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 … 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.”
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I couldn’t wait to find out how this one ended, so it was no laundry, housework, or sleep until I finished.
Truly enjoyed reading this book. Had me guessing until the end.
A very gripping thriller with an explosive ending. Our heroine is Emma, a 34 year old woman living in a very small hamlet in England. Ten years prior she experienced the overwhelming loss of her 6 year old son. He disappeared during a horrific flood. After finding no trace of him save his coat floating in the swollen river, she had him declared dead. Ten years later she is happily married and heavily pregnant with a little girl. Four weeks prior to her due date her son emerges from the woods. He refuses to speak, leaving his parents and the police stymied to find out where he’s been for the past ten years and who perpetrated such a crime. I won’t go any further lest I spoil the plot. Suffice to say that not everyone is who they seem in this small town, and as her son’s mutism persists and her belly grows, Emma begins to become suspicious of everyone.
Emma seemed a bit clueless in the face of obvious red flags. I could call that poor plotting, but I’ll also say that being in the late stages of pregnancy while dealing with a seriously damaged child who reappears after 10 years could wreak havoc with anyone’s judgement. The final scenes did stretch the limits of credibility, I’ll agree with other readers. I will say, however, that reading is an escape, and sometimes you just want to enjoy the ride, much like an action movie in which the hero has unlimited ammo and never gets shot.
Intriguing up to the very end.
Wow! This one had me on the edge of my seat. The writing was great and the mystery had me stumped for quite a while.
So many people could have DUN IT. Evaluating all their flaws and reasons for being a suspect was fun stuff.
This book is not for the faint at heart. There are some violent and bloody moments.
I enjoyed the author’s writing style and will search for more books that might appeal to me.
I loved this book — the mother wouldn’t stop fighting for answers. And books that center around family are my favorite!
Sarah Denzil you continue to keep me on the edge of my seat! This story was twisted, unpredictable and haunting in a world you so intricately built that I felt like I lived there.
If you haven’t read a Denzil psychological thriller, pick one up. You won’t be disappointed!
Read read read !!!
I loved this book!
A haunting book that has you constantly hoping for the best, but fearing the worst.
With every page more intense than the last, you find yourself increasingly desperate to uncover the bitter truth .
This is a disturbing and dark tale, and yet compelling. Emma’s child vanishes…a nightmare for any mother…but nothing is as it seems.
A fast-paced read filled with suspense and intense feelings. Told from a first-person perspective, it allows true depth into the character’s life making it realistic and believable – edge of your seat stuff!
The world is filled with monsters, those not of fantasy but real and scary, those who fill your heart with hate. This story is about that hate and fear but also about courage and strength and deep love.
Excellent characters and plot, with a great sense of place…I am certainly a fan of this author (by another name, too), and would highly recommend her work.
Superb!
Silent Child
By
Sarah A. Denzil
Once I started this book I could not put it down.Silent Child was such an amazing, suspenseful and emotional read. I laughed, cringed, cried, gasped, and screamed. More than once while i was reading this book my son looked at me and said wow that must be a really good book. I read the whole book in one setting. All 415 pages !! Every page leaves you wanting more and more so before you know it it is 3 am and you just spent all day and half the night reading this story non stop. Silent Child is a book you cannot put down so do not start if you have other things to do or before you go to bed . (Unless you want to stay up all night ) It is Very well written and A page turner from beginning all the way to end. This book has plenty of twist and turns and keep me engaged and guessing until the end. So many parts of this book caught me by suprise and trust me that does not happen often often.
All of the characters are well developed and so easy to connect with. Each scene was described so well that it was as if I was picked up and transported to right there . Yes the book is dark and very bad things happen to this child. However, Sarah does not write about it in such graphic detail that makes you feel sick. This story will stay with me for a very long time. This is my first time reading anything by this author and it will not be the last. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves gripping psychological thrillers.
Great read.
Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil might be a book of horror for parents. Emma was a single parent living with her parents and son Aiden in the small town of Bishoptown, population 400. It was said to be the second smallest village in England and was separated into two parts by the river Ouse. On one of those life-changing days, Emma had to cross the river to pick up six-year-old Aiden from school. It was raining so hard that many villagers concluded the bridge joining the village together would soon be swept away. Hurrying to cross the bridge before it was too late, Emma lost her balance due to high waves and landed on a riverbank on the side where the school was located. The river had taken her phone and one boot. Still, she had made it to the school where she met a very worried teacher and former friend, Amy. Near tears, Amy told Emma that Aiden had wandered off somewhere. The search was on; almost everyone in the village participated.
Aiden’s red coat was found in the river three days later. Aiden was not found.
