Breaking the Silence

by Diane Chamberlain

Laura Brandon's promise to her dying father was simple: to visit an elderly woman she'd never heard of before. A woman who remembers nothing--except the distant past. Visiting Sarah Tolley seemed a small enough sacrifice to make.

But Laura's promise results in another death. Her husband's. And after their five-year-old daughter, Emma, witnesses her father's suicide, Emma refuses to talk about it...to talk at all.

Frantic and guilt ridden, Laura contacts the only person who may be able to help. A man she's met only once--six years before. A man who doesn't know he's Emma's real father.

Guided only by a child's silence and an old woman's fading memories, the two unravel a tale of love and despair, of bravery and unspeakable evil. A tale that's shrouded in silence...and that unbelievably links them all.

• ISBN10: 1459248112
• ISBN13: 9781459248113
• Publish Date: 15 August 2012 (first published 24 November 2009)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

Laura Brandon’s promise to her dying father was simple: to visit an elderly woman she’d never heard him speak of before. A woman who remembers nothing – except the distant past. Visiting Sarah Tolley seemed a small enough sacrifice to make. But Laura’s promise results in another death – her husband’s. And after their five-year-old daughter, Emma, witnesses her father’s suicide, Emma refuses to talk about it…or to talk at all. Frantic and guilt-ridden, Laura contacts the only person who may be able to help, a man she’s met only once before – a man who doesn’t know he’s Emma’s real father. Guided only by a child’s silence and an old woman’s fading memories, the two unravel a tale of love and despair, bravery and unspeakable evil. This is a tale that links them all. It is a tale shrouded in silence…

Plot: I thought the plot of Breaking The Silence was very intriguing. There’s quite a lot that’s happening during the book, multiple plots at work and some were more impressive than others. I thought Ray’s suicide added a lot to the book and I couldn’t help but wonder why he had done it. Emma’s muteness seemed a bit contrived, to be honest, but it was necessary to the book. My favourite plot strand though was Sarah’s story. Sarah’s back-story blew me away and I would have loved if the entire book was just about Sarah as her back-story really was that brilliant.

Characters: I must admit the only part of the book that I felt was lacking was the characterisation of Laura. I never really felt connected to her, I never felt as if I ‘knew’ her. Of all the characters she was the one I felt the least connection to. I would have also liked to delve into Ray’s life a bit more. Yes we learn things about him but it might have been nice if there was a diary or something that could have been put into the book to give his side of the story a bit more. Because frankly I just didn’t like him, no matter what his intentions, he just seemed like a horrible man. Dylan, Emma’s real father, was probably my favourite character, I liked him quite a lot and he really made the book sparkle. I did think the romance between himself and Laura was a bit… I expected it, but I also found it sweet. I also loved Sarah Tolley, she was such a vivid character and her memories from years gone by was impressive despite what was happening to her in the present as she’s ravaged by Alzheimers.

Writing: I thought the writing was really impressive. It told the story very well without being overly wordy and I managed to finish the book fairly quickly. It was well-paced and the book just seemed to fly by quite quickly. Diane Chamberlain definitely knows how to tell a story and her easy writing style is definitely one that appeals to me.

Overall: On the whole Breaking The Silence impressed me. I wasn’t sure whether I’d enjoy it or not but I did. The plot was very well done and the twists and turns were quite surprising. I didn’t guess the big twist at the end, which is always a good thing, as I love to be surprised. In fact there were a number of twists and turns I never saw coming, and I was very impressed with how it all suddenly became clear. The only thing I query is Emma’s muteness. The resolution of that was a bit too quick, which fanned my contrived flames (if that even makes sense). I’ll definitely be reading more from Diane Chamberlain though she’s definitely an author I enjoy.