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Sarah A. Denzil

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Silent Child Kindle Edition

by Sarah A. Denzil (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 59,002 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Silent Child

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

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In the summer of 2006, Emma Price watched helplessly as her six-year-old son's red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. It was the tragic story of the year - a little boy, Aiden, wandered away from school during a terrible flood, fell into the river, and drowned.

His body was never recovered.

Ten years later, Emma has finally rediscovered the joy in life. She's married, pregnant, and in control again...

... until Aiden returns.

Too traumatized to speak, he raises endless questions and answers none. Only his body tells the story of his decade-long disappearance. The historic broken bones and injuries cast a mere glimpse into the horrors Aiden has experienced. Aiden never drowned. Aiden was taken.

As Emma attempts to reconnect with her now teenage son, she must unmask the monster who took him away from her. But who, in their tiny village, could be capable of such a crime?

It's Aiden who has the answers, but he cannot tell her the unspeakable.

This dark and disturbing psychological novel is a page-turner you will not be able to put down.

What readers are saying about Silent Child:

"Everyone, buy this book, it's brilliant. I just kept reading it, instead of cleaning. Now I'm sad it's ended."

"A tense, haunting story which I had to finish in one sitting."

"What a fantastic read. Kept me on the edge of my seat 'til the end."

"One of the best books I have read. I stayed up most of the night to read it."

"I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting. It's been a long time since a book has captivated me so much to do that. Gripping and full of twists and turns."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great example of the genre and highly recommended." -- Kath, Ignite Bookblog

"It will also keep you guessing right till the final few intense chapters. I loved it."-- Gemma, Between The Pages Book Club"I was glued to every page. Lots of tears and heartache throughout the entire book. Beautifully written from beginning to end." -- Amazon Customer

"I have read many books but I think this one will remain with me for a long time." -- Amazon customer

"Absolutely loved this book! The absolute anguish of a mother losing her child, the desperate emotion of what happened to him and will he ever be normal again, when he returns. The trauma of love and betrayal. The characters were strong and easy to connect with and it had me guessing." -- THE Book Club Reviewer

"I was recommended this book after looking for something similar to The Butterfly Garden. From the very outset I was absorbed into the book and struggled to put it down. It had several twists and turns that kept you guessing, and just when you thought you had the answers, another curve ball was thrown in.I really recommend this and can't wait to read the author's other titles." -- Amazon Customer

About the Author

Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Silent Child.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01MUDRSND
Publisher ‏ : ‎ (January 22, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 22, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4218 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1542722829

Best Sellers Rank: #59,503 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #462 in Domestic Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- #704 in Psychological Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #789 in Domestic Thrillers (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 59,002 ratings

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Sarah A. Denzil

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Sarah A. Denzil is a British suspense writer from Derbyshire. Her books include SILENT CHILD, which has topped the kindle charts in the UK and Australia, as well as being a top ten Amazon bestseller in the US. SAVING APRIL and THE BROKEN ONES are both top thirty bestsellers in the US and UK Amazon charts.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather. She loves to write moody, psychological books about ordinary people in extraordinary situations.

Find out more at: http://www.sarahdenzil.com/

Join the newsletter for updates: http://eepurl.com/cwAmZD

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahadenzil

Email: sarah@sarahdenzil.com

Writing as Sarah Dalton - http://www.sarahdaltonbooks.com/

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4.2 out of 5

59,002 global ratings

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Booklover

Don't shy away from this because of the subject matter--this is a very 'clean' thriller

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2017

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If you've hesitated on this one because of the subject matter, that it may be too dark, or graphic or too many uncomfortable details shared.....you don't have to worry. This is one of the 'cleanest' thrillers I've read. Clean in the sense that the author doesn't go into any detail about the abuse that Aiden suffered. All we know is that bad things happened and that's scary enough. I hesitated to read this for these reasons. I love a good thriller, but didn't really want to read anything graphic. Some authors go there, I just prefer not to. I was very pleasantly surprised with this story because it implied what happened and left it to our imaginations. The book is very well written, one of the best I've read in this genre. Complex characters and the story really looks at what happens after a child comes home. It's a difficult adjustment and in this book, the child is silent, so can't say what happened, he is so traumatized. Add in a pregnant mother who has since remarried and a cast of characters where everyone looks suspicious for different reasons. Lots of twists and turns and the identity of the kidnapper took me by surprise. What also sets this book apart, is a very satisfying ending. The book doesn't just stop once we know what happened. It continues on a bit with another fascinating dramatic scene--that I also didn't see coming--and some lovely moments where we see how the characters are doing once a little time has passed. I can see why this book is doing so well. This author has now gone onto my auto-buy list. Can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

