Reviews

Behind The Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

kb_hg's review against another edition

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5.0

Great book to start the year with! I loved it so much! Can’t believe it was her debut novel. Can’t wait to read more of her work

brilliantsilver's review against another edition

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The writing in this book was bad. The characters were extreme stereotypes, the father is an angry, abusive drunk, the small town cop, the old farm boy who wanted a different life.  They have no personality to speak of outside of their stereotypes. The multiple perspectives don't count for much because every person is written with the exact same voice. Everything about the characters and their backstory is told right away at the beginning of their first chapter. 

The dialogue is so tedious and boring to read, it's like reading legal documents. 
There are also big chunks of story where it reads like the author just copy pasted a research article onto the page.

The story is super predictable and before the first 100pgs you learn why the main character is mute, who took her, why they took her, that she will be found at the end of the book, and that she will speak by the end of the book. There is no suspense! A poorly crafted book all around.




Expand filter menu Content Warnings

michellec13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

atriasbookshelf's review against another edition

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3.0

The genre being slightly different from my usual was a nice start to the new year. The plot is so simple yet so amazing.

hlannom's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sebra1999's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense

3.5

elbruton's review against another edition

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4.0

Very good book. Quite a few surprises that made me try to guess what was next...

mschrock8's review against another edition

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4.0

I worried about Toni and her children, especially with Griff's rage.

saraqt's review against another edition

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4.0

This book, told from multiple points of view, tells the story of two little girls who go missing early one morning. Part of the suspense of the novel is the simple fact that you don't know what happened to the girls. At first, I found the author's switching of perspectives done rather inexpertly but eventually I felt the story take over. Couldn't put it down after the first 100 pages.

lindseyslittlelibrary's review against another edition

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4.0

I always enjoy Heather's books. This on is about a little girl who has stopped talking. You get to experience the story from a number of characters. The first half was a little slow but it quickly recovered for an action packed ending.