The Slow Burn of Silence by Loreth Anne White.

This is the first of the Snowy Creek novels set in British Columbia. It is a mystery with some romance woven into the plot. Jeb Cullen has been released from prison because his conviction was overturned. He returns to Snowy Creek to unravel the mystery of what happened 9 years ago.

There are 3 central characters in this novel, Jeb Cullen the ex-con, his old girlfriend Rachel Salonen and a nine year old girl. The Slow Burn of Silence tells the story from these 3 different points of view.

From the start I was impressed with the quality of Loreth’s writing. Her writing style just slotted into gear with my thinking. Her use of vocabulary is tremendous and I would very often tap a word on my Kindle to pull up the definition. The description of the scenes are very detailed and powerful, so much so that I felt I was living in Snowy Creek and the surrounding mountains.

I like how Loreth tells the story. I think it would appeal to both genders. It is a deeply emotional read and Loreth really gets to the heart of how people feel about each other. It explores the meaning of love and how people bond together.

The Slow Burn of Silence is a character based novel and oh boy, Loreth truly develops each of her central 3 characters to the full. I developed a strong empathy early on for the 3 of them.

The plot was okay and because Jeb Cullen was released from prison as his sentence was overturned, straight away you have your suspicions. As details emerge, you join up the dots so the plot does not give you many surprises. However this is a very entertaining read and I enjoyed reading how all the many minor characters had their own little bit to play in this unfolding mystery. I liked how each character had very strong motivation, there were no bland characters added to pad this novel out.

I found this book to be a rewarding read and the quality of writing made it a pleasure to spend time with. Although the plot was not outstanding, the emotional depth made this such a GOOD read, that it gets 4 stars from me. I also feel that this novel would make a good family film.

The Slow Burn of Silence was published in 2013 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.