Ruth and Ceely are best friends, eight years old. Ceely comes from a family with money, while Ruth comes from one which struggles financially. Ceelys mother really doesn’t approve of Ruth and sets very stringent rules for when the girls are together. But rules are meant to be broken and Ruth is very persuasive. They go together into the woods and down by the water where Ceely is forbidden to go. Ceely tells Ruth a secret and makes her promise never to tell. The two girls get into a fight, names are called and Ruth runs away and goes home. Ceely never comes home and her body is found a few days later. Ruth is the chief suspect, but she didn’t do it and knows who did, but she made a solemn promise not to tell.

Twenty or so years later, after years of drug and alcohol abuse, promiscuous sex, Ruth is now a cop. Then he comes back and Ruth will do everything and anything to bring him and those who covered for him to justice.

The reason I liked this so much, despite the many triggers,is because I believe it realistically portrays the effects of childhood trauma. Guilt, loss, memories, and yes, even shame, that she had never spoken out. Ruth is a hard character to like, but by books end I found her admirable.

The Silence By Mary McGarry Morris

The book begins with Ceely and Ruth walking through the woods. Ruth is allowed to do anything she wants, to an extent. Her mom isn't very strict and because they struggle financially, a large part of her freedom is due to her mom working to make ends meet. Ceely has had many benefits in life compared to Ruth. Ruth likes Ceely but at the same time resents her life, until Ceely lets a secret out, the priest from their local church creeps Ceely out. But not only that, but he touches her, and he just drove by, Ceely believing that he want her alone again. After they get into an argument because Ruth wets Ceely and she knows she will be in big trouble when she gets home, Ruth pushes her and leaves her alone in the woods. Shortly afterwards, Ceely’s body turns up, bludgeoned and wet.

The story continues with Ruth bow being an adult. She’s a police officer with an alcohol problem, and has kept quiet about what Ceely told her all those years ago. But when the predatory priest returns, Ruth finds she can no longer keep quiet. But no one believes the rankings of an alcoholic troublemaker. Especially when her accusations are against a valued member of society. To prove her accusations, she uses her detective skills to try to find concrete proof of his misdeeds, and prove the wrong man was sent to jail. But a master of lies, deceit, and manipulation has already laid the groundwork to discredit anything Ruth provides.

I disliked Ruth for most of the book. In the beginning she was just a kid who was from a poor family, looked down by everyone, and the smooth talking priest was easily able to manipulate circumstances to make both Ruth and the man accused of killing Ceely look culpable. As an adult and a police officer, her poor choices, such as drinking and driving, make her unreliable. I do like the way her character changes during the book. I also felt the end was a bit rushed and would like to have more of something in the end.

I loved the narrator and was quickly pulled in. She kept me engaged and hanging on to hear what happens next.
Overall the book was a three and a half but I rounded it up to four. I liked the fast pace of the story. The book has some mystery or hunting for proof, but I wouldn’t classify it as a mystery. It’s a thriller, but not in a conventional style either as you know who the perpetrator is from early on. I did enjoy the book and would recommend it - after you check the trigger warnings. I couldn’t wait to see just how justice would ultimately be delivered.

This book has a bunch of triggers and should have trigger warnings
A few include:
Child predator / molestation
Grooming
Child loss
Alcoholism
Drunk driving

Thank you NetGalley and rb Media for this ALC! This book was heartbreaking! It really shows the effects of trauma and how long it can linger and bleed into your daily life. I found the beginning of the book to be a bit confusing when it was going throughout Ruth’s life as the time changes were a bit abrupt to me - could have just been the audio version though. Additionally, I felt there were moments when parts of the story seemed to drag out, but I think the other parts of the book make up for those moments. The book features some hard and traumatic topics - the death of a child, sexual abuse, alcoholism and religious trauma. I think the majority of the book was well written, and really tells the story of how exactly trauma might affect one’s daily life, and how moving through that trauma can help someone heal.

Very good book! I thoroughly enjoyed it.. I listened to this one on an audio. It was well written and kept my interest. I would recommend it to my friends for sure.

Such a good but sad and infuriating read! Also it was a fantastic commentary on the predatory pedophile priests and how they were protected by the church and community and how many lives they left ruined in their wake. So many people in this book were hiding things and lying about things and ruining Ruth's life - thinking she was a murderer her entire life! How rude! Like no one thought to wonder why the priest was so chummy with little girls all the time? WTAF!!

This was my 1st book by Mary McGarry Morris but will definitely not be my last!!


#TheSilence
#NetGalle

Wow. Unique plot, and intriguing characters. Really pulls you in immediately. Couldn't stop listening to this one!

The beginning of the book about the two young girls and the setup and aftermath of the tragedy was well done, but the book suddenly shifts to grown up Ruth who is an incoherent mess and the book just repeated one out of control scene after another--which may have been realistic but didn't make for good reading. Maybe if we followed her gradual spiral we might have been more invested in her as a character.

