Sara Denzil-Silent Child

2/5

In the summer of 2006, Emma Price watched helplessly as her six-year-old son’s red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. It was the tragic story of the year – a little boy, Aiden, wandered away from school during a terrible flood, fell into the river, and drowned. His body was never recovered. Ten years later, Emma has finally rediscovered the joy in life. She’s married, pregnant, and in control again... ... until Aiden returns. Too traumatized to speak, he raises endless questions and answers none. Only his body tells the story of his decade-long disappearance. The historic broken bones and injuries cast a mere glimpse into the horrors Aiden has experienced. Aiden never drowned. Aiden was taken. As Emma attempts to reconnect with her now teenage son, she must unmask the monster who took him away from her. But who, in their tiny village, could be capable of such a crime? It's Aiden who has the answers, but he cannot tell the unspeakable. Silent Child by Sarah Denzil was the first book I purchased off Amazon in a very long time due to my love for a physical book in my hands rather than one on my phone. The start of the book was really well written and kept me reading but the ending is what ruined it for me. To say the least, it wasn't my favourite book. I didn't enjoy the ending at all. I felt as if it was rushed and didn't add up as much as it would if the author would have expanded more on the boy's abduction and treated it more realistically. I felt as the author realized how far they were into the book and gave up and blamed the abduction on just anyone when it would have made more sense to blame it on someone closer to the family and not just a friend. A lot of the book didn't add up for me at the end and I wasn't impressed at all. I would rate this book a 2/5. I had REALLY high hopes and expectations for this book as I love a good abduction story as they are very realistic and a childs adaptation to their new world is very intriguing. SPOILER ALERT Aiden, who was mute since he came home from a 10 year abduction, awkwardly enough starts talking out of the blue when his mother follows him to the spot where he lived while he was abducted. I found this VERY unrealistic and the author could have elaborated more on how he all of a sudden found his voice again. Also, the mother kills her husband and Amy, the woman who told her son 10 years ago to go down to the river in which he "fell" into. I also found this a tad dramatic as in this situation I would have thought she would call her detective friend who was her number contact the entire time and made a deal with him and told him everything. A lot of the book didn't add up for me at the end and I wasn't impressed at all. Yours truly,