Tahoe
Silence
An
Owen McKenna Mystery
Todd
Borg
Thriller
Press (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-931296-15-4 (1931296154)
ISBN-13: 978-1-931296-15-1 (9781931296151)
Publication Date: August 2007
List Price: $16.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Seventeen-year-old Silence Ramirez is an exceptional
artist. She also has autism and has never spoken a word in her life.
When she is kidnapped, it appears she's been taken by a gang of bikers
whose charismatic leader quotes Aztec commands from Aztec gods.
Detective Owen McKenna seems unable to learn anything about the case
until Silence figures out how to sneak drawings of her kidnappers out
of the house where she is held captive. Owen uncovers the identities of
the biker-kidnappers, but that doesn't help him find Silence or even
learn why she was taken. Silence knows why she was kidnapped, but that
knowledge is locked up inside her mind.
As McKenna studies her drawings, he comes to a horrible conclusion. The
kidnappers plan to kill Silence in a ritual Aztec sacrifice at the next
full moonrise, an event that is only hours away.
Review:
Former San Francisco detective turned private investigator Owen McKenna
investigates the kidnapping of an autistic young girl in Tahoe Silence,
the fifth mystery in this series by Todd Borg, set on the Nevada side
of Lake Tahoe.
SalAnne Ramirez, a 17-year-old girl diagnosed with autism and nicknamed
Silence since she's never spoken a word in her life, and her younger
brother Charlie are outside their home when they are suddenly
kidnapped, the only clue being that the roar of a motorcycle was heard
at the same time they were taken. Fearing the police won't take their
disappearance seriously, their mother hires McKenna to find them.
Though the leader of a motorcycle gang seems to be the most likely
suspect, McKenna begins his investigation by assuming she was not taken
at random, but for some specific purpose. When her brother Charlie is
found murdered, McKenna's forced to rethink his position, that maybe
the gang is responsible and as a result he starts down a path that puts
his own life in danger.
When speaking to someone about Silence's autism, McKenna is asked how
her condition figures into the kidnapping. He replies, "I don't know.
But because her autism is such a prominent facet of her personality,
the better I understand autism, the better I will understand how she
will respond to her current situation, how she will react if we can
make a rescue attempt. It may even suggest why she was targeted in the
first place." That statement summarizes both the strong and weak points
of Tahoe
Silence. On the positive
side, the author recognizes that autism is likely to be a little
understood disorder by readers of his book and thus makes an effort to
educate them on what autism is and how it is diagnosed. But Borg seems
too eager to show off the considerable research he has put into the
subject. A more tightly edited version of the book would have
eliminated a large number of extraneous pages without compromising how
autism factors into McKenna's investigation and without any loss of
continuity in the plot.
Borg cleverly uses an Aztec ritual that is performed on the night of a
full moon as a way of introducing a time element into the story. At
several points, McKenna notes the number of days until the full moon
which effectively generates and maintains a sense of urgency in
locating Silence. And as is typical of books in this series, Spot,
McKenna's Harlequin Great Dane, plays an important role.
Far too much incidental information and the oddly incongruous
happily-ever-after epilogue prevent Tahoe
Silence
from being the best in this series, but it is very good nonetheless.
Special thanks to Thriller Press for providing a copy of Tahoe Silence for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Tahoe Silence? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Tahoe
Death Fall
Thriller Press (Hardcover), August 2001
ISBN-10: 1-931296-11-1 (1931296111)
ISBN-13: 978-1-931296-11-3 (9781931296113)
Tahoe
Blowup
Thriller Press (Hardcover), September 2001
ISBN-10: 1-931296-12-X (193129612X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-931296-12-0 (9781931296120)
Tahoe Ice Grave
Thriller Press (Trade Paperback), August 2002
ISBN-10: 1-931296-13-8 (1931296138)
ISBN-13: 978-1-931296-13-7 (9781931296137)
Tahoe
Killshot
Thriller Press (Hardcover), August 2004
ISBN-10: 1-931296-14-6 (1931296146)
ISBN-13: 978-1-931296-14-4 (9781931296144)
Tahoe Silence
Thriller Press (Trade Paperback), August 2007
ISBN-10: 1-931296-15-4 (1931296154)
ISBN-13: 978-1-931296-15-1 (9781931296151)
Omnimystery
keywords for Tahoe Silence
...
Location(s) referenced: Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
