Elise Carmichael is a single mom, widow & a court sign language interpreter. Elise loves what she does and since her son is deaf it helps give her empathy when on the job. However, never in her wildest dreams did she think her lip reading skills would land her right in the middle of a crime. The death of a senator, her mother-in-law, nor  could she imagine a situation where she would be so grateful for her son being deaf.  While going through this her relationship with Mary Ellen ( her sister in law) gets stronger. They had always been friends but this showed her that they could truly rely on one another.  God shows them both that with Him all things are possible. 
Thank you Robin Carroll for allowing me to participate in this influencer opportunity. This was a little different then all of your other stories, no romance, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a suspense filled book. The "who done it" part left me hanging all the way to the end.

Of special note was the deaf culture that was accurately portrayed. I have lived among the deaf for decades. They were the only friends I had. I was surprised to see the underrepresented group in this novel. It is my favorite part.

Elise Carmichael is a widow with a young son, who is deaf and mute. She works as a court sign language interpreter. One day, as she was leaving the courthouse, she lip read a security guard talking on the phone saying the senator would be permanently done away with. The senator just so happens to be Elise's mother-in-law. As Elise was processing what she'd just seen, she received a phone call that her son had been in an accident at school and taken to the hospital. Naturally, she rushed to the hospital. Unnaturally, she totally forgot the death threat to her son's grandmother until the following morning when she received word that the senator had been murdered in her own home.
I, personally, found it difficult to believe that a person could forget something of such a magnitude.
The FBI becomes involved in the case. Elise begins receiving packages on her front porch with threatening messages inside. Also, pictures of herself at home which meant someone had been inside her home. She was told to not tell the FBI any more information. When she did not, her son was kidnapped from their backyard. Dumb that she would have left him alone knowing they were being watched by a very dangerous person.
I also had problems with the fact that she and her new reporter friend came up with information that the FBI did not. Simple things. Like about the hunting cabins, and hunting lease permits. I even thought of checking those out as soon as the reporter discovered that information.
Elise had felt for a long time that God did not hear her prayers and she had stopped praying. She had lost her husband and her son was unable to hear or speak. What I did like-a lot- was when her son, Sawyer, was kidnapped, she finally did turn back to God. And the best part, was that she asked for forgiveness. I just don't see that much in books anymore. Mostly, I see that the person suddenly began praying to God again, and that was it. No mention of repentance. For that, I gave the book four stars.
Even though, there were things that were a bit far-fetched, the book was well written and I did enjoy reading it.
Perhaps the FBI investigator just wasn't as bright as he should have been.
I was given a free ecopy of this by the publisher, Barbour Publishing and Netgalley. I was under no obligation to leave a positive review.

This is a captivating mystery involving politics, family, a deaf child, and murder. Many of the issues are definitely contemporary/relevant to what's happening in our nation these days. One thing I love about it is that the heroine is not wishy washy as in so many novels!
A good book.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgally and the publisher, and I agreed to give an honest review, which I have. Thank you!

Thank-you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this story. Dead Silence is the story of a single mother who will do anything to protect her young son and extended family. After unknowingly lip-reading a murder plot, Elise becomes the target of unknown forces set out to silence her. The premise of the story was a very good one but had me wondering why it was tagged as a Christian Fiction. The beginning of the book did not play as a Christian book but when it finally kicked in we are bombarded with too much of it. For such a strong character, Elise makes a lot of questionable choices at the wrong time. At about 38%, I was able to solve the mystery. I am conflicted as I enjoyed the book. There was no hint of sexual anything going on, the relationship between Elise and her family was nice to see. I just needed a little more cohesiveness to the story for me. I would not mind reading more from this author. ***These are my honest opinions and not meant to take away from the author's hard work.***

Dead Silence is a fast-paced book full of nail-biting suspense. Elise Carmichael is a court sign language interpreter who can also read lips. This gets her into a heap of trouble when she reads a mans lips talking about something bad going to happen to a senator who also happens to be her mother-in-law. Soon after witnessing that conversation, her mother-in-law is found murdered. It quickly becomes very apparent that whoever is responsible wants Elise to keep quiet. They will stop at nothing to make sure she never figures out who is behind the senator's death. But who would want the senator dead and why? This is a definite page-turner. It totally held my interest as I kept trying to put all the clues together to figure out what was really going on.

