Crime of Silence

by Patricia Carlon

When newspaper reporter Evan Kiley's son is kidnapped, he contacts the scion of a wealthy family whose daughter was abducted and returned a year earlier after paying the ransom, and together the two men conspire to get the boy back, hatching a plot that will end in murder. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Suspense

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comparisons to Highsmith are very justified; a slow-burn, dread-filled buildup to a somewhat unbelievable ending, this is the kind of page turner whose pages you don't want to turn, because the inevitability of the situation is blatant to you from the moment the scenario begins to turn sour.

The part that niggles at me the most is that we, the reader, are given totally false information to start with in order to add believability to the story. It's not a whodunnit, sure, so I'm not complaining that I couldn't solve the mystery, but it feels like cheating nonetheless.

This is book 2 in my 'read-Australian' year, and I was genuinely surprised at its depth of scene-setting, the way the Queensland landscape, weather and atmosphere build the closeness and tension of the story, and the really well captured colloquialisms and rhythms of speech that the characters have. It felt of its place without ever feeling like it was trying too hard to be so; Carlon was a very good writer and I'll definitely read more of her work.

[Matthew Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew that Australians put two Gs in the word "station waggon"?

[Rob Sedgwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first "forgotten" author I decided to follow up from The Book of Forgotten Authors. I was quite impressed, not sure if Carlon is entirely out of print but OpenLibrary is definitely your friend for books of this age.

The book is tightly plotted, has only a small number of characters, and every sentence is included for a reason. There is very little in the way of "superfluous" description and scene-setting in the novel. There is definitely a touch of Hitchcock about this story, which is cleverly plotted and well-paced. It will definitely appeal to fans of Patricia Highsmith.

If you are looking for something "new" to read Carlon is well worth a punt, I suggest picking one of her better-regarded books.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

A baby is missing and there is a ransom call. It turns out there has been a prrevious kidnapping under similar circumstances, so the victim family reaches out to see how this other family was able to get their baby back.

I had a very hard time getting into this book. I found the beginning incredibly slow. However, midway through it picks up pace and we are left with a twist I didn’t see coming.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing style and the plot. However, I am quite disappointed by the ending. I wanted to know more about Mariam Kiley, as Irene Suttle, and what ended up happening to her due to her role in this.

[Kimberley Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent novel. Carlon reminds me of Agatha Christie, but Christie likes to tie up most of her loose ends. Carlon will leave some of hers untied.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not the most realistic of the books by this author that I have read this one had me on the edge of my seat and turning the pages as fast I could to find out the ending. Patricia Carlon is a master of creating tension and suspense while using a subtle and economical writing style.

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! You don't know until the very end what the truth is, after experiencing a lot of anguish from the thoughts of George Winton because he seems to be caught like a mouse. There seems to be no way out for him.

[Pari · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's classified as a murder mystery but I think they lost the mystery part. They could have done so much more with it. Not bad but not great.