Wow. Elise Carmichael is a court sign language interpreter who reads lips all the time since her son who is deaf. One day she reads the lips of someone on the phone discussing an attempt to be made on a mother-in-law. Her son is rushed to the ER before she can say anything to anyone. She needs to tell someone before it’s too late but at what cost?

My personal Rating- Three Stars
{ Add ½ star for older girls who enjoyed political/suspense books. }

I’ve read a prior suspense book by this author before and enjoyed it, so “Dead Silence”, was on my release radar. The beginning of this book was suspenseful and the ending of this book was very suspenseful. I really liked Elise and her determination to do whatever for her son. I loved seeing them together and I really liked that this wasn’t a romance story at all. Elise is a widow who still very much misses her husband, but besides that there is no “romance” content at all. I’m constantly trying to find romance-free books in the Christian Fiction genre and it’s hard to find. That was an added bonus to this book. 

I only have two and a half things that I wasn’t thrilled with: There was mentions of a senator who assaulted young women and made them get abortions. The middle of the book seemed a bit slower that the beginning and end (but it still flowed well). And the half-point goes to Elise’s faith. Now, I really enjoyed the faith content and the discussions, but Elise’s realization about trusting God felt a little out of place to me. The faith content was really good, but I wanted to see more of Elise having to make the steps towards trusting God, not just have someone witness to her and her pray. A little detail that doesn’t matter too much in the scheme of the plot, but something I wanted to note. 

Overall, this was a good political suspense book that had nice faith content and a no-romance-based plot.

When Elise Carmichael, a lip reader and sign language interpreter for the courts is put into a situation that she never thought would happen.  She reads the lips of someone talking on the phone and realize they are talking about killing her mother-in-law, who also is a Senator.  When Elise need to report this to the FBI, she is sidetracked by getting a call her son also deaf has been taken to the ER for an accident.  Later when she watches the news and see that her mother-in-law has been shot and killed, she feels responsible and must do something.  Can she make the right decisions?  Will she put her and her son's life in danger?  Who can she trust?  Will her faith play a part in her decisions?

I would recommend this to those that enjoy a good drama, suspense read.  You will be turning the pages trying to figure out who is the villian.  Elise relies on prayer and her faith to get her through this and solve who killed her mother-in-law, along with keeping her and her son safe.  This is one of those books you read when you want to be able to wrap yourself up into a good book and forget about your own problems.

Thank you, Netgalley, for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

I love that this book included a disability take on a mystery! While some of the events in this book were not quite that realistic, I enjoyed "the ride." It was an entertaining book and great for mystery readers who don't mind a few unrealistic elements.

A wonderful mystery filled with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader reading up late at night! I enjoyed this story.

I just finished reading Dead Silence, by Robin Carroll, at the invitation of Barbour Publishing, in exchange for an honest review. Ms. Carroll has woven into the story compassion for the deaf, as well as examining sexual abuse and political corruption at high levels in our government. I was hooked on the first page, and could not put it down.

Elise Carmichael is a court reporter who learned lip-reading and American sign language when her beloved son, Sawyer, was born deaf and mute. As she is leaving the courthouse, she happens to “see” a conversation in which a courthouse security guard promises to end the life of her mother-in-law, a state senator, that night. Before she can notify the authorities, she is called away as  Sawyer has been rushed to the hospital due to a playground injury.

When Elise awakens to the news her mother-in-law has been shot and killed, she remembers the security guard. She reports what she witnessed, begins receiving death threats, she fears for both her life and Sawyer’s. Where is the leak in the FBI? Has God forsaken her? After all her son is deaf and mute, and her husband, a Marine, was killed in action. She has lost her faith. Will she get it back? Can it be that her son’s deafness will save his life?

Anyone who enjoys a good mystery or thriller, will love Dead Silence. I admit there were a couple of times I was thinking why don’t the cops or FBI check on this or that? It seemed so obvious, but overall it is a wonderful story. This book would make a great gift for your favorite mystery-lover.

What made The Grumpy Book Reviewer grumpy?
Recognizing the version I read was the uncorrected ARC, the story was very well written. I do believe she was a bit hard on law enforcement, but otherwise, the plot flowed smoothly, and the characters were lifelike. This is a little of what I found:

•	Incorrect verb usage;
•	mixing singular and plural;
•	an occasional missing word or extra word, probably the fault of spell correction.

