An Act of Silence by Colette McBeth | Blog tour Book Review #AnActofSilence

Published by Wildfire

Ebook & Hardback (29 June 2017)  |  Paperback (11 January 2018)

352 pages

Source: ARC – Review Copy

Welcome to my stop on the final day of the blog tour for An Act of Silence.  I’m delighted to be able to share my review. My thanks to the publisher for the review copy and to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the tour invitation.

|   About the Book   |

MOTHER. WIFE. POLITICIAN. LIAR.

THEN: How far did she go to conceal the truth?

Politician Linda Moscow sacrificed everything to protect her son: her beliefs, her career, her marriage. All she wanted was to keep him safe.

NOW: What will she risk to expose the lies?

When the voices she silenced come back to haunt her, Linda is faced with another impossible choice. Only this time, it’s her life on the line . . .

An Act of Silence is about the abuse of power, the devastating effects of keeping the truth buried, and the lengths a mother will go to save her child.

|   My Review   |

I very much enjoyed the previous book by Colette McBeth, The Life I Left Behind (reviewed here) and was excited by the news of a new book.  An Act of Silence is a very different and a much darker read.

Centred around Linda Moscow, a previous incumbent of the post of Home Secretary, Linda now spends her days as a recluse after a political scandal that she was involved in ended her career. Her son Gabriel has had a chequered life but is now a successful stand-up comedian. When Gabriel appears in Linda’s kitchen one morning, telling her that he is wanted by the police on suspicion of murder, both of their lives are about to implode.

Linda and Gabriel have always had a strained relationship. Gabriel was a difficult child and not without his problems. He blamed his mother and her job for a lack of attention and love and seemed to think that she always thought the worst of him.  However, in her own way, Linda loved him and protected him as best she could. Now Gabriel keeps his distance and only visits occasionally when he wants something. Like now. However will Linda be completely on his side, or will she let him down again?

The theme of politics is very much at the forefront of this story and even though Linda is no longer part of it, she is unable to escape the fallout of deeds done in past decades. There have been reports that historical acts of child abuse carried out by ‘the great and the good’ have been covered up at the highest level; and although not graphically described, the reader is left in no doubt that vile and depraved people are being protected and have been allowed to continue with the collusion of others.  This same subject of course has been very much in the news in past months.

Machiavellian political characters and corrupt officials all play a part and they will stop at nothing to protect themselves – Literally. Nothing. Linda and Gabriel are caught up in the most horrific way and not for the first time, Linda has some very difficult decisions to make.

Being completely honest, as much as I was looking forward to it, An Act of Silence didn’t immediately grab me. The beginning had a much slower pace, particularly the chapters recounting Gabriel’s childhood and it took me a little while to get into it. However once I did connect, WOW. What a fabulous read this turned into. With betrayals and twists galore, this really is a rollercoaster of a story. The characterisation is excellent and frighteningly realistic with some truly vile people who you would hope to never encounter in real life.

I’m not going to give any detail of the plot as it really is one that you need to uncover for yourself. All I will say is that the complex storyline and intricately woven strands between past and present were so superbly done. With multiple narrators, and clearly defined timelines, you see the story from more than more perspective and so my opinion of each person shifted with each new revelation.

An Act of Silence is an exciting, intriguing and tension filled read – right up until the end, and my poor fingernails were bitten to the quick!  Definitely one to recommend!

|   About the Author   |

Colette McBeth is the author of three critically acclaimed psychological thrillers. Her latest, An Act of Silence, is part domestic, part political thriller. In her former life Colette worked as a political correspondent for the BBC at Westminster, a news reporter and started out on regional newspapers. She lives by the sea with her husband and three children and never has enough time.  Colette is a member of Killer Women, the female collective of crime writers.

Author Links:  Website   |   Twitter   |   Facebook   |   Amazon UK   |   Amazon.com   |   Goodreads