Kindle Price: $8.99

Save $3.00 (25%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Jack Fredrickson
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Silence the Dead Kindle Edition

by Jack Fredrickson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 29 ratings
See all formats and editions
A body is exhumed—and a long-unsolved murder grows even more mysterious—in this “powerful” crime thriller set in small-town Illinois (Booklist).
 
Seventeen-year-old Betty Jo Dean was abducted and murdered thirty years ago. It took two days to find her body. She was found, fully dressed apart from her slacks, beneath a gnarled, stunted tree, shot in the back of the head. No one was ever charged in her death.
 
Now, following an appeal from one of his constituents, Mayor Mac Bassett has called for the case to be reopened. But when the body is exhumed, it is revealed that the skull, found loose in the coffin, does not belong to Betty Jo.
 
Mac is determined to solve a cold case that’s becoming increasingly confounding. But no one in the small town of Grand Point is talking. Sheriffs, doctors, medical examiners: everyone seems to be warning Mac off. And then people start dying . . .
Previous page
  1. Print length
    403 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Severn House
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 2015
  6. File size
    2204 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Editorial Reviews

Review

"From an explosive beginning through to its dramatic ending Silence the Dead is a fantastic read. Highly recommended." -- L. Mistry, reviewer

"Powerful novel" ― Booklist

"Solid whodunit" ― Publishers Weekly

"I enjoyed SILENCE THE DEAD immensely. Very highly recommended." -- Euro Crime

About the Author

Jack Fredrickson lives with his wife, Susan, west of Chicago. He is the author of four Dek Elstrom PI mysteries, two of which, A Safe Place for the Dying and Hunting Sweetie Rose, have been nominated for Shamus Awards. His third Shamus nomination is for his short story, The Ace I, which has been nominated for the Best PI Short Story of 2013.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00P6NG7XK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Severn House; Large Print edition (January 1, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2204 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 403 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 29 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Jack Fredrickson

Jack Fredrickson

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
29 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jeff L
5.0 out of 5 stars ... turned me on to Jack Fredrickson but am I glad it happened
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
I forgot who turned me on to Jack Fredrickson but am I glad it happened. This is one of the best books I have read in a while. A long while.

I usually read in bed before I go to sleep. A couple of chapters here, a couple of chapters there. That wasn't the case with this book. I ended up reading a lot more than normal and getting up in the morning was noticeably harder! A well told story. You find yourself locked in and it's hard to put down. I am now reading another of his books and it's also a well written, entertaining story.

I would highly recommend getting this book. I'm sure you will enjoy it. A lot.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Deborah Cook (@ Debbish dot com)
4.0 out of 5 stars Small towns and their secrets!
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2014
Jack Fredrickson’s Silence the Dead is told in two distinct parts.

Jonah Ridy is a disgraced investigative journalist wallowing in the features section of the Chicago Sun Times newspaper when his editor requests he follow up a story. Ridy half-heartedly sets off to small town in Illinois where a man’s been shot and his date (the possible killer) has gone missing.

To say that Ridy is unwelcome in Grand Point would be a mammoth understatement. The local police’s antipathy towards the out of town journalist would set anyone’s spidey senses tingling and it only makes Ridy more determined.

When his investigation results in the death of someone helping him, Ridy files his story and walks away.

Fast Forward 30 years and we meet newly appointed Mayor Mac Bassett. A new arrival – he’s intrigued by some of the town’s secrets – including Betty Jo’s still-unsolved murder and the countless discrepancies uncovered during the investigation.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I really liked both lead characters (Ridy and Mac) and it was interesting to see the two men doggedly trying to get justice for a woman they didn’t know.

