The Malice of Silence
A Novel of Buried Witness - Lithuania 1941 and 1990
Sign In or Register Now to see if this title is available for request.
Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.orgSend NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Jan 27 2027 | Archive Date Mar 31 2027
Talking about this book? Use #TheMaliceOfSilenceBuriedInSilenceMaliceAndMercy3 #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
In December 1990, journalism student Laima Paulauskas travels to the USSR just as Lithuania’s independence movement is gaining momentum. She stumbles into a story far more personal than the one she came to write about her grandfather’s national legacy, a story that could upend everything she was told about him. She then discovers her dying professor was an eyewitness to the murder of tens of thousands of Jews at Ponary, and that he hid his written account in vodka bottles buried in the ground to protect them from being destroyed. Now Laima must risk her own safety to recover it, as ultranationalists determined to keep Lithuania's wartime history "sanitized" pursue her in a life-and-death race to destroy this important eyewitness account, or keep it buried forever.
This is a dual-timeline historical novel about endurance, and the courage needed to speak when silence is safer.
It's the third book in the Malice and Mercy series, but each novel stands on its own, and readers who enjoy them in order will find subtle connections between them.
Praise for the Malice and Mercy Trilogy
"A piercing and detailed look at a lesser-known aspect of the Second World War." — Kirkus Reviews
"Sobering, meticulously researched, and emotionally raw." — BookLife Reviews (Publishers Weekly), Editor's Pick
"Lucid, cinematic prose… accessible and propulsive, yet it sustains moral weight." — Historical Novel Society
A Note From the Publisher
The Malice of Silence is Book 3 in the Malice and Mercy trilogy. Each novel stands on its own, so no prior reading is necessary, though readers familiar with Books 1 and 2 will notice a few subtle connections.
Print galleys will be available in mid-October 2026 for qualified reviewers, journalists, and bookstore buyers; please contact info@americanlegacymedia.com to request one.
We welcome early feedback, and reviews shared on social media can be tagged #TheMaliceOfSilence.
Advance Praise
"A powerful saga of why history matters. It will earn its place in classrooms, reading groups, and libraries.” --Midwest Book Review
"A powerful saga of why history matters. It will earn its place in classrooms, reading groups, and libraries.” --Midwest Book Review
Marketing Plan
The Malice of Silence publishes January 27, 2027, deliberately timed to International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Podcast outreach: Pitching author interviews to history, WWII, and book-club podcasts, with a particular focus on shows covering Holocaust history and Baltic/Eastern European history.
Jewish organizations: Direct outreach to Jewish community organizations, synagogues, and Holocaust education programs planning January 2027 remembrance programming.
Lithuanian diaspora organizations: Outreach to Lithuanian-American cultural and heritage organizations, given the novel's setting and subject matter.
Holocaust memory and education groups: Outreach to Holocaust museums, memorial foundations, and educational nonprofits, tied to the January 27 publication date.
Bookstores and libraries: Outreach to independent bookstores and public/academic libraries planning Holocaust Remembrance Day displays or programming.
University outreach: Outreach to Baltic studies and Holocaust studies departments at universities, given the novel's grounding in original historical research and the author's own interviews with figures from Lithuania's independence movement.
Author platform: The author's existing readership, including a LinkedIn following of approximately 13,000 and an active author blog, will support pre- and post-launch promotion.
Backlist support: The Malice of Silence is Book 3 in the Malice and Mercy trilogy; Books 1 and 2 have received favorable trade reviews from Kirkus, BookLife (Editor's Pick), Midwest Book Review, and Historical Novel Society, providing a proven readership base for cross-promotion.
Author credibility: The author is a former journalist who personally interviewed Lithuanian Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys and Vytautas Landsbergis during Lithuania's independence movement, offering a firsthand historical perspective for media interviews.
NetGalley availability: Advance ebook review copies are available now on NetGalley; audiobook review copies will follow. Print galleys will be available in mid-October 2026 and can be requested by qualified reviewers, journalists, and bookstore buyers at info@americanlegacymedia.com.
Social media: Reviews and social posts will be aggregated under #TheMaliceOfSilence.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781736457658 |
| PRICE | $15.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 296 |
Available on NetGalley
Available to Buy
Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.orgBISAC Codes
Average rating from 1 member
Featured Reviews
Maureen T, Reviewer
Changing History
A story that will linger for a long time.
History, and one that some want wiped away, and will do all they can to keep it hidden.
So much needless death and hate, that was a mentality of those that started WWII. A witness that could have been one of those thousands he sadly and silently watched murdered. He kept track over three years, and hid his records in vodka bottles, which he buried.. This becomes the catalyst of this story, can they ever be retrieve, and the world know the truth?
The author does such a great job, and you will find yourself in speeding cars and hopping busses and them planes to escape.
Be sure to read the authors notes!
I enjoy historical reads, and this one hit the mark!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher American Legacy Media, and was not required to give a positive review.