A review by yvo_about_books
The Silence by Luca Veste

4.0

Finished reading: July 18th 2020

"The world felt like a nightmare. Lucid and tangible, but not real. It couldn't be. This wasn't happening."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

The Silence was originally published as The Six last year, and I've been wanting to read it ever since I first read the blurb and saw the first reviews. I always love a good serial killer thriller and the blurb does a fantastic job of drawing me right in as well... I've been meaning to read it for a long time now, and I thought that requesting an ARC would be the perfect guarantee that I would read it as soon as possible. I'm definitely glad I did, because there is no doubt that The Silence is a scorcher.

Told from Matt's POV throughout, one of the six friends who star the show of this story, you will slowly learn more about the past, present and the characters themselves. We get murder, we get a cover up, we get that 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' vibe, we get a serial killer, we get killer plot twists, we get that ominous feel... And plenty of action and intrigue to top that off. What an ace recipe for a successful thriller! Matt's flashbacks are used to show us more of the dynamics between the members of the group of friends while also giving hints about what might go on in the present. Looking back, you could potentially deduct the truth from those hints, but guess what?! I most definitely didn't! The final developments and plot twists came as a complete shocker indeed.

The plot itself is brilliantly constructed. You first learn about what happened at the festival, which is shocking enough on its own of course. Imagine that happening to you and your friends! The story then fast forwards to one year after the event, where most of the plot takes place. With that 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' vibe, strange things start happening and characters who already seem to be falling apart will start to lose it completely. Danger, death, guilt, foreboding... How would they ever be able to get out of this mess? Matt and the rest struggle to discover the truth and who is behind it all, realizing they didn't get away with it after all... Flashbacks are used to explain the dynamics between the members of the group as well as to reveal facts about certain characters along the way. The hints are perfectly designed to mislead you and send you on the wrong track, or at least that was what happened to me; I most definitely never saw that ending coming.

This was my first time reading one of Luca Veste's books, and it definitely won't be my last as The Silence made me an instant fan of his writing. Engaging, suspenseful and intense: this story had me in its claws and I wasn't released until I reached that final page. This was without doubt a highly successful serial killer thriller and I will be looking forward to read more of his work in the future.