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The Silent Prodigy
Every brilliant person comes with problems. Even if that brilliant person is a child.
At least, it seems that way for Nathan. All he wanted was a perfect family. Is that too much to ask?
But instead of a perfect child, he got Cassie. She's a genius, sure, but she's not what he wanted. He doesn't care that she's a virtuoso on the violin or doing college level work at ten. She doesn't speak. Ever. To anyone.
And Nathan knows that that means there's something wrong with her. No matter what his wife says, he has to do something about his daughter.
He'll do anything to keep up the façade of having a perfect family, even if that means getting rid of Cassie. Someone has to stop him, but how will anyone know what's going on if Cassie can't tell them?
Having the perfect family just turned into a matter of life or death.
At least, it seems that way for Nathan. All he wanted was a perfect family. Is that too much to ask?
But instead of a perfect child, he got Cassie. She's a genius, sure, but she's not what he wanted. He doesn't care that she's a virtuoso on the violin or doing college level work at ten. She doesn't speak. Ever. To anyone.
And Nathan knows that that means there's something wrong with her. No matter what his wife says, he has to do something about his daughter.
He'll do anything to keep up the façade of having a perfect family, even if that means getting rid of Cassie. Someone has to stop him, but how will anyone know what's going on if Cassie can't tell them?
Having the perfect family just turned into a matter of life or death.
Audible Audio
First published June 20, 2021
About the author
Emily Shiner
46 books1,111 followersEmily lives in the mountains of North Carolina and loves hiking with her dogs--only when she's not thinking up twisted tales, that is. She loves books that keep you up long after you should be in bed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
January 25, 2025
I couldn’t relate to any of the characters, with their horrible way of looking at the world or complete naivity. It was simply ridiculous.
July 21, 2022
Fairly good book but the ending was a let down. I’m so confused and maybe I missed this but can someone please explain the last chapter of the book? Who died from cancer? Who is the cardiac doctor Dr Greg Bennett, Cherry and Lyla? I feel like the ending is from a different book.
August 30, 2022
Trigger warnings for abusing a child with a disability.
Other warnings: implausibility, plot holes, repetition, and more repetition.
Nathan's daughter Cassie is a 10-year-old violin virtuoso with a disability. His daughter has not uttered one word in 10 years.
All Nathan ever wanted was a perfect family.
And since his daughter is unable to speak, Nathan has deemed his family imperfect.
Nathan hates Cassie and Cassie hates Nathan.
This book is a cat/mouse "battle of the wits" drama between Nathan and Cassie.
Nathan is scheming to "get rid of" Cassie, and Cassie is plotting to do the same to Nathan.
Readers learn that Nathan was a renowned doctor /psychologist (perhaps he had a Ph.D. in psychology?) and, therefore, it was difficult to believe that Nathan would lack empathy/understanding for his daughter's disability.
I listened to the audiobook read by Karen Peakes, one of my favorite female narrators. Karen Peakes did a fabulous job with the narration.
In spite of this book's many flaws, I was intrigued and engaged. I wanted to know the victor of the Nathan/Cassie battle.
2.5 stars rounded up.
Other warnings: implausibility, plot holes, repetition, and more repetition.
Nathan's daughter Cassie is a 10-year-old violin virtuoso with a disability. His daughter has not uttered one word in 10 years.
All Nathan ever wanted was a perfect family.
And since his daughter is unable to speak, Nathan has deemed his family imperfect.
Nathan hates Cassie and Cassie hates Nathan.
This book is a cat/mouse "battle of the wits" drama between Nathan and Cassie.
Nathan is scheming to "get rid of" Cassie, and Cassie is plotting to do the same to Nathan.
Readers learn that Nathan was a renowned doctor /psychologist (perhaps he had a Ph.D. in psychology?) and, therefore, it was difficult to believe that Nathan would lack empathy/understanding for his daughter's disability.
I listened to the audiobook read by Karen Peakes, one of my favorite female narrators. Karen Peakes did a fabulous job with the narration.
In spite of this book's many flaws, I was intrigued and engaged. I wanted to know the victor of the Nathan/Cassie battle.
2.5 stars rounded up.
