The author wrote a stellar second book for his series that would just as easily been enjoyable as a stand alone book. The relationship between Nicole and Stacey was a great subplot, but this relationship could easily be its own book with all of the issues simmering under the surface. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

Detective Nicole Foster is back in her hometown having gotten a second chance to do the work she loves. Her mother left her and her sister, Stacy, when they were young and younger sister Stacy out shined Nicole as they grew up. Stacy's husband died in an explosion and Nicole is raising their daughter, Emma. A 1-year-old baby girl dies in a hot car when her father forgot to take her to daycare. Nicole and her partner, Carter Hanson, are working the case. This is an exciting book with lots of twists, turns and surprises in it. There are some very interesting characters and some great story lines that all tie in nicely as the book progresses. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good detective story.

he Weight of Silence by Gregg Olsen is the 2nd in the Nicole Foster Detective Series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Thomas & Mercer, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Series Background (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books):
Homicide Detective Nicole Foster is far from perfect. Her taste in men is questionable. She has a gambling addiction. Her relationship with her both her father and her sister Stacy has been poor. But she tries.

My Synopsis:
Nicole has been looking after her 7-year old niece Emma, since her sister fled to Mexico, after killing her husband. Emma believes that both her parents are dead. Nicole thinks that is for the best. She has also made sure that her own father is in a better nursing home, using money she got from her sister. She has a new partner, and is working for the police in her home town. She’s trying to keep everything going, a fresh start.

When a baby is discovered dead in the back of a car on the hottest day of the year, memories of another lost child resurface in Nicole’s mind. But she tries to just concentrate on one-year old Ally.  The child's father is quickly arrested, and further investigation shows what a monster he is. On the other hand, his wife is not much better. These people did not really want Ally, and unfortunately, her death is the result.

Meanwhile, Stacy shows up, and wants to see Emma. Nicole is not going to let that happen. She is going to stop this…whatever it takes.

My Opinions:
Gregg Olsen tackles tough subjects. He never shies away from the horror of a situation, but he treats the subject with respect. This book was no different. The death of a child in a hot car. The feelings of horror and disgust that the detectives who have to investigate this crime felt. The public rallying around the parents. The overall despair. It’s hard on the reader’s emotions…because this type of thing happens in real life, every year, when parents leave their children in a hot car. Tragedy.

It is a book about lies, about deceit, about knowing who to trust.

Yes, this book tells the tale of a horrific crime. It also tells the tale of two sisters, and the lies, deceit, and trust issues surface here as well. The relationship between Nicole and Stacy is one that takes place in many homes, where one sister is manipulative, sly, cunning, always getting her own way, always getting her digs in. Instead of the relationship mellowing over time, this book takes that relationship to the extreme, where that manipulative sister becomes a murderer.

Gregg Olsen is an amazing writer!

While many will read this for the investigation into the death of young Ally, I found the more compelling plot line to be the one where Nicole is dealing with her sister Stacey. I had not read the first book so came to Nicole cold- and yet I liked her very much. She's dealt with adversity before and now she's back on a police force all the while dealing with a difficult family dynamic. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I like this author. It has been a while since I have read anything by this author. Thus the reason when I got the chance to read this book I jumped on it without a second thought. While, I have not read the first book in this series, I didn't have issues jumping right into this story. In fact, I liked Nicole. The problem is not her as much as the storyline.

The storyline lacked intensity and a strong character emotional connection. The story starts out with a father grieving as he left his child in the car. A sad but all too real situation. Nicole is called out to help on the case.

From this point on I was ready for the story to pick up. It didn't but I still held out hope and kept reading. The story moved at a slow pace without a lot of emotion emulating from the characters for me. Overall, this is not a favorite book of mine from this author as I but I will still read more books by this author.

The thought of leaving a child in a hot car and FORGETTING they are there in the hot car is just horrific. I can’t imagine that happening but I know it does happen in the news. The Weight of Silence by Gregg Olsen is the 2nd book in the Nicole Foster series and even though I did not read the first book “The Sound of Rain” by him (I do have it on my TBR pile), I felt like I was able to keep up with this book ok without having read the first book in the series. I enjoyed the book even though I found parts of it dragged about ¾ through and I was wanting to see how it ended. I didn’t love it but I did enjoy it. I look forward to reading his first book in this series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book prior to publication. All opinions expressed are my own.

Nicole is trying to make her present better than her past. She's starting over in a new town and job. The pull for her addiction seems pretty honest. Great story for the 2nd book in the series. You don't have to read the 1st book as the author does a really good job of inserting back story here and there.
I wold recommend this book to anyone looking for a good mystery

This is the 2nd book in the Nicole Foster series. I did read the 1st one, but can say, this one could be read without having the back story from book 1. The author does a good job of recapping the important information that is relevant to the background of the main character.

With that being said, I enjoyed the book but not the ending. I felt it ended rather abruptly and I was left with wanting more. I hope the reason why is because a 3rd in the series is in the works. If it was possible, I would rate this one 3.5/5.

Thank you #netgalley and #thomas&mercer for the eARC.

Thanks to #Netgalley and Thomas&Mercer for the ARC

The second book in the series, this was read as a stand-alone in my case. It worked as such, I do not feel I missed out on any character development or plot misalignment. The story itself was alluring and multifaceted. It does deal with the darker subject of child neglect and death, so sensitive readers should be aware.

