Wall of Silence by Tracy Buchanan
Genre: Domestic thriller, Noir
Read: 24th July 2020
(published: 1st April 2020)
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Her children have a deadly secret. Can she uncover it before the police do?
Melissa Byatt’s life in Forest Grove seems as perfect as can be: a doting husband, three loving children and a beautiful house in a close-knit community. But appearances can be deceiving.
One evening, Melissa arrives home to the unimaginable: her husband lies stabbed on the kitchen floor, their children standing calmly around him…With horror, she realises that one of them is to blame. But which one? And why would they attack their own father?
Her loyalties torn, in a split second she decides to protect her children at all costs—even if that means lying to the police. But when someone in the neighbourhood claims to know more than they should, Melissa discovers that some secrets are beyond her control…
Can she find out the truth of what happened before the rumours spread? And can the family unite to escape the spotlight of scandal—or are none of them as innocent as Melissa insists?
MY REVIEW:
Does the perfect family actually exist? Well, that's the image the residents of Forest Grove have of the Byatt family. That and the fact that the residents of Forest Grove also live in the perfect village, perfectly carved out at the edge of a thick forest, that had never existed up until a couple of decades ago. But when a tragic incident occurs and as the cracks start to appear, it soon becomes clear that nothing is what it seems in this close-knit community.
Melissa Byatt returns home one evening to a scene which could only be described as a nightmare. Her husband Patrick is lying unconscious on the kitchen floor, having been stabbed with the knife still at his side, and her three children standing wordlessly around him. They claim to have found him like that but after Melissa rings the ambulance she sees the knife has disappeared. The only people in that kitchen were her three children. Did one of them remove it? Or was she imagining things?
The police ask the usual questions and without a second thought, Melissa jumps in to back up her children. There was no knife at the scene; the attacker must have taken it with him. All the while asking herself just exactly what did her children do and how much did they know about the attack?
As the minutes pass into hours and the hours into days, Melissa begins to suspect her children know a lot more than they are letting on but each time she tries to question them, a wall of silence goes up between them and they refuse to tell her what they know. Going out of her mind with worry, Melissa is certain one of her children did it as who else could it have been? But how can she help them if they won't tell her?
Patrick's parents, Bill and Rosemary, are on hand immediately to take Melissa and the children in whilst their home remains a crime scene, all the while offering tea and platitudes. Rosemary insists on being by Patrick's side whilst Melissa is determined to get to the truth of what really happened. Her in-laws fail to understand who could do this to Patrick as he is loved by everyone...nor do they understand why Melissa spends most of her time traipsing through the forest when she should be at her husband's side.
Then the rumours start. Melissa has been having an affair with long time friend and forest ranger, Ryan Day. And the perfect village begins ripping the perfect family to shreds.
But this village has its own share of secrets. Secrets, deceit and lies that will rip this family apart at the seams as wild accusations abound causing Melissa to question everything she ever thought she knew about the man she has loved since she was 15 years old.
And then after nine days, Patrick wakes from his coma and everyone waits with baited breath as to who he will identify as his attacker.
WALL OF SILENCE is one wild ride. There are so many red herrings, twists and secrets that will make your head spin. Who is lying? Who is telling the truth? And what really happened to Patrick Byatt? And what are the residents of Forest Grove really hiding?
The story cleverly unfolds through the diary excerpts of one of the children whose identity remains unknown, a third person narrative from Melissa's perspective as she endeavours to uncover the truth and pretentious Facebook group chats that become vicious taunts between villagers as they turn on each other.
There are so many layers to this story that goes back several years. Throughout the unfolding narrative the reader learns about Melissa's childhood, her parents and how she came to meet Patrick. Her friendship with Ryan is also ruminated on growing up in the forest and how the village once referred to Melissa as "that feral child".
In the midst of the many characters within WALL OF SILENCE, I love how the forest is a character all of its own. I was reminded of the Scandanavian noir thriller "Jordskott" some years back where the forest played an important part in that story, just as it does here. It has an element of creepiness about it as if the answers somehow lay at the foot of the great oak tree at its heart, where Melissa often sought and found refuge. But will the great oak tree give her the answers she seeks now? Who stabbed Patrick? And how to get the truth from her children?
While I guessed the "who" in the whodunit fairly early, I was still left questioning my belief throughout as the author weaved a web of deceit that became a tangled mess of secrets and lies. As I was to discover, and you will too, that it's not the "who" so much as the "why" that is important.
I really cannot convey just what WALL OF SILENCE does within a few paragraphs. One has to read it to experience it themselves. And I do recommend doing so. It is a different thriller, but it is a twisty journey filled with secrets and lies that will leave you breathless.
A domestic thriller with a touch of noir for something different!
I would like to thank #TracyBuchanan, #NetGalley and #AmazonPublishingUK for an ARC of #WallOfSilence in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Tracy Buchanan lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, their little girl and their puppy, Bronte. Tracy travelled extensively while working as a travel magazine editor, and has always been drawn to the sea after spending her childhood holidays on the south coast visiting family, a fascination that inspires her writing. She now dedicates her time to writing and procrastinating on Facebook.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads
No comments:
Post a Comment