Search - The Weight of Silence

This was an engaging and fast read that was hard to put down. I liked the parallel storyline of two 7-year old girls missing at the same time from their homes in the early morning. I have to admit that I didn't see the twist coming, but the who-did-it part toward the end was not difficult to figure out. I like the retelling of the past from each character, especially the love story between Antonia and Louis who grew up together. The romantic in me appreciates the undying torch that Louis had for Antonia.

The 2 most compelling characters in the book for me are Callie and Louis whose perspectives I actually care about. The most annoying and uninspiring character is Antonia, who was weak and unsympathetic. Perhaps the author has to build a weak character in Antonia to create the desperate situation that Callie found herself in, but I wished that the author created more background or strength for Antonia. The book's other flaws included a general lack of believability where sometimes it just does not make sense why the characters do what they do. Again, more background on the character's past experiences or motives would have helped.

Overall, I would recommend this book for its suspenseful storytelling and the fact that it was an engaging read from start to finish.

Well written, the author has a very effective way of telling the story of these two families. Jumping to conclusions is a common theme that eventually brings everyone together as the plot unfolds. A good read, but caution for some. This story could be quite disturbing, especially for a parent who has lost a child or had a child abducted and/or molested.

Calli Clark is a seven year old that suffers from selective mutism brought on by a horrible tragedy from when she was just a toddler. Calli lives with her kind and devoted mother and her mostly absent, angry, alcoholic father. Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend and her voice. She understands Calli like no other and knows what Calli wants, or needs to say.

One August morning, as dawn is approaching, both families awaken to find that the little girls have gone missing during the night. Calli's mother denies that her husband had anything to do with their abduction but starts to fear that her decision to stay in the abusive marriage may now have cost her more than just her daughter's beautiful voice.

Everyone in the town is searching the surrounding woods of the girls homes, including Calli's older brother Ben. Ben finds them in the woods and is horrified when he walks up. What does he see? Who all does he find and are they alive or dead? If just Calli's ok will she be able to overcome her mutism and speak or is the answer trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets?

This book started out very slow and was hard to get interested in at first. Each chapter is told by a different characters point of view, which caused the story to be somewhat jumpy and difficult to get a good feel of each personal character. As the story unfolded however, I couldn't put the book down. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to become of everyone. I enjoyed reading this book and it is one that I will probably put up to read again later on.

I enjoyed this book but I can't say it was my favorite. The author developed the characters well, but as I read in another review, the ending could have been better. I wouldn't mind checking out some of this author's other books.

Great read

Good book - excellently written. I liked the way the author brought the story alive from different perspectives and different characters voices. I also liked that she spoke in the present tense with most voices - but one voice was in the past tense. The ending has a twist to it - altho I think the story ending could have been a bit stronger - it was not an ending that I fully expected. I gave the book 3 1/2 stars. Enjoyed and would definately read other books by this author.