Caught in the cross hairs of an assassin certainly would make a person change their life! She's now running for something she didn't actually hear but being a sight reader... she saw. A lot of action and suspense as she fought for life and justice! 
I requested a copy through NetGalley. No review was required. My review is voluntary.

This was a very good book. I was surprised at the ending. Never saw it coming!! A must read! I would definitely recommend this book.

Oh my goodness, Dead Silence by Robin Caroll is full of twists and turns.  I had to keep reading!  The author is very adept at plunging the reader right into the story from the very beginning.  While parts of the story seemed a little unbelievable, I was willing to suspend belief because the story was just that good.  I also appreciated the fact that while Elise’s faith had wavered, others in her life kept encouraging her with Scripture.  Overall, I really enjoyed the story and will definitely read more by this author.  Thank you to Netgalley and Barbour Publishing for the copy.  All opinions expressed are my own.

I received a copy through Netgalley.

This had the potential to be a great book but it fell short of that potential. The characters seemed flat, the suspense forced and I just didn't  care about the mystery. Its biggest issue is that it is boring. The situations and actions don't always make sense.

If you want a clean, Christian suspense novel with no central Romance this might work for you.

The action starts right away in Dead Silence and keeps you engaged for the whole ride.  This was an easy read with a fast pace that kept me wanting to read chapter after chapter.  I really liked the story overall, I had a little bit of a hard time connecting with the protagonist, which was the only thing that kept me from giving this five stars.  I like the story, but I'm not really sure what it was about the main character, but I just didn't really feel invested in her.  

Maybe it was just me and the type of person I am that I didn't connect with her, but it didn't really take away from the overall story for me.  Overall I gave it 4/5 Stars.

OMG, YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Will there be a sequel? Because I've really grown to love the characters in this book! I can't count the times when I've cried for and with Elise. She lost both her parents to an auto accident. She lost her husband while he was actively serving as a U.S. Marine. And last but not the least, her mother-in-law was murdered. She's trying her very best to stay strong for the family she has left: Sawyer, her adorable boy, Mary Ellen, her sister-in-law and Noland, her father-in-law. Seriously. How can you not feel for that person?

It was pretty obvious who the culprit was BUT the author has a way of making you doubt your hunches. I went through the book accusing every single character of having a motive against Elise. Thoroughly enjoyed this book, totally hoping for a sequel!

Whew! What a ride you will go on with this book. This  book starts out with action and it does not let up throughout the entire book. In this book we meet Elise is a widow with a son named Sawyer, 7. Sawyer is deaf. Sawyer is involved in an accident on the school playground. Right before this happens - Elise reads the lips of someone telling her that they will be killing her mother in law who is a senator. Then Sawyer is injured. Elise is not able to warn anyone - and her mother in law is assasinated. Now we go on an adventure of whodunit - is Sawyer's accident part of it - and is Elise and Sawyer safe? 

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley - all thoughts are my own.

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK 

Wow, this book is amazing!! Robin Carrol is an amazing writer and this may be the best book I’ve read from her! Lip reading can be a really good thing to be able to do, that is until Elise Carmichael read the lips if someone plotting to kill a senator, which happens to be Elise’s mother in law. Then this thriller takes off!!

I fell in love with Elise and her son, who is deaf. After loosing her husband, her son was all she had left and nothing could happen to him. But after she tells what happened, she starts getting threats on her life, and then her sons life. Something had to be done. I really like the way Ms. Carrol incorporates family into this story. It give this story a warm feeling, even though so much wrong was going on. And weaving faith in the lives of these characters makes an even better story.

There is so much going on in this story, trying to find the senators murderer, and the person responsible for the threats on Elise’s and her sons life. But yet the story is a fun one to read. I love the writing style of this author, making her books so enjoyable to read. And Dead Silence falls at the top of the list for me. I will definitely be checking for Ms. Carrols other book in the future. If you enjoy a super good Christian fiction thriller, I highly recommend this one to you. I hope you love it as much as I did!!