April 21, 2023
Good plot. Kept me interested but I was expecting more. Many loose ends regarding Cassie’s condition, why she never spoke although physically able to. That was never explained. It was understood that she never spoke from birth but apparently it was deliberate. The ending was totally confusing. No idea who the 2 doctors were at the end or what they had to do with the story. It seemed like that last part was from a totally different book
January 10, 2024
The last chapter made zero sense and I’m very confused 🤷🏻♀️
October 19, 2023
EDIT: I begrudgingly finished this today and my review stands, with some additions. 1) Cassie is also insufferable. 2) WTF happened at the end? It was as if the last part of the book was a completely different story with different people. It made absolutely no sense. This book was hot garbage.
ORIGINAL: I’m only halfway through the audiobook but the adults are all insufferable. The story is told from several different POVs and they are all. so. repetitive. The author really has a talent for saying the same thing multiple different ways. I really hope the twist will be good enough to overlook that. Another thing that drove me crazy about this book - all the mentions of beer are clearly written by someone who has literally never drank beer in their life but wants to sound cool - like when someone who never cusses tries to cuss. It sounds awkward and it was near constant.
ORIGINAL: I’m only halfway through the audiobook but the adults are all insufferable. The story is told from several different POVs and they are all. so. repetitive. The author really has a talent for saying the same thing multiple different ways. I really hope the twist will be good enough to overlook that. Another thing that drove me crazy about this book - all the mentions of beer are clearly written by someone who has literally never drank beer in their life but wants to sound cool - like when someone who never cusses tries to cuss. It sounds awkward and it was near constant.
December 31, 2022
3.5 stars
This book was a pretty good thriller. The author did a VERY good job of making me HATE the dad character. I loathed him. What a selfish prick. I was quite satisfied with how his story wrapped up.
But.
There were a lot of questions that didn't get answered for me. How old is Cassie? A lot of the things she did seemed to be too advanced for a 10(?) year old? When did the mom come back at the end? This might have been answered in the text, as I was listening at work and I may have missed that bit. Who in the heck are the doctors in the last chapter? How do they connect with the story I just listened to?
This book was a pretty good thriller. The author did a VERY good job of making me HATE the dad character. I loathed him. What a selfish prick. I was quite satisfied with how his story wrapped up.
But.
There were a lot of questions that didn't get answered for me. How old is Cassie? A lot of the things she did seemed to be too advanced for a 10(?) year old? When did the mom come back at the end? This might have been answered in the text, as I was listening at work and I may have missed that bit. Who in the heck are the doctors in the last chapter? How do they connect with the story I just listened to?
July 11, 2023
Weird but entertaining.
October 4, 2021
This wasn't a bad book. Maybe 3 1/2 stars. I will read others by this author since they are on kindle unlimited. Cassie is smart and a musical prodigy, but the problem is that, at 7 years old she doesn't speak and never has. While her mom desperately wishes she would and connects with her anyway, her father can't stand to be around her and is sick of pretending. He secretly hires a disgraced doctor to start seeing Cassie with the intent of committing Cassie to an institution. He doesn't foresee the doctor possibly also connecting with Cassie. Things come to a head one weekend when the mother has to go out of town leaving the father and daughter alone, hating each other, both scheming. There were a couple of plot holes, and the book was somewhat repetitive, but it was still pretty good and quick to read.
January 15, 2024
What in the actual heck did I just listen to?! The repetition of the information was over the top. We get it! Both the daughter and the father want to kill each other off in order to have the unending love of the mother. We didn’t need to hear it a million times. And the ending was abrupt. The audiobook had a whole epilogue that had nothing to do with the story itself. I’m assuming it was from another book. Worst book I’ve read. Will not be reading anymore from her. What a waste of my time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2021
A good read that badly needs proofreading!
Good book, badly in need of a final proofreading. The title page actually reads "The Silent Prodity". Good grief! And that's just for beginners. The errors are widespread throughout the book. Too bad, because it was a good read! Just not ready to publish in this form.
Good book, badly in need of a final proofreading. The title page actually reads "The Silent Prodity". Good grief! And that's just for beginners. The errors are widespread throughout the book. Too bad, because it was a good read! Just not ready to publish in this form.
