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The Price of Silence

by Camilla Trinchieri

The Price of Silence by Camilla Trinchieri

Review: Camilla Trinchieri's electrifying stand-alone thriller, The Price of Silence, is a tense psychological study involving lies, secrets, and ultimately murder.

Emma Perotti is teacher of English as a second language to foreign students and new citizens. She is happily married to her husband Tom and they have a 16-year-old sold Josh. When a young Asian artist named An-link comes to Emma's class, Emma immediately senses a need in An-ling for something more than lessons in English and soon realizes that An-ling wants and needs a mother's love, understanding and support which she feels she can give her. But Tom is resentful of their relationship and orders Emma to stop seeing An-ling. Josh, on the other hand, thinks An-ling is the most beautiful creature he has even seen and would like to see her more often. When An-Ling is found dead in her loft, evidence points to Emma who was there the day she died. She is arrested and accused of her murder. But, it is later revealed, Tom and Josh had also visited An-Ling on the day of her death.

The Price of Silence has a moving backstory that plays an important role in how the current events are playing out. Told in flashback, Emma and Tom's first child, a girl named Amy, was killed when she was just 2 years old in a tragic accident when a car driven by Emma rolled over her. Emma and Tom sold their home and moved away, burying not only Amy but every memory they ever had of her. When Josh was born, he was never told of Amy. After An-Ling came into their lives, Josh sees a dramatic change in both his parents but is confused as to why they're acting this way.

During the course of Emma's trial, itself often riveting reading, the author successfully keeps the suspense level high by intermixing what Emma, Tom, and Josh are thinking and feeling, including some of their innermost secrets. Frequently heart-breaking but always insightful, The Price of Silence is an incredible journey of one family that cannot escape the tragedy of their past.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Price of Silence.

Acknowledgment: Soho Press provided a trade paperback edition of The Price of Silence for this review.

Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

Location(s) referenced in The Price of Silence: Manhattan, New York City

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The Price of Silence by Camilla Trinchieri

The Price of Silence by

Publisher: Soho Press
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-458-7
Publication Date:
List Price: $22.00

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Page Author: Lance Wright
Site Publisher: Mysterious Reviews

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