Mute

by Brian Bandell

Mute is a twisting ride that will leave readers speechless. A detective's love for an orphaned girl witness has her turning a blind eye to evidence that could stop a wave of unnatural murders. Mute follows detective Monique "Moni" Williams, who has never lived an easy life-with an abusive ex-con father, a two-timing, pistol-wielding ex-boyfriend and a racist boss-it's hard to see how things could possibly get more difficult for her. After she meets a child that she bonds with, Moni must protect the girl from a mysterious threat stalking everyone near the Indian River Lagoon. A serial killer is on the loose on Florida's Space Coast, and Moni has been put in charge of the key witness in the biggest case of her life: an eight-year-old girl called Mariella. The child has gone mute after losing both her parents one harrowing night. Now, Moni struggles to protect the child and break her silence, while more reports of inexplicable deaths and animals with eerie purple eyes pile up. Her bond with the child is tested by a police force demanding answers. What does the lagoon's rotten stench have to do with a mute little girl? Can Moni save Mariella from what lurks along the water? Who is really facing the most danger? Find out in this suspenseful, page-turner that will keep you guessing until the very end.

390 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2012

About the author

What’s the only subject gorier than murder? Try covering business in Florida during a recession. Brian Bandell is a reporter at The South Florida Business Journal covering real estate. He has won 13 awards from the Florida Press Club, including first place in both business writing and government reporting. He received another 12 awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, including a first place for business enterprise reporting in the Southeast U.S. He received a B.S. in communication from the University of Miami. Brian grew up on Florida's Space Coast.

Reviews

[Dean Lombardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Imaginative, Fast-Paced Sci-Fi Thriller ...

Something murderous is lurking in or near Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, and the key to learning the identity of this killer (or killers) lies in the mind of the police’s only witness—a traumatized eight-year-old girl named Mariella, who suffers from selective mutism following her parents’ decapitation. Taking Mariella into her care is Officer Moni Williams, a victim of abuse herself, who believes she understands what the girl is going through. She doesn’t, and as the rougher cops press the little girl for answers, the death toll mounts, and more strange, mutated things start emerging from the lagoon leaving death in their wake. Lots of death.

Assisting Moni is Aaron, a handsome biology student who has a crush on her. Aaron and his mentor begin to piece together what is turning the lagoon so foul … beyond the human impact. Time and time again, Moni puts her own life on the line to save the little girl while civilians and fellow officers are dismembered by what seems to be an army of mutated lagoon wildlife. To tell you more would spoil an explosive, unexpected ending. Author Brian Bandell’s characters are deeply drawn and convincing, the action and tension are non-stop, and the twists are frightening but fun. Only a few too many hyperboles/similes/metaphors, and a few missed edits by the publisher, stopped me from giving “Mute” a full dose of stars. I recommend this novel for fans of Michael Crichton and Lincoln Child, and especially for fans of John Shirley, to whom I most liken Bandell’s style and substance.