Read the full review in my blog: http://www.debbish.com/books-literature/book-review-silence-the-dead/

3.5 stars
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Sharon R. Manhart
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2016
Verified Purchase
I think the start of the book was gripping, but things got too confused as the story progressed.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Dave McGlasson
5.0 out of 5 stars The dead can still reach out to you.
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
Since I’m from a small town in Illinois downstate from the story I was still able to recognize a person from my past in every character.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Steve E Lochmann
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2015
Good read. Keeps you guessing through most of the book.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
L. J. Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars THIS is the book for which I've been waiting from Fredrickson. Loved it!!!
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2015
First Sentence: Betty Jo Dean lay as she had for over thirty years, shrouded in black vinyl, forever seventeen.

In 1982, Jonah Ridy, a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times, is given the chance to restore his reputation as an investigative journalist by travelling to a small town for a follow-up piece about a man who has been shot and whose girlfriend is missing. In spite of his very cold reception, he perseveres, even though people around him start dying. One death finally causes him to walk away. Thirty-years later, the town has a new mayor, an outsider. The more he learns about the town’s secrets, the more determined he is to find the answers—no matter the cost.

This is a story of three parts, each completely engrossing. In the first part, we meet Betty Jo Dean. Fredrickson makes us feel her fear and desperation. No mater her background, we empathize with her. In the second part, we come to know Jonah Ridy. We want him to be redeemed and to solve the mystery, but we greatly fear for him. In the third, and major section of the story, we have Mayor Mac Bassett who, with the support of his ex-wife, waitress and others, is determined to find the answers. Fredrickson does a masterful job of introducing us to Mac and establishing his personality, thereby explaining his actions.

The sign of a really good story is when you become so involved and invested in one time period; you are started when there is a shift. You have to trust that the author will bring the parts together so that it all makes sense. Frederickson definitely achieved that.

The only very, very slight flaw to the book was having a prologue. Rather than having that section at the beginning, it would have been better to leave it only within the relevant section of the story. Having the prologue wasn’t really necessary and diminished the impact of the information when it did appear later. The second, itty-bitty criticism is that the final status of the main characters was a bit twee, but perhaps that’s more a reaction of jealousy.

There are some authors one discovers, and enjoys, but feels their writing could be so much “more.” This book is definitely the “more” for which one has been waiting. This book is the one from Fredrickson for which I’ve been waiting.

“Silence the Dead” is very well plotted, without any reliance on coincidences. Everything is rationally, logically, or emotionally based and appropriate. The forensic information is critical, well-explained, and fascinating. The level of suspense is ratcheted up at a steady pace with excellent twists right up to the very end. Highly Recommended.

SILENCE THE DEAD (Trad Myst – Jonah Ridl/Mac Basset – Illinois – 1982/Contemp) – VG+
Fredrickson, Jack –Standalone
Severn House, January 2015
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Bill Witham
2.0 out of 5 stars Confusion for the Dead
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2021
The plot and characters are very interesting, but the author ties too hard to make it too complicated. I got a headache just reading it.
Helpful
 Report
Clare O'Beara
3.0 out of 5 stars Silence the dead
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2014
This small town is witness to a disturbing chain of deaths and unpalatable truths. A reporter becomes convinced that the police are covering up something - what could be worse than what is already on court record? But it's only years later when a mayor is facing impeachment over a financial matter and has nothing to lose politically, that anyone is brave enough to conduct a full investigation. The mayor is approached by a lady with a hint about the cold case and a small team of researchers grows, dogged and unsure at the same time.

The imagery is at times gruesome so this is no cosy mystery, and we find an underlying acceptance that in open-road America, sometimes people who murder teenagers get away with it. I would have given this book more stars if I had got on better with the style, but as I am not into horror I had enough of severed heads, exhumed bodies and gritty details quite quickly. I think there is a fine line between sufficient post-mortem detail and the macabre, and for me this book went too far. But other readers who are more comfortable with this aspect might well give the book more stars as a classic cold case pursued by an amateur sleuth, or two.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Mr. M. B. Collins
4.0 out of 5 stars excellent small town story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2019
Verified Purchase
Excellent story, had me hooked from the start.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report