Book Review: ‘The Silence: A Novel’ By Susan Allott Is A Thrilling Debut

by | May 8, 2020 | Books | 0 comments

The first novel from author Susan Allott spans 30 years and is a mystery about what happened to Mandy. It’s a solid debut with twists and turns that keep the reader engaged throughout. More novels like this and Susan will be a force to deal with.

It’s 1997 and Isla Green, who lives in England gets a call from her father Joe, who’s in Sydney, that he has been questioned about a neighbor Mandy, who use to live next door to them 30 years ago. Molly has inherited her father’s estate and no one can find her. It’s being reported that Joe was the last person to see her before she vanished.

Isla flies to Sydney to support her father. Her parents have a rocky relationship and her brother Scotty doesn’t much care for his father. Isla offers support and decides to investigate on her own as she remembers Mandy a bit and her husband at the time Steve, a cop who had to take children from their families.

Via flashbacks we learn the story of Joe and Louisa and Steve and Mandy starting in 1967. The novel goes between then and 1997 and we learn the story as it happens. Isla wants to believe her father had nothing to do with Mandy going missing. And we learn shocking secrets along the way and finally learn what happened to Mandy.

You can pick up The Silence in stores on Tuesday, May 19th from William Morrow.