A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Dead Silence
by Robin Caroll
Barbour Publishing, Inc. 
Shiloh Run Press
 Christian  |  Mystery & Thrillers 
Pub Date 01 Jun 2020



I am reviewing a copy of Dead Silence through Barbour Publishing Inc/Shiloh Run Press and Netgalley:




Elise Carmichael is a sign language interpreter for the courts.  She reads lips all the time, As a widow with a young son who is deaf, lip reading is simply second nature, until the day she reads the lips of someone on the phone discussing an attempt to be made on a senator’s life.  The senator happens to be her Mother in law.  




Before Elise can even decide what she needs to do, she receives word that her son was rushed to the E.R and she must leave to be with him.  Later on she sees the news report that her Mother in law was assassinated.  When she comes forward she comes to realize that both her life and the life or her Son is in the crosshairs of an Assassin.



Robin Carroll has written an action filled book, that you won’t want to put down.



I give Dead Silence five out of five stars! 



Happy Reading!

Dead Silence is a new book by suspense author, Robin Carroll. I have read other books by the author and they are all very good reads. 
This story begins with the main character, Elise, reading the lips of a man plotting to kill her mother-in-law. Elise can read lips because her son is deaf and communicates through lip reading and sign language. 
When Elise goes to the FBI with her information, she and her son, Sawyer become the new target. Elise must keep her son safe and stop the killer.
Overall, I liked the book. It is suspenseful and exciting. There is danger around every bend. The one thing I didn't like, was the timing of Elise reading the lips at the beginning. She conveniently forgot that someone was threatening to murder her mother-in-law? I do understand that without her mother-in-law dying, there would be no story. I just kept thinking while reading the book, "This could have been avoided." It was a little distracting.

New take on Christian suspense with the main character, Elise, being a court sign language interpreter and her deaf son.  Elise witnesses a threat (through lip-reading) toward her former mother-in-law (Elise is a widowed) but cannot report the threat before her son is hurt.   When she wakes the next day, her mother-in-law is dead and she remembers the threat.  As she begins to speak and look into the situation, her life and her son's life are put in greater danger.  I really enjoyed the book and recommend it.  I received an ARC copy of the book from Netgalley and a leaving this review voluntarily.

Due to a review from a blogger I trust I will not be reading this book since the Lord's name is taken in vain, I would expect more from a Christian publisher and am sad to have come across this. There is also mentions of rape.

A real page turner...full of mystery, suspense, intrigue.  Excellent writing.  Wonderful story line.  Experience it yourself....you will not be disappointed.  Five stars.

Dead Silence opens with a bang disguised as a whisper when sign language interpreter Elise lipreads a threat against her mother-in-law. She is then contacted to say her deaf son has fallen in the playground, so she rushes to the hospital and forgets what she saw … until the next morning, when the news reports her mother-in-law has been murdered.

There are a couple of credibility gaps. No matter how concerned you were about your son, would you really forget to tell someone you “overheard” a death threat? Especially a death threat against your mother-in-law, your child’s grandmother, who also happens to be a US Senator. Also, why did no one call Elise to tell her the Senator was dead?

The family spend a lot of time together during the course of the novel, which adds even more to the credibility gap. Okay, so I can perhaps believe that Elise was too stressed to call her mother-in-law. But then neither the father-in-law or sister-in-law call to say the mother-in-law has been murdered. Instead, they allowed her to find out by watching the TV news. And it’s not a big family: the Senator only had two children and one grandchild.

Yes, that bugged me. But it didn’t bug me enough to stop reading, because the overall premise was unique, and the story was fast-paced enough that I didn’t stop to think. It picks up pace again after Elise receives a “gift” on her doorstep—a dead rat, an obvious message that she shouldn’t share what she knows.

Another “gift” the next day, and Elise is convinced there is a leak in the FBI. After all, the only people she’s told are the two agents. This got a little frustrating as well—anyone with half a brain could work that out, but not the FBI. Again, that does slightly strain credibility (overall, the FBI do come across as less than competent). But, again, I kept reading because I had to. The story was that compelling.

Elise is an excellent character—a determined single mother with a strong desire to protect her only child from whoever is trying to harm them. She’s independent, but not afraid to ask for help, and her background as a trial interpreter gives her an insight into the legal and investigative process that comes in handy.

Overall, Dead Silence is a fast-paced and compelling thriller featuring a main character with a unique occupation. It’s well worth reading for those looking for a straight thriller with no romance.

Thanks to Shiloh Run Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.