Immediately, author Harlow Andrews sets the scene. Dropping us into a rural, small town, that offers familiar vibes that many readers will instantly feel at home in. That is, until the bodies start piling up.
Candy Baker is the first death. There’s a quiet sense to the meticulous way she’s laid out, with clear thought and skill behind her kill, providing a chilling sight as “The Silent Beneath” kicks off. Candy is a club dancer, a detail that emerges in the investigation and instantly sits heavily with the detective assigned to the case, Detective Erin Calloway. Calloway fears the weight of public opinion will shift as a result of this fact, something she’s all too familiar with as a female herself. Yet, as more women are found dead, positioned and left to be discovered, we can’t help but wonder what is the link? What is the killer’s motivation? And how many more victims must die before the killer is brought to justice?
Offering intermittent glances into the killer’s mind, it is clear the detail, preparation, and planning that has gone into each woman’s death. The stalking and understanding of their habits as the killer keeps pen and paper notes of it all, a paper trail that can’t be hacked, and is easily burned when all is said and done.
Three bodies, all with the same needle marks between the toes, yet Detectives Calloway and Watts seem no closer to finding the killer. But, as they work vehemently to narrow down connections, patterns begin to surface, and domestic violence rises to the forefront.
Andrews embeds readers deeply into the characters present within. Providing flashes of Erin Calloway’s own history while shedding light on domestic violence and the women who escape it, only to wind up in the grips of a serial killer.
“The Silent Beneath” offers an explosive plot as Detective Erin Calloway leads the charge. With secrets of her own, Calloway is more motivated than ever to save these women.
Who in this small town is stealing women and leaving them dead, hidden but not hidden? Detective Calloway finds these women all share some form of disturbing connections, personal history through different agencies. Will Detective Calloway and her partner find the killer or? A very intense read that was fast and furious.