March 28, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I dunno - I kinda got into this book, but it felt very amateurish. The mute girl kills her dad (who deserves it) and doctor (probably deserves it) at the end….but then there is another ending about some other doctor and it makes absolutely no sense. I don’t necessarily mind an ambiguous ending, but I think a chapter of a different book got inserted here. [audiobook from library]
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2025
It wasn’t bad. For a bit I was liking it. But the characters were underdeveloped, Nathan was such a boring narcissist, and it just felt thin.
Plus, I listened to it on Libby and the last chapter is just a completely different book? No segue, no narration… just dives into a new book. It was jarring and confusing.
I don’t know, I guess 4/10
Plus, I listened to it on Libby and the last chapter is just a completely different book? No segue, no narration… just dives into a new book. It was jarring and confusing.
I don’t know, I guess 4/10
July 22, 2021
I really enjoyed this book, but I was annoyed by the amount of spelling errors, grammatical errors and missing/repeated words. I did report them on my kindle so that hopefully they will be edited out.
February 4, 2022
I really loved this book. But a few things like the hike repeated and I found that to be annoying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2024
I really loved this book. Not very long - kind of wish it was longer… more info. I do think the audiobook has a wrong chapter at the end. Wish I could get my hands on a paperback copy
September 20, 2026
Insufferable ass characters, that's all!
June 28, 2026
Not for me. DNF.
September 7, 2026
Audio version
Run time: 6:11:33
Narrator: Karen Peakes
TW: child abuse—heavy child abuse, alcoholism (though it really turned comical and painfully stupid), controlling spouse/parent, neglect, verbal DV with seclusion
This book was incredibly repetitive. I agree with other reviewers, this could’ve been a short story had it been edited and omitted the constant repetition.
Told from four POV—the father, the mother, the child, another dr.
An arrogant psychologist father wants to be rid of his 10 yr old daughter who will not speak despite being a child prodigy on violin and exceptionally smart in bookwork. Naive, blind mother can’t or won’t see the abuse, alcoholism, arrogance, or the fact that there’s a million issues. Child has her father’s arrogance. Everyone decisions are self serving and deplorable. Everyone is negative and hateful.
Every other page we have to hear how the father/daughter used to go on hikes and loved them (per the mother, doesn’t sound like they went on more than one nor enjoyed), but the father refused to give her water and the little girl threw her shoes away. Every. Other. Page. Then every other line we hear about him loving beer/having beer in his garage fridge, having more beer, being drunk on beer, getting a beer….sandwiched by how much he hates his kid, wants to be rid of her, how she ruined his life. Then you repeat all this from the mothers POV (about her only POV), the fathers POV, the kids POV. This was 98% of the book.
The entire beer reference didn’t make the father sound more “baddy” or abusive to me. It sounded stupid. It sounded like the author has never been around beer or a drinker in their life and was trying to force an alcoholic storyline to make the character and setting more tough and abusive, but instead made it so repetitive and stupid it was just annoying and grating.
The plot holes and errors abound. This felt very unpolished and clearly lacked an editor. So many things, like her “music communication” or the fact a psychologist has a practice with a secretary but no patients, were touched on but never developed, explained or thought out. This really could’ve benefited from an editor and a few extra drafts.
The characters are all insufferable and unlikable. Even the little girl. They’re very flat characters with no development. Repeating their thoughts on the above isn’t development, it’s lazy writing. This falls to the trope of making all mental health workers evil, narcissistic, bad guys. Also lazy. Typical bad guy father/narcissistic psychologist. Typical blind to all the abuse, naive, unwilling to protect her kid or herself mother. Typical arrogant, narcissistic just like her dad child. Typical side character who is bad guys with too late conscience and still a narcissistic, out for himself mental health worker.
The ending is flat and seen before the book even started. There was no grand reveal or twist. So if you’re on the fence reading waiting for it to happen, don’t hold your breath.
The last chapter of the book is listed as “Cassie” which is the little girl’s name yet it appears to be a chapter from a different book per other reviews. It’s not listed as an excerpt. It’s listed as “Cassie” and follows the very flat ending where nothing surrounding Cassie’s refusal to speak is resolved and just abruptly ends with her walking back her house. Again, the author really needed to utilize an editor and proof her own work at least once to catch such glaring, embarrassing mistakes.
