Silent Witness

She witnessed a crime that stole her voice. Now, she must speak without words—or watch more girls vanish into silence.

In 1770s Bridport, Bess Cleave hasn't spoken since she was fourteen—the night she watched men beat her father for protecting a smuggler's secret. Now twenty-two, she communicates through the only language left to her: intricate signal knots woven into the hemp ropes Bridport sells to the Royal Navy. Each strand carries warnings, pleas, and the names of girls stolen by a powe...