The Silent Witness

Book excerpt: It's 4 a.m. when her mom shakes her awake. "Get up baby, we're going to play hide and seek." The little girl presses back into the dark space, holding her breath as she hears the shots ring out. She knows she's next... When the bodies of a local family are discovered on a quiet street in the small town of Dumfries, Virginia, Detective Amanda Steele takes charge of the case. Brett and Angela Parker were shot three times each, leaving no hope of survival, and their tidy suburban home has been ransacked. But there is no sign of their beloved six-year-old, Zoe. Zoe is the same age as Amanda's daughter was when she died, and Amanda can't bear the thought of another little girl in danger. She's organizing a search for the child, when she notices something strange about the ottoman at the foot of the Parkers' bed. She opens it to find Zoe, mute and traumatized, but alive. With Zoe completely uncommunicative, Amanda must find another way to untangle what destroyed this seemingly perfect family. It's clear that the killer is searching for something the Parkers had, and until she has this monster behind bars, Amanda fears that he may return for Zoe. When she learns that Brett Parker cut short the family's recent lakeside vacation, she wonders why. What happened at that lake house, and did it ultimately get them killed? Amanda heads out to Lake Chesdin on the feeling it might be key to the case, and when she finds a cell phone in the murky waters next to the Parker cabin, she knows she's made a breakthrough. But then terrible news reaches her from Dumfries; Zoe has been taken from her school playground. Someone wants to silence the Parker family for good, can Amanda catch them before the little girl she's desperate to protect pays the price? A completely gripping and addictive crime thriller that will keep fans of Rachel Caine, Lisa Regan and Robert Dugoni entertained into the early hours. Readers love Carolyn Arnold: "OMG YES. This was an amazing book... I couldn't put it down... Best book I read this year." Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "My heart is still beating fast! Wow!! By far, one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time!" Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I ended up devouring the entire book in just one sitting... I was completely pulled into this one and found myself completely unable to put this down." Little Miss Book Lover 87 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "If there was a way to give more than 5 stars, I would! This book is amazing!" Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "What a great book! I read it in one day and had so many twists and turns I never saw the ending coming!" Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Wow! Could not put this down. So many twists and surprises." Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!" NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I LOVED this book... An engrossing page-turner and that ending, phew I didn't see that coming at all!!! Can't wait for the next in the series." NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