Today is my turn on the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE SILENT LISTENER by Lyn Yeowart.
Below you will find a book description, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
AN UNFORGETTABLE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER SET IN THE DARK, GOTHIC HEART OF RURAL AUSTRALIA
The moment he dies, the room explodes with life.
Joy Henderson returns to the family farm to nurse her dying father. To the outside world, George is a pillar of the community, but to Joy and her siblings, he’s a monster. As children, they lived in constant fear of the punishments he dished out to his “dirty, filthy sinners who are going to rot in Hell”. Then, the day after George finally confesses to a horrific crime, Joy finds him dead — with a belt pulled tight around his neck . . .
Senior Constable Alex Shepherd, summoned to the scene by George’s doctor, is suspicious: did Joy murder her father? If so, why?
The more Shepherd digs the more questions he raises. Will the truth finally be revealed?
Effortlessly propelling the reader back and forth between three timelines, Lyn Yeowart’s unforgettable debut richly rewards the reader with its explosive, pitiless conclusion.
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
THE SILENT LISTENER by Lyn Yeowart is an intense, dark atmospheric family drama suspense. This debut author follows a family over several decades by intertwining three timelines. This is a slow burn suspense and it does take a while to sort out, but it is so well written it is difficult to put down even with the difficult subject matter and well worth your time.
Set in rural Australia, one timeline is set in the 1940’s when George Henderson meets his future wife Gwen and after a whirlwind romance marries her. George is not the man he pretends to be and Gwen does not realize the direction her marriage will take. They have three children, Mark, Ruth and Joy. The second timeline is told in Joy’s perspective. Joy in the 1960’s when she is age 11 and her neighbor’s 9-year-old daughter, Wendy disappears. Joy returns home in 1983 to take care of her dying father and Senior Constable Shepard investigation is the focus.
When George Henderson dies, it is under suspicious circumstances and Senior Constable Shepard is called to the home. He was part of the search for the missing Wendy all those years ago and now as he investigates George’s death and learns more about the Henderson family, nothing is as it seems.
This is a story that is difficult to read and yet difficult to put down. Even with the slow set-up, there are so many things that you question and that you are intrigued by. The plotting has subtle red herrings in the first part of the book and then as secrets begin to unravel and be revealed the pacing picks up to a conclusion that was very surprising and satisfying. Trigger warnings for readers: Domestic violence and child abuse.
I can recommend this dark family domestic suspense for an intense read by this debut author.
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Author Bio
Lyn Yeowart is a professional writer and editor with more than 25 years of experience in writing and editing everything from captions for artworks to speeches for executives. Her debut novel, The Silent Listener, is loosely based on events from her childhood in rural Australia. She is now happily ensconced in Melbourne, where there is very little mud, but lots of books.
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