Splintered Silence By Susan Furlong: Review/Giveaway

by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Splintered Silence, and a link to purchase it from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.

Brynn and her cadaver dog, Wilco, returned home from their third tour in the Middle East, a little worse for wear after an IED exploded near them. Wilco is deaf and lost a leg, Brynn gained a lot of scars. Both have PTSD.

Home is Bone Gap, a place Irish Travellers call home between seasonal jobs. It used to be an encampment, but as the families grew older and the younger kids started school, they bought the land and many stay year-round. It’s a place Brynn didn’t expect to be again. She loves her grandmother who raised her, but her grandfather is a hard man. Now he’s near death and even worse.

Wilco went into the neighbor’s yard and being deaf, doesn’t hear the man yell at him. Brynn did. When she tries to catch Wilco, he runs. After all, they’re not working, so it must be a game. He leads her on a chase into the woods, the neighbor Doogan and Brynn’s grandmother, following.

When Brynn is able to catch up with Wilco, it’s for the worst possible reason. He’s done what he does best—found a dead body. Brynn’s able to snap a few photos before Doogan joins her and thinks it’s his missing sister.

The Irish Travellers, also called Pavees, don’t trust the police, and the feeling is mutual. Brynn is torn since, as a Marine who recovered remains, she was military police. Besides, helping the police solve the murder will take the heat off the Travellers. Her grandmother doesn’t agree. Things get more complicated when the body is identified. A second body, a fire, and a missing person or two, ramps up the attention on the Travellers by townspeople who want them to live elsewhere.

For readers who enjoy Furlong’s cozy Georgia Peach mysteries, Splintered Silence is a much edgier thriller. The pace is faster, the stakes higher. Brynn and Wilco are a pair to be reckoned with. There are glimpses of her war-time action, but the story is focused on family, forgiveness, and fitting into a world that’s changed irrevocably.

As a look into a segment of society not often heard from, the information about the Travellers is interesting and only adds to the story. For readers hesitant to make the switch from cozy to thriller, I can only say, I read the book in one sitting and will read it again and again. Although January is early for such a prediction, I will have this book on my List of Favorites for 2018.

I look forward to reading more about Brynn and Wilco.

To enter to win a copy of Splintered Silence, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “splintered,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 27, 2018. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section.

Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Splintered Silence

You can also use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She writes about eco-friendly topics, pets and wildlife for magazines and reviews mysteries and thrillers for KRL. A collection of her short stories, published by Untreed Reads, From Hay to Eternity: Ten Tales of Crime and Deception can be found at all the usual outlets. Each one is a little weird and all have a twist you won’t see coming.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Tagged as: book, dog, mystery, Splintered Silence, Susan Furlong