Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil

If a child has been missing for a decade, how would he cope being back with his family? This novel is about that.

​This wasn't quite what I expected. I thought this would be about how a child copes or is treated after being held captive for ten years, something very ​psychological, but it isn't really about that. There is that of course - how could there not be - but there is more a focus on who kidnapped him.

A scary opening as a mother watches her child get washed away in the River Ouse, in Yorkshire, during a storm. We can all identify with that fear in some way. The story never matches up to that again.

A few cliches, similar habits appearing in several characters and no one is particularly likeable. There's a really incredulous scene with the husband of the protagonist towards the end of the book, and that was a bit cringey. There is some repetition that really should have been picked up by the editor.
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Having said that, the read has a good pace and I didn't skim any bits, which is always a good sign. There is enough in the story to keep me going to see what happens next. I wanted to know whodunnit and was gripped enough until the end. This is a great beach read, not too taxing but interesting nonetheless.

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Independently published on 22 January 2017.

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