The narration was ok. I cannot say I’d listen to this narrator again. This was also a very stereotypical performance of a woman trying to make her voice 8 octaves deeper for the male parts and the end result is just grating to hear and sounds farcical. Some voices weren’t consistent throughout either. She did a great job with Cassie and didn’t try to force a little kid voice which was appreciated after listening to the male parts. She did well with the idiotic mother in making her cluelessness and ignorance shine. When narrators try to force a deep voice to sound masculine, to me it takes me out of the story and shows they do not have good voice range to perform a story with multiple POV. It was very subpar narration to match the quality of the book.
Do not recommend. The synopsis sounded vastly more interesting than the book and really could’ve sufficed for length once the repetition was removed.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CHARACTER INFO:
The mother is the typical “but he loves her. They just need to bond” blind to the abuse mother. She refuses to see it yet constantly notes how strong she is for “standing up to him for her daughter.” It was disgusting. After she hears of the abuse on the hike from her husband she continue to push them to go hiking again. After she hears things he says to the little girl she leaves them alone and leaves town?
The father is a typical arrogant, abusive, controlling, hateful mental healthcare worker which is also lazy. He’s narcissistic and selfish and hates his kid. Not just because she doesn’t speak, but she takes the wife’s time away from him, they can’t travel, his wife complains about his beer because of the kid. He wants what he wants and everyone else be damned.
The little girl is unfortunately just like her father as far as narcissistic and arrogant. There is never a reason given for why she doesn’t speak or won’t. There’s no resolution to her lack of speaking either yet we’re repeatedly told she “communicates” through her music. This is repeated ad nauseam but never explained how she does. All the reader can tell is the kid plays violin well.
Dr. Harris (I believe his name, the repetition was so bad I never felt vested in the story just bored and once it ended, names were forgotten) is a typical shady, washed up dr. He has no patients and no money (spends his last cash at the bar), yet he maintains an office and a secretary? Typical bad guy with conscience but still a narcissistic mental health worker out for himself.
Run time: 6:11:33
Narrator: Karen Peakes
TW: child abuse—heavy child abuse, alcoholism (though it really turned comical and painfully stupid), controlling spouse/parent, neglect, verbal DV with seclusion
This book was incredibly repetitive. I agree with other reviewers, this could’ve been a short story had it been edited and omitted the constant repetition.
Told from four POV—the father, the mother, the child, another dr.
An arrogant psychologist father wants to be rid of his 10 yr old daughter who will not speak despite being a child prodigy on violin and exceptionally smart in bookwork. Naive, blind mother can’t or won’t see the abuse, alcoholism, arrogance, or the fact that there’s a million issues. Child has her father’s arrogance. Everyone decisions are self serving and deplorable. Everyone is negative and hateful.
Every other page we have to hear how the father/daughter used to go on hikes and loved them (per the mother, doesn’t sound like they went on more than one nor enjoyed), but the father refused to give her water and the little girl threw her shoes away. Every. Other. Page. Then every other line we hear about him loving beer/having beer in his garage fridge, having more beer, being drunk on beer, getting a beer….sandwiched by how much he hates his kid, wants to be rid of her, how she ruined his life. Then you repeat all this from the mothers POV (about her only POV), the fathers POV, the kids POV. This was 98% of the book.
The entire beer reference didn’t make the father sound more “baddy” or abusive to me. It sounded stupid. It sounded like the author has never been around beer or a drinker in their life and was trying to force an alcoholic storyline to make the character and setting more tough and abusive, but instead made it so repetitive and stupid it was just annoying and grating.
The plot holes and errors abound. This felt very unpolished and clearly lacked an editor. So many things, like her “music communication” or the fact a psychologist has a practice with a secretary but no patients, were touched on but never developed, explained or thought out. This really could’ve benefited from an editor and a few extra drafts.
The characters are all insufferable and unlikable. Even the little girl. They’re very flat characters with no development. Repeating their thoughts on the above isn’t development, it’s lazy writing. This falls to the trope of making all mental health workers evil, narcissistic, bad guys. Also lazy. Typical bad guy father/narcissistic psychologist. Typical blind to all the abuse, naive, unwilling to protect her kid or herself mother. Typical arrogant, narcissistic just like her dad child. Typical side character who is bad guys with too late conscience and still a narcissistic, out for himself mental health worker.
