The Silent Prodigy

by Emily Shiner

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 facade 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.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Mystery

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 20, 2021

About the author

Emily 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.

Reviews

[Nina (ninjasbooks) · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Jamie Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Hawley Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last chapter made zero sense and I’m very confused 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

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?

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird but entertaining.

[Tracy Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Jill Bays · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Trena Stooksberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Amy Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 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]

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Amanda Schaefer · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. But a few things like the hike repeated and I found that to be annoying.

[Marie Wikle · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Lilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 --**

- How old is Cassie? Someone said she was 10 years old, another one said 7? Nah, I think she was too advanced to be that young
- Nathan never had a proper relationship with Cassie and was just "pretending"? All those years (7? 10?). And all because she didn't speak? That was his reason? Really? He acted like Cassie did something *please put the most horrible thing a human being can do in here* ...
- Vanessa had never noticed anything other than that she just connected "a little more" to their daughter? All those years? Sure. Ok, it was a toxic relationship and he did manipulate her but since we literally got into all their own minds and thinking... Idk. Vanessa actually thought Nathan could harm Cassie and still left them alone? And they were still living together? Ok. I'm trying to understand this (like she was manipulated and stuff) but the story wasn't that detailed to *actually* understand.
- Nathan was a psychologist? WHAT? Lol??? His behavior and way of thinking sounded like he got his degree at a flea market
- before I started the book I thought Cassie was adopted. I can't believe it was their own daughter..? What happened to her that she didn't speak when she physically was able to? It would have been more plausible if she was adopted and idk grew up in an abusive family or something like that. That would have made sense
- what I could gather from the few lines with the grandfather: He was an absolute horrible person and just as toxic and manipulative as Nathan. Is this the reason why Vanessa was still in a relationship with her husband? Because there's sometimes a similar pattern when people have toxic parents and (unconsciously) seek a toxic relationship. At least the risk here is higher. Look, there's a much bigger picture behind all the character's behavior and it would have been awesome if the author could have been more clearly about this. The fact that the author actually used first-person narrative with each character would have solved it in an easy way (and this pisses me off lol)!
- Cassie: I didn't like her either. She was just as manipulative as daddy but the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right? At some point I had to laugh because I couldn't take it seriously anymore! A 7 or 10 year old *child* plays a serious game of cat and mouse with her father? xD Come on!


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.

[Eva Edge · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐
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.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Charlotte Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Destinee · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Joan mooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sara J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

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

[Spicydish · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don’t want to believe it but i’m sure that it happens more than we realize: a father and child hate each other.
If this was my dad I’d hate him too. I was stunned to learn that the father was a psychiatrist because he was crazy as a loon. The book had plenty of twists and turns, just the way I like but the epilogue seemed like it belonged to another book. Had it not been for that I would have given it a 5 star rating.

[Abdiela Sanz · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Kim Brockman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had an interesting plot, but I was a bit disappointed in some of the psychological aspects of it. I found the characters to behave without explained or implied motivation. The audio version was extremely confusing in that I think it gave a sample of another of the author's work right at the end without really explaining that. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what that last chapter meant. I came here and found many of the same kind of comments!

[Nelle Vance · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was great until the end pages. Until then, it had me wanting know more, dig deeper and go further. However, just when you think you’ve gotten to the part you’re going to learn the secrets as to why Cassie is silent the book abruptly ends. No exploitation as to the tow or what. The end falls flat and leaves me feeling like an M- night shamalan movie with NO answers, half a plot and no real end wondering why I spent 7 hours reading this.

[Lindsey McDermott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like there is just something missing in this book…the dad is so awful that it’s unbelievable. And the child is annoying not likable. The mom is a moron: then they at the last moment try to introduce a back story on why she is so clueless. There needed to be more character development. I’m a fan of short thrillers…but this needed more explanation. The characters are completely unbelievable.

[B · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book, even though the author's constant repetition of the POV character's feelings and thoughts became a bit much. What completely threw me off—and ruined the whole experience—was the ending. It felt like an entirely different story that the author just tried to force onto us out of nowhere. I was leaning toward 4 stars, but because of that awful ending, I'm giving it 1 star. Sorry, but no.