Dead Silence

GIVEAWAY
RANDOM RETRO READ 

SLEEMAN, SUSAN

DEAD SILENCE

A child she'll do anything to keep.

After Kelsey Moore's husband dies, she wants only one thing. To adopt her husband's son who she has come to call her own. But as she begins the process that her husband had dragged his feet on, she learns a secret so shocking she begins to question everything she knows except for the love she feels for her son. The child is not her husband's biological child, her former husband never had legal custody of the boy, and no one knows where he got the child. Fearing she might lose her son, Kelsey just find his birth mother and convince her to give up her parental rights.

A danger she's never known.

But when Kelsey starts asking questions, she runs into a brick wall named DEA agent Devon Dunbar. Devon has been investigating an adoption/human trafficking ring with drug connections for the last six months, and he's not about to let Kelsey interfere in his investigation. But even if Devon brings out feelings she never thought she'd experience again, and he asks her to trust him, Kelsey can't even give him the benefit of the doubt. Not with the way her husband had lied to her and not even when her own life is on the line. If she doesn't succeed, she could lose the one thing that means everything to her -- her five-year-old son.

My Review:

published in 2019

Why yes, this is me trying to read every Susan Sleeman book before the year is out....and I'm getting so close!!! And enjoying myself immensely as I compulsively work at catching up with this author. :-)

Dead Silence is the second book in the Truth Seekers series but reads fantastically as a standalone suspense novel as well. There are recurring secondary characters from both this series and a previous one, but they are introduced in such a way that it's not overwhelming for a newbie reader. What you do get is the sense of camaraderie among the team at the Veritas Center and the various law enforcement agencies they work with. 

You also get an amazing suspense plot with so many twists and turns! Heart-stoppingly good! And I love the way there's a solid amount of investigative work along with some action scenes. Kelsey is a partner at the Veritas Center as a forensic anthropologist (think Temperance Brennan of Bones fame) and the author has included tons of interesting forensic details throughout the story.

The opening scene is fraught with eerie tension and sets the sense of desperation for the rest of the read. Love the way Devon and Kelsey are thrown together and then how they have to learn to work together -- Kelsey, the determined mother who just happens to have access to the latest forensic tools to aid an investigation and Devon, the world weary undercover agent who is tired of living a double life but driven to put an end to a notorious crime ring. Some clashing of wills and a whole lot of swooning ensues. :-)

Once again I listened to the audible edition, expertly narrated by Whitney Dykhouse. I've come to associate her voice with Susan Sleeman's storytelling and it always gives me a kind of homecoming thrill when I start listening to a new book.

Goal Update: #1 Read more indie authors, #2 Catch up on s series I'm behind in, #8 Play author catchup

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback or ebook copy -- winner's choice.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Dead Silence , leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday September 24 2022 . Offer open to