The Price of Silence

AWARD WINNING NARRATOR SPINS A CHILLING TALE

Oregon, home of and a favored setting for author Wilhelm, is the background for this dark tale of murder, hypocrisy, and lies. Brindle is a small town that appears on the surface to be a haven of peace and quiet. It is quite the opposite as Todd Fielding soon discovers. Todd has come to Brindle to work for the local newspaper while her husband, Barney, pursues his doctoral degree in a nearby university town. Newspaper owner Ruth Ann Colonna is planning a special edition of the paper featuring Brindle then and now. So, Todd busies herself becoming acquainted with her new community. The superficial serenity of Brindle isn't interrupted by the sudden disappearance of a young girl. This sets Todd to wondering - she does more than wonder when she discovers that five other girls have mysteriously vanished during the past two decades. What is even stranger and rather frightening is that no one seems to care about the whereabouts of the girls. Newcomers to any place who start probing are seldom welcome, and Todd fuels a fire that threatens to get away when she decides to write about the girls' disappearance. Ruth Ann seems to be her only ally, and Barney is often miles away. Voice performer and Audie Award winner Anna Fields successfully captures the outrage, fear, and determination of Todd as she seeks to uncover the truth. A more than satisfying listening experience! - Gail Cooke

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

terrific amateur sleuth

Having lost her job and knowing that her beloved spouse Barney has two years to go on his dissertation, Oregonian Todd Fielding obtains work on the Brindle Times as the newspaper¿s octogenarian owner Ruth Ann Coleman knows her paper needs a computer expert journalist. Though on the other side of the mountain from where Barney attends school and teaches, Todd accepts the position that comes with a rent free house. Barney¿s faculty advisor arranges his schedule so that they can spend most of each week together. Todd and Ruth Ann become close confidents as the newcomer¿s work and ethics are excellent. When a high school girl Jodie Schuster vanishes, Todd questions the local cops who blow her off insisting she is just another bored teen runaway. Todd investigates further and soon finds a shocking pattern of missing teenage females over recent years with law enforcement doing nothing except yawning. With Ruth Ann providing an identical but much older pattern of disappearances, the two women investigate not realizing the danger from a town icon who wants his predatory nature to remain secret. --- This is a terrific amateur sleuth tale that enables the audience to first appreciate the strong relationships between Todd and Barney (in spite of a sexual female prowler), and Todd and Ruth Ann (the ¿cold¿ air and the recognition the paper is the elderly woman¿s ¿baby¿). Once the tale switches to the amateurs sleuth investigation, fans obtain a fantastic mystery as the two journalists struggle to uncover who is behind the abductions of recent note and who got away with the first generation killings under the watch of Ruth Ann¿s late father. Kate Wilhelm writes a terrific thriller that hopefully will have sequels set in Brindle, Oregon. --- Harriet Klausner

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Classic Wilhelm - worth the read

First a disclaimer: I am a huge fan of Kate Wilhelm, and not because of her more recent lawyer series (Barbara Holloway). Ms Wilhelm has been writing captivating books for decades, and I especially love her speculative fiction. This book has something for everyone: part suspense, part detective novel, part romance, part social issue consciousness raising, etc. Wilhelm creates finely hewn characters who appear fully formed. Her protagonist here the reader will love and sporadically love to hate. The story unravels the way life does, piece by piece, bit by bit. Be patient. This is not a romp. It's a Mahler symphony.

Not too good...

This book was plain bland. There was little suspense, and a book this thick should have a little something in it. Sure, there were several times where I had chills, but 90% of the book provided yawns. Even the scene of capturing the guy... it wasn't too exciting at all. I wouldn't recommend this book to newbie mystery readers, you would get the wrong impression about mystery novels altogether.

The Price of Silence

Brindle is dying, and not just because that's the trend with small towns. A killer is slowly decimating the population. Perhaps the deaths could be written off as disappearances, but one reporter, Todd Fielding, comes to town and won't let the truth be silent. She is determined to get a the real story, no matter the cost. ...................... If you could judge a book by the cover, this would be outstanding. The artwork is stunningly lovely. However, the characters fail to engage and the purported suspense simply is not there.

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