I have heard about this author's books for several years, but had not gotten a chance to read one. So glad I read this one and plan to read more of her books in the future.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Net Galley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

DEAD SILENCE by ROBIN CAROLL is an intriguing suspense drama. As a former investigator who spent much time with lawyers and in the courtrooms, I connected with this story. I could imagine the story easily. . It is a well written great characters and an exciting plot. The Christian message running through the story is subtle which I appreciate as it doesn't "preach".
As I always do, in my mind I had a bit different ending to this story which I'd love to share with Robin.
This is my first book by Robin Caroll, but I will search for others. I'm a fan of Teri Blackstock's work and John Grisham. Now, I have another novelist to add to this list. I'm looking forward to reading Robin's past books now.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Barbour Publishing. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Intriguing and interesting. It wasn’t ,oh no, what’s going to happen next, intriguing, but still intriguing. It’s starts out with Elise, widow, mother of deaf and mute little boy named Sawyer. She works at a courthouse and being a lip reader because of her deaf son, she lip reads a man saying he’s going to murder or do harm, to her mother-in-law, who is a Senator. Before she can let someone know, she gets a call her son is hurt and she rushes to be with him and make sure he’s okay, forgetting all about what she’s lipread, And then everything begins. It’s a truly good read. I don’t believe you’ll be sorry you read it. I really liked it. I thank #NetGalley and the publishers, Barbour Publishing, for the opportunity to read and review #DeadSilence . This review is my own honest opinion of this book.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. All thoughts below are my own.

Dead Silence is a brand new summer release that promised to be a thrilling political suspense novel. This is my first book by Robin Caroll and it was a good read with a plot that moved along fluidly and kept me turning the pages.

Pros: The cover is stunning and alluring! I enjoyed the bond between main character Elise and her son. I love how she rediscovered the closeness of family, friendship and her faith through this tragedy. She is an independent, strong female lead and she’s very intelligent, even if she was a bit impetuous. Her grief over the loss of her husband and protectiveness over her son was palpable and real. The plot unfolds quickly and nicely, is well planned and it kept me guessing which was nice. There is no romance in this story; it is purely focused on suspense and faith which was a refreshing change. The suspense was mild, but it held my interest easily enough.

Cons: At times, I felt like Elise came across as slightly immature in her choices. As a mother, I understood her priority being her son but felt there are some things that are equally important. The light in which Caroll paints the FBI is a little unsettling compared to other books I’ve read in this genre, however, for the premise of this particular story, I understand why it was done, just not sure I was a fan. There was not always insight into Elise’s thoughts which my followers know I enjoy (personal preference, of course!). I wanted a bit more of that from this story. Lastly, I questioned the reality of the ending in which the FBI allows Elise to approach, and in my opinion, further endanger, her son at the location he was being held.

Overall, I found Dead Silence to be good, but not great. Depending on what you’re expecting from the story, you may enjoy it more or less than I did. Again, a strong female lead, supporting female characters and fluid plot deserve much credit! In the future, I will try other books by this author.