679 people found this helpful

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Buzy_reading

Breaking the silence

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2018

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Silent Child exposed many weaknesses in this town known as Bishoptown. Bishoptown was a small village in England with a population of 400 people. This was a small village of rich, rural people. Everyone knew each other. At least Emma thought she knew these people. On the surface these people composed themselves well hiding behind a mask of lies and secrets.

Emma Price was born into a pleasant loveliness that lulled her into thinking nothing bad would ever happen to her. Her entire life she ignored bad behavior. She only remembered good behavior. Emma didn’t see or perceive people the same way others did. Her mind blocked out the unpleasant actions and replaced them with pleasant behaviors.

At eighteen Emma found herself pregnant. She stayed home to raise her baby. Emma nurtured Aidan to be a wild, brave child. She wanted him to grow into a strong man with a penchant for exploring. As a result, he acted out toward others. According to Amy, Aiden had been a problem child. He was a troublemaker at school, always winding up the other students and acting the class clown. He was obstinate and unaware of danger. After he was gone she began to regret pushing her wanderlust onto him.

Emma’s character was always critiqued. From the time she got pregnant at eighteen and the times she spent raising Aidan, people in her small town had some form of judgement to pass about her. Then when Aidan was gone the community once again threw criticism her way. It hasn’t stopped even after Aidan’s return. It seems everyone around her has an opinion about the way she is trying to help her son adjust. Emma’s strong and brave to be able to handle all this criticism. Emma’s character was tested with challenges every step of the way in life. Each choice she made was evaluated by the public.

A mother at her wits end to try to help her son. The media plagues her thoughts with doubts. Her husband fills her head with questionable doubts. The newspaper articles slay her as an unfit mother. Emma is torn to pieces. Yet through it all she remains strong and brave for Aidan. She is the voice for Aidan while he remains silent. This poor family was breaking apart instead of uniting after the tragic ordeal with their son.

The story was character driven with each character playing an intricate part of the story. The story had many elements but the most prominent one was control. No one wants to believe they are weak, but they all had weaknesses inside them. They had strength, too, but there were times when the circumstances in their lives were so overwhelming that they easily succumbed to that weakness. As each layer was stripped away this small town was broken down by these hidden weaknesses.

It’s a brilliantly written psychological thriller that has you guessing the entire time. Sarah is a British suspense writer. She uses illustrative words to express the emotional turmoil in her characters.

One person found this helpful

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Amazonian Woman

A very satisfying psychological thriller with plenty of unique twists.

Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2018

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I adore psychological suspense thrillers but am also really adept at figuring out who the villians/perpetrators are. So when a book catches me off-guard with unexpected twists, I am pleasantly surprised. And if on top of that, the storyline is unique in the day and age of "If you like Gone Girl, or Girl on the Train, then..." knock-offs, I feel very satisfied at the end of the story. And "Silent Child" checked all those boxes for me, and more.

Now, I will admit, I picked up on one of the twists very early on, so my expectations were low. But the great thing is, that twist was also a red herring of sorts, the "villian" playing a whole other twisted & wicked role than I had first predicted. He was only one piece of an intricately woven plot. A plot that kept me up until 4am flying through propulsive chapter after chapter!

In reading reviews after the fact (which I'm glad I did in this case), I see many complaints that the lead character, Emily, is whiny, paranoid, bitchy, on and on. I actually hadn't felt that way at all. For me, those characteristics amped up the suspense... I felt her paranoid thoughts twisting her mind to where she could trust no one. I felt her over wrought emotions reaching a boiling point wherein she was suddenly "screaming like a banshee" at the ever-filming reporters. And I had a visceral reaction to her constant itching and wringing of her hands (A nod to a guilt-ridden Ophelia, I felt). As the reader, you don't know who to trust or who to believe any more than Em can. Which made the story all the more immersive.

