NetGalley Top Reviewer

NetGalley Top Reviewer
NetGalley Top Reviewer

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Fear the Silence by Robert Bryndza

 This standalone mystery thriller never quite hooked me. 


Dr. Margaret (Maggie) Kendall, age 47, is a trauma surgeon at Guy's Hospital in London. When her husband, Will, is found shot dead in their fashionable home, Maggie can't believe the verdict is suicide. In her grief, she travels to Tisina, a small Croatian island, to stay in their vacation home while she sorts through things and comes to grips with her new situation. The main thing she needs to deal with is a mysterious letter written 6 years prior delivered to her by a solicitor engaged by Will -- that she knew nothing about. Apparently Will was keeping a huge secret and it's connected to a very powerful person in the UK government. 


I wish I could say this was exciting and suspenseful, but I can't. It all started out well and was, at least, fast-paced, but I could not believe how quickly the story turned into melodrama with Maggie in constant peril. Her escapades in Tisina and afterwards bordered on fantastical. The character, being a doctor, seemed quite clueless and dumb most of the time. Very one-dimensional other characters populated the narrative and much of the story was spent in Maggie's head. The "delusion" sequence put me off completely. In any event, this was definitely not my favorite. I've read all of Bryndza's other books and I hope he writes more of those. 


Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for this e-book ARC to read and review. My recommendation is to skip it.


This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre - mystery thriller

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