CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE by Martha Powers

Publisher Oceanview Publishing
Date published November 2008
ISBN 9781933515182
Romantic Suspense
Hardcover
Reviewed by Pam




Clare Prentice travels from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Minnesotta. She has a double mission, to interview the town’s reclusive novelist, Nathan Hanssen and to research her own story. When her mother dies, she unexpectedly finds out Rose wasn’t her birth mother. So, following the clue of a class ring, her boss sends her to Grand Rapids with a good cover to search for Lily Prentice’s real killer. When she goes to interview Nate, strange flash backs almost over take her, confusing her until she realizes this is the house she used to live in.

The more Clare learns, the more others in the town become affected and danger begins to stalk them as a woman who knew Rose dies.

The attraction between Clare and Nate becomes compelling, although his daughter Erika, begins to show signs of jealousy. When the danger becomes more frightening, Clare is desperate to find out who killed her mother all those years ago. What she is sure of, it wasn’t her father, as she confronts what really happened.

CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE, is set in a fascinating area of the US, with delightful scenery to tease the reader with an interesting take on a woman in a dangerous plot, that has many twists and turns. The intensity in the taut plot accelerates, as the story unfolds and the reader is lead down many side paths. The secondary characters are an interesting group, ranging from a novelist, librarian, the towns sheriff, a church leader and an artist. These characters added to the story, especially Ruth who gives her a place to stay and un-stinting support. Waldo the dog adds yet another layer to the characters, as he always seems to pop up when needed. Tension rises as the search for Lily’s killer becomes more dangerous, and the reader’s apprehension builds for Clare’s safety.

This is the first of Ms. Powers books I’ve read, and I wasn’t disappointed as the twists and turns in a small town were quite compelling. The surrounding scenery came alive as we watched the days flow through the heroine’s eyes.