The ending is flat and seen before the book even started. There was no grand reveal or twist. So if you’re on the fence reading waiting for it to happen, don’t hold your breath.
The last chapter of the book is listed as “Cassie” which is the little girl’s name yet it appears to be a chapter from a different book per other reviews. It’s not listed as an excerpt. It’s listed as “Cassie” and follows the very flat ending where nothing surrounding Cassie’s refusal to speak is resolved and just abruptly ends with her walking back her house. Again, the author really needed to utilize an editor and proof her own work at least once to catch such glaring, embarrassing mistakes.
The narration was ok. I cannot say I’d listen to this narrator again. This was also a very stereotypical performance of a woman trying to make her voice 8 octaves deeper for the male parts and the end result is just grating to hear and sounds farcical. Some voices weren’t consistent throughout either. She did a great job with Cassie and didn’t try to force a little kid voice which was appreciated after listening to the male parts. She did well with the idiotic mother in making her cluelessness and ignorance shine. When narrators try to force a deep voice to sound masculine, to me it takes me out of the story and shows they do not have good voice range to perform a story with multiple POV. It was very subpar narration to match the quality of the book.
Do not recommend. The synopsis sounded vastly more interesting than the book and really could’ve sufficed for length once the repetition was removed.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CHARACTER INFO:
The mother is the typical “but he loves her. They just need to bond” blind to the abuse mother. She refuses to see it yet constantly notes how strong she is for “standing up to him for her daughter.” It was disgusting. After she hears of the abuse on the hike from her husband she continue to push them to go hiking again. After she hears things he says to the little girl she leaves them alone and leaves town?
The father is a typical arrogant, abusive, controlling, hateful mental healthcare worker which is also lazy. He’s narcissistic and selfish and hates his kid. Not just because she doesn’t speak, but she takes the wife’s time away from him, they can’t travel, his wife complains about his beer because of the kid. He wants what he wants and everyone else be damned.
The little girl is unfortunately just like her father as far as narcissistic and arrogant. There is never a reason given for why she doesn’t speak or won’t. There’s no resolution to her lack of speaking either yet we’re repeatedly told she “communicates” through her music. This is repeated ad nauseam but never explained how she does. All the reader can tell is the kid plays violin well.
Dr. Harris (I believe his name, the repetition was so bad I never felt vested in the story just bored and once it ended, names were forgotten) is a typical shady, washed up dr. He has no patients and no money (spends his last cash at the bar), yet he maintains an office and a secretary? Typical bad guy with conscience but still a narcissistic mental health worker out for himself.
March 4, 2025
This wasn’t good, it kinda held my interest, but my mind kept wondering. It seemed very amateurish?? There didn’t seem to be like a medical reason Cassie didn’t talk. The ending was ridiculous and the last “chapter” or epilogue of the audiobook had nothing to do with this story at all. Seeing other’s comments, it appears to be a chapter from a whole different book.
August 30, 2025
I wouldn’t waste your time on this one. The ending was weak, with a random excerpt from another book thrown in without any warning—it felt sloppy and out of place. The characters were frustratingly flat and, honestly, dense. On top of that, this is now the second book I’ve read by this author where mental health professionals are portrayed as outright villains, which feels tired and unnecessary.
March 29, 2023
95% of the book was excellent! However, the end of the book fell flat! When a book is a, standalone, there should not be questions at the end. You should have all your questions answered by the time you turn the last page, this is not the case with this book. I was a little disappointed.
March 14, 2025
The story was okay I think, it kept me entertained until the end. But there were a few things I just didn't get and/or made NO sense (maybe I just missed some while listening to the audio book):
**-- massive *SPOILER* from here --**
Tbh, I did not like ANY of the characters.
Again, I felt entertained until the end (for whatever reason [don't ask]). But I'm glad the audio book was free of charge. There's another book by this author on my TBR list and I'm hoping it will be much better than this half-finished book.
