The Slow Burn of Silence (A Snowy Creek Novel) Paperback – June 24, 2014

It’s been some time since I’ve read a book this good. I read 2 books every 3 days, so it’s easy to become jaded and difficult to impress, but this book definitely impressed me.I realize this author is recognized as a romance writer, and I can see how she would be listed as belonging to that camp, but she is so much more; she really defies membership to a single genre. The Slow Burn Of Silence seems to be more a psychological thriller or perhaps mystery with a side of romance. ?? I’m not sure.At any rate, this author’s writing is beautiful and her plot in this story is brilliant! I would think that creative writers live to publish their prose, to see their descriptive play with words give birth to beauty shared with others in print. I’ve cringed for many a book author when their creative attempts fall short. There is a thin line between beautiful prose and corny, hokey writing.Loreth Anne White shows none of this awkwardness in her writing of this book. Her writing blew me away. I was drawn in by her descriptions of scenery, emotions, and human mannerisms. She hit the perfect balance between how mannerisms look and how they feel. I could picture a character’s gestures with perfect clarity by the way she described them. Characters motivations were made clear by uses of inner thoughts, dialogue, and backstory. Nature scenes were described with elegance— not too many words, but the exact choice of words. It all felt very effortless, the trademark of a talented writer.The story itself was amazing. An innocent man spends 9 miserable and dangerous years in prison for sex crimes he did not commit. When he is let out of jail after an organization proves his was a mistrial of sorts, he returns to the community where he is still hated with raw passion for the crimes. He is determined to prove his innocence for the daughter he’s never met and to his first and only love. Human nature in its honest and widest range is portrayed in the story that follows. I found the romantic thread of the story to be more about passion than romance because it went so much deeper than telling a romantic story. It never felt insipid, or sugary, or any of those things that make me skim over love scenes.I did listen to the narration of parts of the story. The male narrator was good. The female narrator had a lisp that was very pronounced, and distracting, when I listened through headphones. It wasn’t so obvious listening from my iPad speakers. Still, I much preferred reading the story.I’ve read this author before. This is by far the best book by her that I’ve read to date. Highly recommended!PS- I saw somewhere that this is a 2 book series, but I couldn’t find the name of the other book in the series.

I seem to be running through a streak of good luck where new to me authors are concerned. The Slow Burn of Silence was a novel recommendation I got off of Amazon that has been sitting tidily in my to-be-read pile for a while now. Recently, my interests have veered towards finding good romantic suspense novels and The Slow Burn of Silence coming with raving reviews turned out to be my next read of choice.27 year old Rachel Salonen is enjoying her engagement celebrations in Bali when she gets the shocking news of the deaths of her sister and husband. Returning home to find that her sister had appointed her as the guardian of their eight year old daughter is the first wave of flooring news that Rachel receives followed by the name of the actual father of her niece. Life as Rachel knows it comes to a standstill and six months later Rachel finds herself without a fiance, fearing the return of Jebbediah Cullen (Jeb), father of her niece, her high school sweetheart and the man convicted for the rape and assault of two women, one of whom had never been found.Jeb returns to Snowy Creek for one reason alone. For retribution. To clear his name of the wrongful charges upon which he had been convicted and thrown into jail for which he had lost nine years of his life. The betrayal of a town that had seen him as the man from the wrong side of the river, the easiest target to put all the blame on burns. But the need for justice outweighs the anger that simmers deep inside of him, partly due to his unwavering determination that his daughter would not grow up thinking herself to be the offspring of a rapist and murderer.Jeb aims to rattle the cages of those that had made him the scapegoat of a crime that he didn’t commit. What Jeb doesn’t aim on happening is for his daughter and Rachel to rattle his emotions inside out, giving the men who wouldn’t want him making a ruckus in his crusade for the truth to come out fighting dirty. Anger, vile and filled with hatred consumes the small town grappling in the fear of secrets spilling forth that could mean grave consequences if Jeb isn’t stopped in time.The Slow Burn of Silence is a novel filled with evocative writing. Rachel’s thoughts are written in the first person point of view, the reason for which I have no clue. I thought it quite odd that throughout the whole story, multiple character view points were included, but it was only Rachel’s that was told in the first person. Me being not such a fan of first person viewpoints just thought its worthy of a mention in the review.The result of a heated lover’s spat that had gone wrong nine years back forms the basis of the story. For Jeb there had been none other than Rachel and vice versa. While I understood why Rachel had testified against Jeb and revealed his secrets to the jury that had been the foundation of his conviction, I found myself a little bit reluctant to forgive her for leaving Jeb in the lurch when he had needed her the most. They had had a strong bond between them, from childhood to adulthood. Theirs had not just been a love that had kindled at first sight in high school, rather a love that had been borne out of mutual like, respect and a lot of shared moments throughout their years of friendship. And for that I just found it a trifle bit hard to forgive Rachel even though she comes out with guns blazing to clear Jeb’s name later on.Jeb was the character who made the novel in my opinion. Life had not been easy for Jeb even as a child and at the cusp of adulthood, he had been thrown into prison together with the most vicious of criminals. The way he turned himself into someone that could make a difference made me admire him, when he could have given into bitterness, hate and resentment and let his life while away. Rachel’s sister is worthy of a mention, as a crusader for justice without whom Jeb would never have made it out.The Slow Burn of Silence is a story steeped deep into the small town life that is Snowy Creek. Multiple characters that stand out makes the story an unbeatable one. It is small town relationships beneath which secrets lurk and wounds fester that forms the basis of the suspense aspect of the novel and it is those same frissons and ripples that made everything come to its satisfying conclusion.The one thing that would stand out for any reader of this book is the writing. It is almost as if you are right there, in the town of Snowy Creek watching everything unfold and unravel. With the simmering secrets threatening to swallow you a whole, your heart racing in the attempt to uncover the deadly lies and half truths that had put Jeb away before it is too late. The Slow Burn of Silence is a novel that will pull you in and submerge you with a tale that is riveting and suspenseful. Recommended!Rating = 4/5For more reviews & quotes, visit www(dot)maldivianbookreviewer(dot)com.

This book had everything I love all in one! I truly enjoyed it from start to finish and would read it again!

I have been reading your books one after the other and must say I am addicted to your style of story telling.Thankyou.

I stumbled over LAW by chance, looking over titles from Kindle. The first 2-3 books I read in German. But became very aware that there MUST be something missing in the translation, and boy was I right!! Loreth Anne White has such a powerful way of describing people, situations, attitudes and SO much more! Just wanted to express, and recommend, to all German readers who have a relatively good command of the English language, to most definitely go with the English version!! After the first couple of paragraphs it was just SO obvious. I am now going to read each and every one of her books, in English of course!!! Loreth has very quickly become one of my very favorite authors!!! Thank You So Very Much for some of the most exciting and delicious reading I have ever experienced!

This is my first read of author Kirsty Anne White, the story was so compelling I had every late night finishing it off. Now I'm a fan, ready to explore more of her books.

Great book! I would recommend it to anyone especially by this author. I have read almost all of her books and she never disappoints

Fantastic book, it kept you guessing all the way through. Loreth Anne White has a great way of writing books