Thursday, January 7, 2010


The Price of Silence by Kate Wilhelm
Mass Market Paperback, 412 pages
Mira, 2005
ISBN-13: 9780778323389

Synopsis
In dire need of a job, Todd Fielding accepts the offer to work at The Brindle Times--even if she has to move to the lackluster town of Brindle. As she settles into her new home, Todd is fully prepared to adapt to the boredom of small-town life, but her preconceptions of Brindle are completely shattered when a local girl disappears. Even more shocking to Todd is the town's sheer indifference to the incident. No one--not even the police--appears particularly concerned.
When Todd looks deeper into the story, she discovers that five other girls have "run away" from Brindle under strange circumstances over the past twenty years. As she sets out to uncover the history of a town that has cloaked itself in secrecy for far too long, evidence of manipulation and cold-blooded murder begin to unravel. And Todd may be the next victim to pay the deadly price of silence.
My Thoughts:

The Price of Silence is a stand alone psychological mystery. The secret that needs to be uncovered to explain why girls are going missing in Brindle, Oregon, has roots going way back into the past and the founding of the town. While this is another solid novel by Wilhelm, I did know who the perpetrator was pretty early on. I also found it hard to believe that a small town would be so complacent about missing children. The plot did seem to drag on in a few places. There was also this inexplicable weird paranormal icy chill that occurred infrequently to some of the characters at night that played a major part of the story but then was just sort of dropped. Still, The Price of Silence was certainly good escapism. Highly Recommended

Quotes:

The Bend News, July, 1888
Four people perished in a fire that destroyed the Warden House last week in the town of Brindle. opening

I asked Ma who Janey was and she pinched my arm and said I must never mention that name again. pg. 9

Todd drove into the parking lot behind her town-house apartment building that sweltering afternoon in August and braced herself for the next few minutes. She knew Barney was already home; she had spotted his truck parked back in the separate section reserved for oversize vehicles. He would greet her, hope lightening his face, and she would shake her head. Then he would try to cheer her up. They spent a great deal of time trying to cheer each other up these days, and that was about as futile as her going out for yet another job interview. pg. 12

It was a long interview. Ruth Ann asked questions, and Todd answered in a straightforward way. When Ruth Ann asked what Barney’s dissertation was, Todd said, "The Cultural, Political and Religious Movements that Account for the Fluctuations in the Ascendancy of Rationalistic Belief Systems."
Ruth Ann laughed. "My God! That’s a mouthful. A philosopher, for goodness sake! I didn’t know anyone studied philosophy these days."
When Ruth Ann finally hung up, she regarded Johnny thoughtfully. "She’ll do," she said.
"Mother, be reasonable. You can’t hire someone you never even met on the basis of a phone call. And whose house are you offering a stranger?"
"As for the first part, I believe I just did," Ruth Ann said. pg 19

1 comment:

samantha.1020 said...

This sounds like a really good read and one that I want to check out. This is the first I've heard of this author so thanks for sharing your thoughts!