The Silence by Mary McGarry Morris began very well. Two children in the woods. One reveals a terrible secret. They have an argument. One leaves. Later the second child is found murdered.

Unfortunately, as the story jumps to twenty eight years later with the surviving child, Ruth, now a cop, the story becomes frustrating and repetitive. Ruth’s actions are irrational and, frankly, annoying. But, in fairness, none of the characters are particularly likeable. Perhaps it’s the subject of this tale but I really felt it needed a better protagonist and, well, if I’m honest, a better story. However, I should note that many other reviewers disagree so this is one I leave to potential readers to decide for themselves. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Cassandra Campbell who does an admirable job.

Trigger warnings: child abuse, both sexual and physical, alcoholism, ptsd

I received an audiobook of this novel from Netgalley and Highbridge Audio in exchange for an honest review

This book is pure thriller since you know the killer early on, and the whole story is the trajectory of a flawed and troubled woman seeking justice for her murdered childhood friend 28 years ago. I found this tense, fast paced, and it kept my attention for the entirety. As Ruth (interesting biblical name choice) starts spinning out of control in a desperate need to make Father Woodman pay, you don't know if it will destroy her to do just that. There was a moment in this book where I gasped out loud in horror, and realized not all parents will react the same to finding out their child has been abused. Truly disturbing moment. In fact, all the parents acted very differently, and they all made me mad. My only real complaint about the book was the shifting first-person narratives. Otherwise, if the trigger warnings don't dissuade you, it's a taut and emotional read with a satisfying ending.

Eight year old Ruth and her best friend, Ceely have just had a big fight. Ruth runs off and leaves Ceely in the woods. The next thing you know, Ceely is dead. The police arrest a town drunk. But, Ruth knows he did not do it. So, now as an adult, she has decided to do something about it and find the real murderer.

I was so excited when I saw that this author had a new book coming out. I have read quite a few of her books and enjoyed them. However, this book was very slow and a bit repetitive.

Ruth is a character that frustrated me on so many levels. She oversteps on more than one occasion and just does not play it smart on others.

All of that being said, there are parts of this story which I found compelling. As a reader, you knew Ruth was on to something and it needed to be brought into the light.

This novel is narrated by Cassandra Campbell. She did a very good job. I enjoyed her cadence and her seriousness.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

The start of this book was very engaging along with the end. The middle seemed a bit drawn out. I started to get bored during the middle but stayed with it because I wanted to know what happened. The ending was good, the narration was good. It was an enraging story line because of how much truth lied within it. Overall decent book that’s was entertaining.

Such a tough read. Not the writing, not anything with the book, just the story. Just a tough story that, unfortunatley has been a true story for 1 too many children and families. While reading the book I felt lilke the writing and story was a little chaotic, but it makes sense. Anyone in any of those positions of the characters would be chaotic, their life would be a mess. I could never imagine a life with that history or that story in my past and the way Mary McGarry puts you in each of their shoes is phenomenal writing.

This was a tragic and thrilling read. i found present day Ruth annoying. She was just wreckless. I felt it was repetitive and confusing at times but I did enjoy it.

5 stars!!! Fantastic plot, storyline, banter, and well done with the narrator's performance! This is such a sad, morbid, and real story because this has happened to so many children which hurts me to my core. Please note this thriller deals with alcohol abuse, child abuse, sexual assault, and religious people hiding wrongs in the church. This story makes you realize that one bad person in a religion can make people turn away from it. We just have to remember that not all who believe in a greater power are bad and not all who believe are good either.

This book was really awesome! The narrator for the audio version did a great job! Because it involved such a difficult subject, it was hard to hear descriptions of the SA to the victims. It was also frustrating in the respect that people didn’t believe the victims.

Not interested in any of the characters. It also felt hard to connect them together. The “mystery” aspect wasn’t there at all.

This was a very good book. The characters are very realistic and raw. It deals with a lot of difficult traumas. I really enjoyed the depth of all of the characters, flaws and all. It was very realistic.

⭐️2.5 stars⭐️
I was drawn in at the beginning of the story. The tragic tale of 2 young girls running through the woods from an untrusted adult, but only 1 makes it out alive.

However, once it got into the present time with Ruth grown, I started to lose interest. Ruth frustrated me so much. I know she was traumatized by the death of her friend but she was incredibly irresponsible and reckless.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of this narrator. Some of the character’s voices were a little too whiny for me.

Thanks NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

I’m not sure how this book is considered a mystery or a thriller. There was no surprises in this book at all. It was so long and drawn out. I did not enjoy this book.

I chose this for the narrator. She is brilliant and she did a fabulous job with this novel.
I did struggle with the novel as a CSA survivor and I had to convince myself to hang out. The people just trusting the priest were hard for me to handle. Literally no one was like "that seems inappropriate?" But that is ultimately the point. People trust these men in certain positions at the detriment of their own children.
I loved when the former victim confronted him. That was kind of healing.
This was great but I bet someone with less trauma would love it more.