**-- massive *SPOILER* from here --**
Tbh, I did not like ANY of the characters.
Again, I felt entertained until the end (for whatever reason [don't ask]). But I'm glad the audio book was free of charge. There's another book by this author on my TBR list and I'm hoping it will be much better than this half-finished book.
July 24, 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Silent Prodigy by Emily Shiner is a nerve-tingling, chillingly frustrating psychological thriller about ambitious expectations and harsh reality!
I loved it! It was original! There were some good twists but the ending left with the questions. I believe that I needed an epilogue to wrap up the story. It felt unfinished for me.
All that Nathan wanted was a perfect family. His family! He as a successful psychologist must maintain a perfect image and this means a perfect family!
When Cassie was born he thought the picture was completed but unfortunately, life had different plans. Cassie is a smart and extremely talented violinist, but the problem is that at 7 years old she doesn't speak, she never has. Nathan is losing his mind to understand why Cassie does not speak. Instead of dealing with the situation, he will hide in the garage and drink.
Vanessa can see the true talent of her daughter and can't understand why Nathan gets so frustrated. She finds a way to communicate with Cassie without the words and looks like this is something that Nathan can't accept so he comes up with a plan.
The Silent Prodigy by Emily Shiner is a nerve-tingling, chillingly frustrating psychological thriller about ambitious expectations and harsh reality!
I loved it! It was original! There were some good twists but the ending left with the questions. I believe that I needed an epilogue to wrap up the story. It felt unfinished for me.
All that Nathan wanted was a perfect family. His family! He as a successful psychologist must maintain a perfect image and this means a perfect family!
When Cassie was born he thought the picture was completed but unfortunately, life had different plans. Cassie is a smart and extremely talented violinist, but the problem is that at 7 years old she doesn't speak, she never has. Nathan is losing his mind to understand why Cassie does not speak. Instead of dealing with the situation, he will hide in the garage and drink.
Vanessa can see the true talent of her daughter and can't understand why Nathan gets so frustrated. She finds a way to communicate with Cassie without the words and looks like this is something that Nathan can't accept so he comes up with a plan.
August 31, 2025
Wow, I have read books with some messed up plotlines, but this one is at the top of the list! I honestly don't know if I've ever hated a character as much in a thriller book as I did Nathan. Once you start reading, you'll see why.
Psychologist Nathan thinks he has the perfect life - a beautiful wife, Vanessa, and a perfect daughter, Cassie. Until Cassie turns out not to be perfect. Cassie is mute. Yes, she's also brilliant and a true virtuoso on the violin. And therefore, Cassie is not perfect, and Nathan blames her for standing in his way of having the picture perfect life - and Nathan will stop at nothing to get everything he thinks he deserves from life.
Nathan is one of the most evil characters I have ever encountered in a book. As a special education teacher, I really became attached to Cassie's character and crossed my fingers that Nathan wouldn't get away with his diabolical plans. I loved that some chapters were told from Cassie's point of view so we could really see into her mind since she doesn't speak to the other characters.
This book was great and I was so mad reading it at times! (But in a good way!) Definitely add this to your TBR pile!
Psychologist Nathan thinks he has the perfect life - a beautiful wife, Vanessa, and a perfect daughter, Cassie. Until Cassie turns out not to be perfect. Cassie is mute. Yes, she's also brilliant and a true virtuoso on the violin. And therefore, Cassie is not perfect, and Nathan blames her for standing in his way of having the picture perfect life - and Nathan will stop at nothing to get everything he thinks he deserves from life.
Nathan is one of the most evil characters I have ever encountered in a book. As a special education teacher, I really became attached to Cassie's character and crossed my fingers that Nathan wouldn't get away with his diabolical plans. I loved that some chapters were told from Cassie's point of view so we could really see into her mind since she doesn't speak to the other characters.
This book was great and I was so mad reading it at times! (But in a good way!) Definitely add this to your TBR pile!
February 2, 2023
4.5 stars
This is by far my favourite book by @authoremilyshiner. I just couldn't put this book because I needed to know what was happening, and I finished it in just one day! I was very excited to read this, but wanted to wait to get to it, and I was not disappointed at all.