Seven years later Emma had Aiden declared dead. Ten years later, Emma was working with Amy Perry, Aiden’s teacher when he disappeared. Emma was at the stage of acceptance. Aiden had drowned. It was time to move on. And Emma had moved on. She had married Jake, her former art teacher when she had been in high school. Emma was his student. He was twenty-eight years old. She was again pregnant and looking forward to giving birth to a daughter. This was her first marriage. Rob, the father of Aiden hadn’t wanted to marry the thirteen-year-old pregnant Emma. Although Rob still lived in the village, Emma had no contact with her baby father. Still, Emma had moved on, she was happy, life was good.
Then the sixteen-year-old Aiden appeared in a nearby hospital. Police informed Emma that Aiden had been found abandoned and walking in a nearby forest. Aiden did not speak. Not one word. Aiden appeared to occasionally listen to conversations around him. Or he would not listen to anything around him but would sit in an almost catatonic state as he watched cartoons on any nearby television, a device that captured his attention so much that sometimes he would stare at the television even when it was not turned on. Obviously, huge amounts of time would be needed for therapy. Months and years might be required to overcome the trauma and physical effects of malnutrition. Aiden limped, he had poor posture, he slipped in and out of fugue states.
While Aiden underwent various therapies, life for other characters in the novel went on. With a background of Aiden’s silence, Emma recalled and maintained a love for her son. Emma was confident that Aiden would “return,” and she intended to be there for him when he did. Aiden moved into the home occupied by Jake and Emma who was then eight months pregnant. Aiden maintained silence but seemed to follow instructions given calmly and patiently by Jake, instructions such as “Watch television” and Go to your room, it is time for bed.” Initially, Emma was amazed by Jake’s patience with Aiden. Later, there were disagreements as Jake voiced concern for the safety of their soon-to-be-born daughter. His concerns became increasingly stronger in a way that correlated with the visits to their home by Rob, Aiden’s birth father. Rob, who was never overly concerned with Aiden as a six-year-old, looked forward to making up for his mistakes with his now teenage son. Jake did not appreciate the help or the frequent communications with an ex-wife that was his present wife. Increasing tensions among adults led to predictable acting out by the silent although physically expressive Aiden. Keeping scissors and knives away from Aiden became a priority.
So where had Aiden been for ten years? Police determined that it could not have been far away from the small town where everyone knew everyone. Whoever had taken him, wherever he had been, once the mystery was solved it would be a surprise for everyone. The kidnapper and captor for ten years lived among them.
This is a novel I had to read in its entirety to appreciate it. Looking at a typical organization for a novel of Beginning (one fourth) Middle (one half) and Conclusion (one fourth), I found the first part enthralling and horrible. What could possibly be worse than the death of a child? The reappearance of the same child, mute and mildly catatonic, ten years later after having been declared dead might fill the category of something worse. The middle portion of the book has been described by many authors as the place where novels die. This is the place where the reader might abandon the book. This part is where boredom lurks. I found this to be true of this book. I felt it dragged on and on. But the mystery intrigued me and I slogged forth. The conclusion mirrored the first part; it was fantastic with many surprises. After the conclusion and a bit of reflection, I believe the middle portion of the novel was essential. If I had not been dragged through some relationship struggles I found unexciting, I would have criticized the last portion of the novel of being almost a non-sequitur. Denzil did an outstanding job presenting the context necessary for the brilliant ending.
I can’t resist making a comment about how I discovered this book. I didn’t. It was recommended to me by Gwynne (if the spelling is wrong I am going to hear about it) a university student in one of my classes. I started this blog about two years go with an objective of writing brief reviews that would interest students enough that they would read the full novels or collections of short stories. Overall, I have not satisfied my objective. After two years, Gwynne is the first student to make a book recommendation. I am happy that I can give this five stars due to the unusual (for me) organization. It is the first novel I have read which was, in turn, exciting, boring, exciting again and then prompted reflection that led me to conclude the seemingly boring parts were also good.
Silent Child sells for USD 3.99 but is free on Kindle Unlimited. I am looking for further novels by Sarah A. Denzil.
To me it was predictable. I liked the book well enough and finished it, but I wish it would have turned out a little different.
I loved this book and recommended it to my daughter. I read until I fell
asleep , woke up and read again. I love it when I cannot figure out the
ending.
This was the first time reading anything by this Author. It was by far the best book of the year. Don’t miss one of the best books of reading….highly recommend it.
I started the book feeling sorry for the main character, then I was mad at her and finally I got to the end. But through it all I had to know what happened and who did it. The subject matter was disturbing but it was handled well.
A great thriller to keep your mind off mundane tasks like exercise. Characters were believable and interesting. Twisted story. Kind of sad and depressing.
I chose this book because of all the great reviews, yet I figured most of it out with Jake’s behavior at the hospital. Also, I felt the ending and the last few chapters were a bit too trite,; let’s wrap this up in so many words.