Review: Silent Lies

Silent Lies by Kathryn Croft
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My first Kathryn Croft book (but not my last)!

This is my first Kathryn Croft book, and I enjoyed it so much. I had seen a few of my Goodreads favorite reviewers post about it in the fall around publication, and I ordered it from Amazon right away. It went into my growing stack of books to read, and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. The pacing of this book is good, I didn't have parts that felt slow or too drawn out, which surprised me with the changes in time and perspective.

Plot Teaser (Spoiler Free)

5 years ago...

Mia's husband Zach is a college professor who teaches writing. They have an adorable daughter, Freya, and seem happy. But then, to Mia's surprise, Zach commits suicide. His body is found in the apartment of one of his college students, and the student has gone missing. The public goes after Mia, they know her husband is to blame for the girl's disappearance, and without him there to take their anger out on, the anger turns to Mia.

Present day...

Mia has slowly moved forward with her life. Freya is now an adorable 7 year-old, and Mia has an amazing boyfriend Will who is patient with Mia's reluctance to dive all in on their relationship after what happened with Zach. Mia has also become a counselor. She sees patients out of the front office in her and Zach's house. Mia has come to terms with Zach's suicide and betrayal. She has accepted she never really knew him at all.

But then one afternoon, Mia has an appointment with a new patient, Allison. Allison is tiny and meek, and is being abused by her boyfriend. Mia's heart goes out to this woman. But then Allison reveals the other reason she came to see Mia. Allison knows for a fact that Zach did not commit suicide, and she thinks she knows who is responsible...

5 and a half years ago...

Zoe is a college student who is barely surviving by working at a coffee shop, and living with a roommate who she does not get along with. Zoe has had a terrible life, and has no support from her family. But Zoe is also a survivor. She is someone who life has cast aside at every turn, but she doesn't give into it. One night Zoe is closing up at the coffee shop, and a familiar face shows up across the counter-her writing professor, Zach...

Zach gives Zoe the one thing that no one else in her life has given her...encouragement. Zach says Zoe's writing is very good, and she must continue with her degree. To a lost soul like Zoe, this kindness and support is foreign and wonderful. Zoe begins to think maybe she can do something with her life after all. Maybe she isn't destined to be outcast, scraping by to make ends meet, and never really living.

Present day...

Mia doesn't know what to think about Allison's revelation. She has accepted that Zach did a terrible thing, and that she didn't know what was going on in his life outside of their marriage. And yet, maybe Allison does know something... Now that Allison has reopened old wounds that Mia thought had healed, Mia knows she must follow this thread and find out the truth once and for all. But what if she can't handle it?

Reflection

All of what I posted is spoiler free. The basic premise of this book is Mia's storyline in the present, contrasted with the months leading up to Zach's suicide in the past, told from Zoe's point of view. In the middle of it all is Allison. Allison is just a fantastic character. She is bewildering! I hated Allison, then I pitied Allison, and then I was left not knowing what to make of her at all. Mia and Zoe were also so frustrating at times, and yet I enjoyed them. In completely different ways, they are women who show strength despite what life has thrown at them.

The switch in perspectives is wonderful. because it kept the story moving forward. Something weird would happen to a character in one, and then it would switch and the other character's story would be progressing, and then it would pick back up again the first story.

There are also lots of twists and turns along the way. I never could make up my mind about who to trust and what storyline to trust. Right along with Mia and Zoe, I questioned so many things happening in each of their lives. Kathryn Croft did a fantastic job of writing their inner monologues as events unfold. You can ride along with each of them and understand them questioning if they interpreted someone else's actions or words correctly.

And the ending was just perfect, I enjoyed it very much. It was a "just one more page" kind of night, until I was up way past my bedtime! I found myself thinking about the ending for many days, which is a sign of a truly great read.

***Trigger warning: there is some non-graphic child abuse at parts in this book. Though disturbing, it is not described in any sort of way that is too graphic or raw. It is told more in back story***

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