Dead Silence by Robin Caroll

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Story Notes

Robin Caroll presents readers with a wonderfully tense and captivating thriller that will have you holding your breath that everything turns out okay in the end.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book better than some I’ve read lately for one very good reason: the story was all about the mystery and didn’t have a lot of relationship drama to “add tension”. It’s nice to read one that spends it time developing a gripping plot and fleshing it out well. Ms. Caroll begins her story with a young widow named Elise Carmichael who is a court sign language interpreter. She is leaving court after a long day and happens to look up at a court security guard and read his lips. Its a habit for her to do so in everyday life but the words she reads are quite jarring – they threaten the life of her mother-in-law, Senator Lilliana York. Surely they can’t be right? But still, she should tell someone. However, the frantic call from her babysitter telling her that her son, Sawyer, has been injured while playing at the park drives all intention of notifying someone of a possible threat out of her mind. Hurrying to be with Sawyer, Elise is relieved to find that he is unhurt aside from a broken wrist and a bump on the head. Things will be difficult for him while his arm heals given that Sawyer is completely deaf and relies on signing to communicate. Hours later, they return home and both go to bed exhausted. But shock is waiting in the morning when Elise hears on the news of Lilliana’s murder during the night. Instantly recalling the threat she overheard, Elise is stunned to realize it was real. Knowing she must tell someone what she knows, Elise determines to go to the US Attorney’s Office after work. But the FBI meets her coming out of court, stating they have questions for her about Liliana’s death. Elise agrees to talk with them and tells them of what happened the day before. They are understandably upset at her not telling anyone and their questions get very pointed about her relationship with Liliana and her family. Elise answers honestly but still feels like they are trying to find a way to tie her to the death. So begins a race to find the ones responsible before others are hurt. Elise finds herself the target of an unknown assailant and must figure out what is happening or Liliana’s will not be the only death to occur. Working with her sister-in-law, a young reporter who wants to tell the real story and her father-in-law, Elise will attempt to solve the puzzle of why someone would want Liliana dead. The kidnapping of Sawyer from her back yard proves that someone is desperate to hide the truth but Elise will not give up until she finds the answers she seeks and gets Sawyer home. This story is a wild ride from beginning to end. I loved the slow build towards the really intense parts of the story; it gave me a chance to connect with the characters and see all sides of them. I loved how Elise found her strength and became such a fierce fighter for herself and Sawyer, never letting the FBI agent trying to bully her have one thing to blame her for. She was well informed of her rights and stood by them without question. I also enjoyed getting to see a member of the media, albeit fictional, be so intentional about telling the truth. Wesson was such a steel magnolia that I loved the scenes she was in. She had a way of digging for the truth and finding answers that would make anyone want to work alongside her. And the lawyer, Arabella, was a fearsome advocate for Elise. I would love to have someone so smart and prepared if ever I was in trouble. Overall, I really liked each of the characters, even those that were the “bad guys”. Everyone was well written and that made the whole story more enjoyable.The mystery was complex without being overwhelming and all the pieces of it were revealed in a timely manner. This was probably one of the best books I’ve read by Ms. Caroll, and I will certainly be recommending this story to others with the hope they will enjoy it as well.

I received this temporary complimentary E-book from Barbour Book Publishing/Shiloh Run Press via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

It has an interesting plot, the main character can read lips due to her son being deaf. Elise is leaving the courthouse and reads the lips of one of the guards where he says that her mother-in-law, a senator, will be killed. Right after that she gets a phone call that her son has been injured so she rushes to the hospital to deal with that emergency and forgets all about her mother-in-law until the next morning when she finds out that she has in fact been killed. When the FBI start asking questions they are almost presented as the bad guys in the manner that they use. I had a hard time sticking with the story because I didn't like the animosity between the FBI and Elsie. I would have assumed that after the first threat that Elsie received that the FBI would have put her and her son under some kind of protection but that didn't happen either. I like Robin's books so I will read more in the future but I thought this one could have been better.

Dead Silence
By
Robin Caroll

What a great suspense novel. This is the first book by Robin Caroll I've read and I would love to read more.

Dead Silence is a great story. The character's are very likable and reading was easy to follow. "Dead Silence" is a fast read. The story got me hooked on the first chapter.
The story is about Elisa Carmichael, a court sign language interpreter, who happens to read the lips of two guy's talking about killing a state Senator. She was unable to report information to the FBI till the next day, which was to late. The Senator happened to be her mother in law. What do you do? Turn to FBI agents or try to solve on you own. Then there's the possibility to use both. Read "Dead Silence" to see what is the outcome of this murder.