Cassie is a prodigy, but the only problem is that she doesn't talk - she never has. Where her mother is fine with this and has found a way to communicate, her father thinks that she is stupid and faulty and doesn't want her in his life anymore.
This book is full of twists and turns, and shocking secrets are revealed with each chapter. My only gripe is that there are a lot of grammar errors such as missing quotation marks, quotations were they aren't needed, and commas misplaced. If these weren't so regular and prominent, it would definitely be a five-star read.
This is by far my favourite book by @authoremilyshiner. I just couldn't put this book because I needed to know what was happening, and I finished it in just one day! I was very excited to read this, but wanted to wait to get to it, and I was not disappointed at all.
Cassie is a prodigy, but the only problem is that she doesn't talk - she never has. Where her mother is fine with this and has found a way to communicate, her father thinks that she is stupid and faulty and doesn't want her in his life anymore.
This book is full of twists and turns, and shocking secrets are revealed with each chapter. My only gripe is that there are a lot of grammar errors such as missing quotation marks, quotations were they aren't needed, and commas misplaced. If these weren't so regular and prominent, it would definitely be a five-star read.
April 30, 2026
The novel started with a solid and engaging storyline but eventually took an unexpected and somewhat confusing turn. The father’s determination to get rid of his only daughter because she knew his secret felt intense, yet the story never clearly reveals what that secret actually was, leaving an important gap in the plot. I also would have appreciated seeing a moment where the daughter finally speaks with her mother—it felt like a missed opportunity for emotional closure.
Overall, the ending didn’t feel fully developed. An epilogue might have helped tie up loose ends and provide a more satisfying conclusion. Instead, the book closes with an extended prologue that seems to introduce another story, presumably for a future book by the author, which made the ending feel incomplete.
Overall, the ending didn’t feel fully developed. An epilogue might have helped tie up loose ends and provide a more satisfying conclusion. Instead, the book closes with an extended prologue that seems to introduce another story, presumably for a future book by the author, which made the ending feel incomplete.
November 21, 2023
While I enjoyed the story, I wish there was more. Why does Cassie not speak? Where did the hatred of her father originate? I was hoping for some closure with the epilogue but as many others have mentioned, it appears to be from another book. There are no apparent ties to the main story. I came straight to Good Reads once I was done to see if I had missed something. It was an okay listen but there was so much more potential with this story.
Edited to add; after some research it appears that the "epilogue" is the 1st chapter from another book. Even with that being said, I still wish there was more of an explanation of the ending. I feel like there are too many unanswered questions.
Edited to add; after some research it appears that the "epilogue" is the 1st chapter from another book. Even with that being said, I still wish there was more of an explanation of the ending. I feel like there are too many unanswered questions.
August 19, 2021
Different
I struggled between giving 4 or 5 stars. This is a good story. The book is well written for the most part. But it repeats itself too much. I understood how Nathan felt about his mute daughter. I knew he hid in the garage and drank. I didn’t need that repeated endlessly. There weren’t any unexpected twists. It was pretty straightforward and somewhat predictable. I liked Cassie. I wish I could know how she grew up. A serial killer. Or did she get better with time. Easy read. Interesting.
I struggled between giving 4 or 5 stars. This is a good story. The book is well written for the most part. But it repeats itself too much. I understood how Nathan felt about his mute daughter. I knew he hid in the garage and drank. I didn’t need that repeated endlessly. There weren’t any unexpected twists. It was pretty straightforward and somewhat predictable. I liked Cassie. I wish I could know how she grew up. A serial killer. Or did she get better with time. Easy read. Interesting.
April 12, 2024
Boring. I almost DNF a few times but I wanted to see where it was going. The father was extremely over the top with his disliking of his daughter. So many questions were left unanswered and there was no twist in sight. I think the end is from another book because it made no sense whatsoever. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was good. Don’t recommend.
Realized the end was from the beginning of this book (below). Maybe the author wanted to promote it? It was confusing how it was included.
The Good Teacher: A Gripping Domestic Thriller https://a.co/d/eFreF2X
Realized the end was from the beginning of this book (below). Maybe the author wanted to promote it? It was confusing how it was included.
The Good Teacher: A Gripping Domestic Thriller https://a.co/d/eFreF2X
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