Readers also seemed turned off by the "preposperous" ending. I disagree! What movie, be it action, drama, or even rom-com, is steeped in reality? Don't we read books to be immersed in fantasy, or dare I say... fiction?! I like being shocked by creative twists. And, to me, none of them were that far-fetched in this crazy world we live in today; there are new "monsters" every night on the news, displaying new and disturbing acts of depravity, I'm sad to say. This story was no different. Just more creative!

I appreciated that the author didn't rush the ending. There wasn't 400 pages of build-up and then 5 quick pages of climax and wrap-up. I've found so many books fall into this latter category lately. This book had a solid 80 pages (!) of build up, twists, and climax after climax. Then she also gave the reader a glimpse into the future for all remaining characters. I didn't feel like I had been left to wonder...

Only a couple pet peeves for me:
1. She seemed to switch from present tense to past tense half way through the book. It's all first person. The first half felt like she was narrating, the second like she was reflecting back. Odd, but only pulled me out of the story temporarily and I just went with it.

2. If profanity bothers you, there are several f-bombs. They're sprinkled thought the book, but they are jarring at times.

For readers who have experienced trauma in their lives: this book does talk of all forms of abuse; emotional, verbal, physical, and sexual. But the author kept gory, unnecessary details and retelling of the more disturbing of behaviors out of the book. You know they've happened, but you aren't exposed to the details of the acts. Hope that helps.

Overall, I felt it was a book about "over-comimg," and our ability to prese`vere and even rise above difficult situations in our lives. As Em says, "There’s a kind of strength in weakness that comes from hitting the absolute lowest you can go." She found her strength and so can you... even when it feels insurmountable.

20 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

ND

Gripping Tale of Mystery and Emotion - A True Masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 30, 2023

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I recently delved into Sarah A. Denzil's "Silent Child" and was utterly captivated from start to finish. This psychological thriller is an emotional rollercoaster that kept me on the edge of my seat with its cleverly woven plot and well-developed characters. The story revolves around a mother's relentless pursuit to understand her son's decade-long silence after he miraculously reappears. Denzil's writing is both haunting and beautiful, creating an atmosphere that is both tense and heart-wrenching.

The narrative skillfully combines elements of mystery, suspense, and family drama, making it impossible to put down. The characters are so vividly portrayed that you can't help but feel a deep connection to their struggles and triumphs. The author expertly navigates the complexities of human relationships, infusing the story with raw emotion and genuine surprises. "Silent Child" is a masterclass in storytelling that will leave you questioning everything and lingering in your thoughts long after the final page.

In summary, Sarah A. Denzil's "Silent Child" is an absolute must-read for anyone who appreciates a brilliantly crafted psychological thriller. From its intriguing premise to its emotionally charged conclusion, this book is a testament to the author's storytelling prowess. Without a doubt, I wholeheartedly give it a well-deserved five stars.

2 people found this helpful

Lilian Cristina

What a reading!

Reviewed in Brazil on November 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

If you are brave enough, and have a strong emotional balance, this reading is for you! Otherwise, don't even try it. I liked it a lot, but it has lots of sensitive topics, that's for sure... The plot twists are amazing. Sarah Denzil really knows how to get into your mind. So, enjoy the ride!

AKASH RAJAWAT

Excellent Plot

Reviewed in India on June 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

I was actually taken aback at the end by sudden turn in story.
I don't thought of the story to be end like this.
I actually thought of putting down the book several times but now I could sense that the patience is worth

Jean Williams

The Silent Child

Reviewed in Spain on January 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

What could possibly be worse? A river burst it's banks. A small boy goes missing. His coat was pulled from the river. Read how Aiden turned up again after being missing for ten years, presumed dead,, a mother's worst nightmare was just beginning. A fabulous story that will keep you guessing right to the last page. Highly recommended.

Wendy1965

Great book

Reviewed in Australia on January 18, 2024

Verified Purchase

I really loved this book, I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended, I believe there is a sequel, I will definitely be reading it

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