Homicide detective, Nicole Foster, is attempting to start life over in her small hometown. She is determined to escape her past. One that includes bad choices in men, addiction, and a narcissistic sister. For the past three years she has been raising her niece, taking care of her aging father, and working to regain her reputation as a good cop. As Nicole is beginning to find balance in her new life, a startling new case threatens to throw her off course. She receives a call from her partner, Detective Carter Hansen, to find that a toddler has been found dead inside her father’s car. As they begin to work what seems to be a straight forward case, Nicole and Carter find that everything and everyone is not as they appear. Simultaneously, Nicole’s memories of a past case that almost ended her career and cost her everything comes crashing forward. She is thrown into the lies and deception surrounding her sister’s life and she is forced to an awakening that she must either continue to bare the weight of keeping silent or find the strength to do what’s right.

This book is an easy 4 stars. I hesitate on 5 because of the lack of closure we are left with involving some of the tertiary subjects. While understanding that this is a series and that the bigger story lines can, understandably, be carried over and left to linger, the reader does not want to be left without remedy on internal plots within the book itself. That being said, this is a great read. Olsen’s story is dynamic and the character twists are remarkable.

I was hoping for a definitive conclusion in this, book two, of the series but although there was a clear pattern the perpetrators weren't unequivocally dealt with. It must be my month for reading novels dealing with topical subjects. In "the Weight of Silence" Gregg Olsen confronts his feature characters with issues of child abuse and worse. It's a dark subject and had me cringing at times. One sincerely hopes that this is indeed a work of "fiction".
Oh and there's gambling addiction featuring prominently to boot. Our heroine (?), re-instated Police Detective Nicole Foster, struggles to avoid the casino while trying to bring a prolicide conviction against young couple and plotting sororicide herself. It's not clear at any stage who is doing what to whom, so that makes for a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the pleasure of reviewing this work

The Weight of Silence begins with Detective Nicole Foster starting over in the her hometown. Raising her niece and working as a detective, Nicole is still haunted by her addictions and her sociopath of a sister. A death of a child left in a hot car turns into a horrific case as all signs point to it being on purpose. With the twists the reader expects from Mr. Olsen's books, the story becomes a dark, shocking ride of truth and accountability. I found the ending to be a little bit too easy and somewhat of a cop out. Overall the book snags the reader and does not let go for a very suspenseful read. My voluntary unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Lovers of the TV program CSI with the character Olivia Benson should enjoy this book. Family. Love. Complications. Consequences. Engaging read.

During a heat wave, one-year-old Ally is left in a hot when her father forgets to drop her at daycare. Homicide detective Nicole Foster and her partner immediately see problems with the father's story.

This is the second book featuring homicide detective Nicole Foster, and I have not read the first one. Nicole has plenty of problems and spends a great deal of time mulling over her past, her family dynamics, her guilt. Even recognizing the effects of her childhood, I found it difficult to sympathize with the litany of circumstances. Uncaring parents, sociopath sister, past gambling addiction, present drinking problem, terrible ex-partner, concealment of sister's crimes, etc.

The Weight of Silence by Gregg Olsen is, when boiled down to its essence, a story of unwanted children. Nicole, Emma, and Ally are born to families that consider their children millstones rather than blessings.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Crime. August 14. Print length: 330 pages.

This book is well written with good characters, but little suspense.
I'm not very fond of reading about police officers with huge personal problems, and this book would have been much better without the constant nagging about the bad sister.
I loved several of the dry and funny remarks.

In the time which has passed since Nicole Foster solved a job ending case that left her homeless and almost totally alone she has moved back to her childhood home with her seven year old niece and their dog, rekindled her career, and found a little peace but things are about to unravel once again. During the hottest summer for a century a baby is pulled from her father's car having somehow been forgotten for hours. Nicole, called to the scene by her partner, Carter, throws herself into the investigation determined to find justice for the child who died in such a horrendous way. Nicole is also bringing up her niece, trying to keep her gambling demons at bay and visiting her Alzheimer suffering father in his care home who thinks she is her sister, Stacey, who no one has seen for 3 years.
I usually feel a little guilty when I read a book in one sitting knowing the author will have sweated over it for months or even longer but not this time. There was no way I was putting this down until I was done. Thank you Netgalley for giving me the chance to enjoy this story a little early.
The title's meaning is interwoven throughout being relevant to Nicole's life, her father's and those involved in the killing of a one year old girl. Although once again the death of a small child is central to Nicole's story the similar case from the previous book is mentioned only in passing and doesn't overwhelm any part of this story, thank goodness. This is different and Mr Olsen lets all concerned recognize it.
The storyline begins at the end and then returns to the beginning. You know some of what has happened but not how or why. This doesn't spoil anything but instead seems to fuel the race to the denouement as the story hurtles along at a cracking pace. The frenzy of Nicole's life, the sins of her parents and sister all determine her actions and thoughts. Seen through her eyes alone the story is definitely weighted by her own silence and that of those around her. She breaks through some but not all of it and I can't wait to see where she will be taken in the next instalment.

Wow how have I not read Greg Olsen Before? I absolutely loved this book. I have found another great author.thank you NetGalley.

As usual, Gregg Olsen has given us a great read! I've read other titles by Olsen, and was struck by the vividness of this mystery thriller. Set in the Northwest, The Weight of Silence takes us on a trip through the strained relationship of two sisters. Highly recommended!

This book took a toll on me. It's more of an emotional than a psychological toll. What do you do when you're a detective assigned to a case where a little girl dies in a car, in the middle of a heat wave, because her dad forgot she was in the backseat? It's the fact that this story focused on the death of a child, had characters that drove me up a wall and I couldn't shake off a feeling of anger and desire for justice? If you love a good detective mystery then this is something worth reading, I got an eARC off NetGalley and now I can safely say I've read a book by Gregg Olsen.

I really liked this book! It sucked me in from the start and kept me turning the pages quickly to find out what was going to happen next.

Gregg Olson has another winner on his hands. In the second Nicole Foster thriller, our protagonist has to deal with the heartbreaking death of a baby girl. Subplots include family relationships which add to the depth of the character.