I recommend this to anyone who love a great suspense novel.

I received this complimentary copy of this e-book from Revell and netgalley for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone

The adrenaline ride starts on page 1 and doesn't let up until the end. What starts as any normal day is interrupted by a weird phone call Elise "over-hears". With a deaf son at home she has learned to lip read, and Elise unintentionally ends up picking up conversations all the time. While Elise is trying to make sense of what she saw, a life changing phone call comes in. Her son has been injured. The next day Elise remembers the phone call and decides she needs to tell the authorities. In a matter of hours her life is flipped upside down. Threats, danger, and condescending FBI agents pile up creating a never ending nightmare. When Elise's son is pulled into the nightmare, she will do whatever it takes to find the answers and end the threat.
Robin Caroll ramps up the tension with characters that come alive, having the reader trying to keep up. Each page has the reader asking what will happen next. She writes a strong female character that knows how to keep herself together and surrounds herself with family and friends to help her when she needs a lift. They work together to carry each others loads when needed, making each character so relatable. This book will keep you up late into the night, wanting to find the all important answer: who is pulling all the strings in the background. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was just okay for me. The plot was a bit predictable and the end seemed implausible. I did like the faith aspect of it, despite it feeling a bit clunky.

This book started off great. I was invested in the story almost immediately and couldn’t wait to learn how it all played out.
Unfortunately, after the first third of the book, I quickly lost interest. I had already figured out who the villain was, yet it took a few hundred more pages for the characters to finally come to the realization. Frustrating for a reader! You can only yell at a book so much before the people around you start to become concerned for your mental health. 😉
Also, Elise annoyed me too much. She would claim that all she wanted was to for the FBI to find out who killed her mother-in-law and to protect her and her son, but then she’d do childish, petty things to keep them from being able to do their jobs. And sure, the one agent was drawn as very immature and unprofessional, but Elise didn’t have to respond to her like a jealous girlfriend does to a rival.
And it kind of felt like it took forever for the story to find its climax and finally finish. And that finish wasn’t very realistic when it finally arrived. I know it’s fiction, but it’s also a bit of a police procedural and things at the end were allowed to happen that in no way would ever be allowed in a real situation. It made the climax of the story seem very forced.
So, overall, great start, but the rest lacked for me. Maybe you’ll enjoy it more! But I can’t recommend you run out and grab it. Bummer.
Thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for the digital copy of this novel for review purposes. I was not required to give a positive view. All opinions are my very own! 🙂

Elise is an interpreter/signer for the courts and lip reads a threat to her mother in law, before she gets a phone call about her son, Sawyer, being injured. Her sitter Hattie, sister in law Mary Ellen, mother in law Lillian, father in law Noland, Arabella, reporter Wesson Kelly, Artist Connie, Agent Rodriquez and Wright (among others), a few politicians and Capitol Police round out the characters in this fast starting story that is hard to put down. Sawyer is a resilient child and rolls with whatever comes his way, despite sadness that comes up. He’s a lot of fun to get to know, along with Elise and her in laws. Elise, Wesson, Mary Ellen and Noland are forces to be reconned with.
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Barbour Publishing via NetGalley. A review was not required and all thought and opinions are my own.

Hold on to your seat and get ready for a thrill seeking adventure. What would you do if you read someone’s lips that spoke of a murder? What if it was about someone powerful and happens to be about your mother-in-law? I think I would run to the police as fast as I could. Elise is ready to do just that when she gets a message that her son has been injured. I bet her adrenaline is pumping as she races to the hospital. At the back of her mind is the thought that she needs to get in touch with the police but right now her son is upmost of importance. Is it a coincidence that her son is injured right as she finds out her mother in-law is in danger?

The story is exciting and I rooted for Elise as much as I could. She does have a problem with her faith and I couldn’t wait to see the road Elise will take to gain her faith again. It is no surprise that there is a murder and Elise is right in the middle of the investigation. The police don’t seem overly friendly towards her when they realize she may have been able to prevent a tragedy.

