Reviewer: Lori Graham
Title: Dead Silence
Author: Brenda Novak
Publisher: Mira
ISBN: 0-7783-2328-5
Release Date: August 2006
Genre/Sub-genre: Romantic Suspense
Year/Setting: Current/Mississippi
Overall Rating: 5.0
Sexual Content Rating: Sexual
Language (Profanity) Content Rating: Mild
Violent Content Rating: Mild
Brenda's Website:
www.brendanovak.com
Grace Montgomery didn’t just leave her hometown – she ran. As hard and as fast as she could. She had nothing going for her when she left but she made it out and that was what counted. She did very well for herself after leaving. She graduated top in her class in college which was no small feat since she had to do things the hard way – no money, working full time and just buckling down to do her studies. She had a career she felt challenged and rewarded by as an Assistant DA. She also had a man in her life who was loving, kind and incredibly patient. Why didn’t she feel any peace? She is concerned about that lack of peace and has finally come to realize the only way to move on is to go back and deal with her past.
Her past begins on a farm outside of Stillwater, Mississippi. Her brother, Cole, is still living there and watching over the secrets the Montgomery family cant’ deal with. Her sister, Molly, returns occasionally but this is a first for Grace. She has actually missed spending some time with her brother as well as her mother, who is also still around. The hardest family to see again is Madeline, her half-sister. Long ago, Grace’s mother, Irene, was a single mother struggling (and I do mean struggling) to raise her children alone. Along came the good "Reverend", also single with a child, who took pity on them – marrying Irene and taking on her children. The Reverend was put on a pedestal by the community and a large portion of that community thought he had married below himself with Irene. That belief wasn’t helped the day the Reverend disappeared. Now a world of suspicion reigns.
Grace wants to put that to bed and move on with her life but being back in Stillwater is much harder than she thought. Thankfully, she has a haven. As a child, her one champion had been a local widow, Evonne. Evonne had a lovely home and made her own preserves, jarred fruits, lotions, etc. and sold them from a stand out front. Before she had died, she mailed all of those recipes to Grace. Since the house was standing empty, Evonne’s family agreed to rent it to Grace and for the first time in a long time, Grace felt some hope and even some joy especially the day little eight year old Teddy knocked on her door.
As Grace and Teddy worked together to reclaim the gardens in the back of Evonne’s home as well as re-establish the selling stand out front, parts of Grace’s heart began to thaw. That thawing became a bit complicated, however, when she discovered Teddy’s father was none other than a boy she had a bit of a crush on in high school. While Kennedy Archer hadn’t joined in the "fun" of ruining her life, he had certainly stood by and watched it happened. Yes, she felt sorry for him after losing his wife and having two young boys but could she ever trust again?
There is so much more I want to share about Dead Silence and so much more I want to learn about Grace. I will warn you ahead of time that this is the first book in a new series so there are a few questions when the book is over – you know, the kind that leave you anxiously awaiting the next installment. (Write away, Brenda!!)
I have to give Brenda Novak a lot of credit. She certainly knows how to create twists and turns along with ups and downs. She created this series though a bit differently. In many ways, the reader gets the "crime" immediately. When I first read "the family secret", I wondered a bit and thought, "well, now that I know the secret what else is left?" Boy was I off. It was a really clever ploy to get the reader hooked without them even being aware of it. As I said, very clever.
The small town of Stillwater has some very deep currents but is at the same time very like many small towns across the nation. There is nothing juicier than a good story about someone else. By Grace coming back to town, she has stirred the entire story up again but then again, maybe it is time for that simmering pot to be stirred. The Montgomery family has held onto a secret for a very long time and while to many the family might look fine and that they are holding together, they really aren’t. Obviously this is about Grace and her fears and hang-ups, but Brenda also does a great job of giving you a glimpse into each of the people she loves – brother, Clay; sister, Molly; half-sister, Madeline and even her mother, Irene. In spite of sharing about these secondary characters, the reader never doubts for a moment that the main character is Grace. Grace has incredible strength but more importantly courage. I have heard it said that courage is the strength to go through the fire you are most afraid of and Grace certainly does that.
We also see a great deal of compassion from Kennedy Archer. Kennedy could truly lose everything but he knows Grace is worth it. He doesn’t push her into anything she isn’t ready for but stands with her and lifts her up to the next level. On many levels, very touching.
Well done, Brenda and like I said, please write fast so we get the next installment! 
Lori
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