Silent Child by Sarah A Denzil #BookReview @sarahdenzil

About this book…

In the summer of 2006, Emma Price watched helplessly as her six-year-old son’s red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. It was the tragic story of the year – a little boy, Aiden, wandered away from school during a terrible flood, fell into the river, and drowned.

His body was never recovered.

Ten years later, Emma has finally rediscovered the joy in life. She’s married, pregnant, and in control again…

… until Aiden returns.

Too traumatized to speak, he raises endless questions and answers none. Only his body tells the story of his decade-long disappearance. The historic broken bones and injuries cast a mere glimpse into the horrors Aiden has experienced. Aiden never drowned. Aiden was taken.

As Emma attempts to reconnect with her now teenage son, she must unmask the monster who took him away from her. But who, in their tiny village, could be capable of such a crime?

It’s Aiden who has the answers, but he cannot tell the unspeakable.

My review…

I had seen some reviews for this over on TBConFB and was intrigued enough to download a sample to my Kindle. As soon as I finished the sample, I bought the whole book straight away so I could continue reading it. I have a TBR pile to rival Ben Nevis but this book just grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let go! Honestly, I  could not put it down! I made tea whilst reading this book. I fed the dog whilst reading this book. I put my make up on whilst reading this book. I went for a wee whilst reading this book. I ignored my family whilst reading this book! And I’m not even sure if I can explain why? But there is just  something about this book that makes it become the most important part of your life while you are reading it! And it can be a tough read at times due to nature of the crime involved but you still won’t be able to put it down.

This book plays on every parents nightmare about their child going missing. Recently there have been a spate of real life cases where missing children have turned up many years later and here the author has Aiden reappear 10 years after he is thought drowned in local floods. It becomes clear very quickly that he has suffered a terrible ordeal for all those years away from his family. My heart broke for Emma, his mother, who was unable to help her child overcome the dreadful physical and emotional abuse that he had suffered. I felt her helplessness like it was an actual pain, so distressing did I find the pressure on her to remain constantly strong and in control for her son, especially as she was also expecting a new baby with her husband Jake. But her determination was never far from the surface as her powerful maternal instincts kicked in. And it was great to see a character who wasn’t a “perfect mum” but one who felt free to make her parenting decisions on what she felt comfortable with and not what others expected from her.

There are twists and turns galore here, some I saw coming and others provoking a few jaw dropping moments but that didn’t seem to matter as much as the pure rollercoaster of emotions I rode whilst I hastily sped through the pages towards the end. I find myself very quickly involved in the life’s of all the characters here and every single one I was introduced to became a suspect. This isn’t a graphic book but what happened to Aidan is very distressing and as a parent it was difficult reading at times but still utterly compelling.

Sarah Denzil is not an author I had heard of before but now I have made a point of searching out her other books written under this name. She shows a huge understanding of mental health issues and has transferrd her knowledge into a highly engrossing suspense that I have absolutely loved reading. You will never trust anyone again once you realise how many masks the people around us are hiding behind.

And yes this could have done with a final proofread (always happy to oblige!) as there were a few typo’s but, you know what, I DON’T CARE! Sarah A Denzil has created a  corker of a bestseller here-heartbreaking and chillingly gripping from page one and I just loved it. A contender for my favourite book of the year so far.

Highly recommended by me!

Silent Child is available to buy from Amazon UK now.

Meet the author

Sarah A. Denzil is a British suspense writer from Derbyshire. In her alternative life–AKA Sarah Dalton–she writes speculative fiction for teenagers, including The Blemished, Mary Hades and White Hart.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather.

Saving April, Sarah’s debut suspense thriller, is a psychological look into the minds of the people around us who we rarely even consider – our neighbours. What do we really know about them, and what goes on when the doors are closed?