The author does an excellent job of educating readers about lip reading and sign language which Elise uses to communicate with her son. I took classes in sign language because I had a child in Sunday School who was deaf. I was determined that the child would not be left out. The first Sunday I started signing as I taught, I saw a big smile come from that child. I will never forget the moment she signed thank you to me.

Now back to the story. Oh yes we have Elise in danger after someone finds out what she knows. I was a bit disappointed when Elise’s son was kidnapped because it was very predictable. What I did like was the sheer determination Elise has to rescue her son and end the threats against her. The story does not lack twists and surprises and the author writes a story that had me on the edge of my seat.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. My favorite genre is cozy mysteries. I don't normally like things that make me too tense too nerve racking. I stay away from movie that have me on the edge of my seat. This book was the literary equivalent and yet I enjoyed it!

Elise Carmichael is the widow of a Marine and has a seven year old son named Sawyer who is deaf and mute. Sawyer is her entire world now. Her parents are both dead and so her only family is a and a mother-in-law who is a US Senator, a sister-in-law, and her mother-in-law's second husband. Elsie and Sen. York have a strained relationship, but the senator adores Sawyer and so Elise sees her more than she probably would in other circumstances.

One day as she was leaving her job as a courthouse translator of sign language, she "hears" (reads lips) of a man on a phone saying that the senator will be taken care of. She is about to call someone to report this when she gets a phone call that Sawyer has had an accident and is in the hospital. She races off to care for him and forgets all about the phone call until the next morning when the new reports the death of Lilliana York.

When Elise calls the FBI to report what she knows, she is almost immediately sent a warning to not get involved. As they seek to find out why Lilliana was murdered, suspects arise and are eliminated, and Elise gets more threats. Finally, Sawyer is kidnapped.

I don't think it is a spoiler to tell you that Sawyer returns home safe and sound, but how this story unfolds is thrilling. I had a hard time putting the book down almost from the beginning.

I soon felt that I knew all the characters personally because they were described so well. Elise is supported by her sister-in-law and her father-in-law through her whole ordeal. And she makes a new friend who also is extremely helpful in solving the crimes. My only hesitation in giving four stars is that I really got tired of Elise feeling waves of nausea and similar feelings. I realize that she is a single mom and has only her son and I think the reader gets how horrible this is for her. For a woman of the strength we are supposed to think she has, she is pretty easily upset by circumstances. She does rally every time, but the story could have just as well been told without so much emotion described on her part. But all of that is quite personal and another reader might find all of that important to the story.

This is the first book I've read by Robin Caroll, but I am certain it won't be the last.

Dead Silence by Robin Caroll

Robin Caroll’s books have long been a favorite of mine. Her latest Dead Silence did not disappoint.

Elise Carmichael is a court sign language interpreter who also reads lips. As she was leaving work one evening, she notices two law enforcement officers having a conversation and she reads what she thinks is a threat against her deceased husband’s mother, who happens to be a well-known Senator.

Elise, meaning to report this incident, gets a call her son has been hurt and is in the local ER. After spending hours making sure her son is ok, Elise falls into bed exhausted, the threaten forgotten, only to awake to the horror that the threat was carried out. When Elise tells the investigating FBI agents what she saw the day before, her life is turned into a nightmare. Will Elise and her son survive the coming danger?

Robin Carrol certainly knows how to quickly pull you into the story and keep you flipping pages. I was especially drawn to this story since the main character’s child is deaf and mute. I had a cousin born unable to hear or speak. As a kid I so wanted to know how to communicate with him, the tablet Robin describes would have been a fantastic device to have back then. Thank you, Robin, for this wonderfully entertaining tale!!
Also thank you to Barbour Publishing, Inc. and NetGalley for allowing me to read this and give you my honest opinion.

Excellent story, well done that had me up wayy too late. I was pulled in from the first page to the last. The ending was good but I was more drawn in to entire story and not just who did it. The characters and their relationships were interesting. Best book I have read in quite awhile.