Right to Remain Silent

Connor Westphal #3

by Penny Warner

Connor Westphal is drawn into another mystery in Flat Skunk when the local historian dies, is resurrected, and dies again! Hot on the story of this unexpected event, Connor stumbles across the murdered woman's son, a deaf man who has been misdiagnosed for years. Working to clear his name for his mother's murder turns out to be more than she bargains for. Staying one step ahead of the killer, locating a missing will, and getting out her weekly paper are all just part of a day's work for amateur sleuth Connor Westphal in the third book of this popular series by Penny Warner.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Penny Warner is an award-winning author of over sixty books, including DEAD BODY LANGUAGE mystery series (Macavity winner), HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY series, and the upcoming Food Festival series. Her middle-grade mystery, THE CODE BUSTERS CLUB, won the Agatha Award for Best Children's Mystery.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The town busybody is dead! Or is she? She may be alive, but she dies again real soon.

Her deaf son is the main suspect. He had a hard life because they didn't learn he was deaf until he was too old to really learn to speak, or even learn ASL.

Connor doubts this thesis and goes on to investigate.

A very strong mystery. Too bad Warner doesn't seem to be writing anymore.

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sparkle Bodie was declared dead, but then came back to life at the funeral home. She’s rushed to the hospital where she dies for real – smothered by a pillow. The sheriff thinks that Sparkle’s son, Caleb, is responsible for her murder – the son that is deaf and has had very little interaction with anyone else. Connor is asked by Sparkle’s other son to try to communicate with his brother and find out what really happened. That is proving to be a challenge even before someone lets Caleb out of jail. Can she prove he is innocent?

This is a strong third book in the series. Connor being deaf herself makes her a unique main character, but I love how she navigates life. The other characters, series regulars or suspects, are strong and help make the book compelling. The mystery contains enough red herrings to keep me guessing. I did feel the climax was a bit convoluted at first, but the more Connor explained things, the more it made sense. The paperback originally came out in the late 1990’s, so there are some dated elements in the book, and since that’s what I read, I don’t know if the ebook was updated. As long as you know that going in, you should be okay. There’s a smattering of foul language, but this is worth noting in passing. I’m glad I’m finally reading about Connor and am hoping I can continue the series soon.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

I quite like this light hearted series. Small town newswoman Connor Westphal is deaf which makes all the usual misunderstandings that mysteries pivot on believable. This is the third in the series; it has a good mysterious plot where no strands are left unresolved and mostly real sounding characters. Requisite bits of dumb detective stumbling into danger though.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! I love Connor Westphal and her friends in Flat Skunk. These books are really different and are great fun to read. I even learn a little about different topics in each one. Thanks, Penny Warner!

[Sally Kinane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book of the series so far. Lots of twists and turns and a really surprise ending.

[Jinny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. I enjoyed the insight into Deaf culture and the community.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last summer I bought as many of the Connor Westfall mysteries as I could find having read and enjoyed Blind Side and Silence is Golden. As part of my goal to read for fun, I pulled the first of my stash of the mysteries by Penny Warner that I could find. The one I picked was Right to Remain Silent.

Right to Remain Silent is the third book in the series and comes two books before Blind Side. Fortunately Connor is a rather talkative protagonist so she fills in the details. The mysteries themselves are self contained, focusing on one piece of Flat Skunk's history or culture. I find the timeline easy enough to pick up even with reading the books out of order.

This book opens with Sparkle Bodie waking up during an autopsy, scaring the small town medical examiner half to death. Before she can explain what had happened, Sparkle is murdered. Connor suspects the Bodie fortune might be the reason behind her death.

To complicate things further, the lead suspect isn't mentally handicapped as everyone in the town believes; he's deaf and uneducated. He has lived such a sheltered life he hasn't had a chance to learn how to read, write or sign. Connor's given the difficult task of communicating with him to see what he knows.

Connor Westfall and her asides about deaf culture, ASL, and the gadgetry that makes living in the hearing world easier is a big part of why I adore these series. She's like a happy version of Kinsey Millhone. I'm guessing that she had a better childhood too. It's refreshing to have a well adjusted lead for a cozy mystery series.

The second thing I adore about the series is the mystery itself. The murders start early in the book but the solution to the crime is obfuscated with red herrings and town gossip while still giving the feeling that the plot is moving along.

Finally there is Flat Skunk. It's like every old town California. Anyone familiar with California history will recognize the bits and pieces that make up Flat Skunk. Sure, the town morphs a little between stories to fit the needs of the current mystery but I don't mind. It's a completely fictional town set no where specific except that it's in the Sierra Nevadas and in and old gold mining town. It's one of the rare gold mining towns to have survived the end of the gold rush.

For Right to Remain Silent Flat Skunk draws on the mining history (minus the tragic fires of 1892 and 1932) of Bodie California. Bodie (named for W. S. Bodey) was founded shortly after Bodey and "Little Black" Taylor discover gold. The first recorded use of the misspelled town name is October 15, 1862. By the second fire in 1932 though and the Depression, the remaining inhabitants abandoned the city ruins. The dry air has preserved the town and everything in it. The town is now a state park. Mixed in with landmarks from Bodie, are some spots from Old Town Sacramento but that's the charm of Flat Skunk, California!

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this series. takes place in a gold rush town; Connor Westphal owns a small newspaper called "Eureka"; she is deaf but can speak and read lips; she is quite a character. I like all the characters in this series. Farm land is to be developed into condos and a resort...the town is divided on the issue; leads to murder and mayhem. Connor to the rescue!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the last one, though I hated not reading it on my Kindle. But at least I wasn't miserable with all the conversion errors. Still, a fascinating series. Am still laughing about the question "Do you want a Coke?"

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

very fast read, this is the one that mentions Betty McBroom