smell that clean. "She smiled at his simple sentence structure." He must be a really good talker. " Pat was like an ice cube bitter and cold. She is just hard to break and convince. " Cradling a fern like a baby in a hammock." So he was very caring of the fern.

I loved this book. It was really good book because of the romance. I didn't like how she had baby sat his kids before they fell in love. But what I liked about it was that his son was friends with her son and so they liked to have each other as step brothers. Pat is Annette's mother her dad left them and so it was really hard on Pat. I liked how it showed how Annette had to do what her mom did sort of.

[T.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fairly well-written and difficult to put down. The villian isn't much of a mystery, but the plot has some excellent twists that took me off guard. The narration jumps from character to character which gives it a bit of a disjointed feel, and occasionally the author throws in superfluous detail that appears to be weak plot devices (but they're not). That said, I did quite enjoy it and would give it 3.5 stars if that were an option.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six months after her husband's death, Annette moves her family to Choice, Utah where she grew up. We meet Annette's estranged mother, as well as Annette's past and future--David Anderson. I really liked reading the character's thoughts at the beginning of the chapter. You can never run away or hide the truth!

[Hollie Robb · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was bored though out the book. I think that it was supposed to be a gripping mystery that keeps you at the edge of your seat. There was twist and turns was in the book that did surprise me a little, but not enough.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

she always have you look at the other persons side of the story. I love it. So down home conversation.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent mystery, again an audio book on a trip. Much more appropriate that Honeymoon

[ScrappyDiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Latter-Day Saint Suspense

[Shaundell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suspense LDS fiction. Quite a few disjointed places and wish that the author had more character description and depth. Overall, pretty good.

[Sarah Grass · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly well-written, but LDS fiction is not my favorite genre.