The Silent Girls by Eric Rickstad
Author : Eric Rickstad
Title : The Silent Girls
Published : 2014
Publisher : Witness Impulse
Pages : 416
Genre : Crime Thriller
Frank Rath thought he was done with murder when he turned in his detective's badge to become a private investigator and raise a daughter alone. Then the police in his remote rural community of Canaan find an '89 Monte Carlo abandoned by the side of the road, and the beautiful teenage girl who owned the car seems to have disappeared without a trace. Soon Rath's investigation brings him face-to-face with the darkest abominations of the human soul. With the consequences of his violent and painful past plaguing him and young women with secrets vanishing one by one, he discovers once again that even in the smallest towns on the map, evil lurks everywhere-and no one is safe
When I first started this book I was completely unaware that it was the second in a series of books. But the synopsis sounded so great that is in part why I chose it as my next read. Also, I do love a great bloody crime novel. And let's be honest it did sound like it was going to be one. There is however always the chance that jumping in beyond the start would reveal certain facts that will spoil the previous book. But as I said I was already partway in when I discovered this. To best of my knowledge having got to the end, it would seem like the story was fairly self-contained but I guess there will only really be one way for me to find this out.
Rath comes at you like he has escaped from the heyday of scandi noir. He is bitter and bewildered by most that goes on around him. He is one of those charters we all love so much. And while the family is slim on the ground he does have a daughter to look after. He is that truly dogged detective who will get the case solved even if it costs him his own life. And that bleeds into his relationship with Rachel. As a single father he does his best but as you can imagine with jobs like these family will for the most part come secound. I do like the dynamic these two have and it works well in the content of the book. It was also great to see how the villain of this book developed. Little by little finding out his motives was one of the joys of this book. And while his motives seem extreme to me they do perfectly fit within the realms of possibility. They are views you could probably find on a good few internet forums should you look in the right place.
I think the world created by this author was one that fits within the framework of the real world. I never felt he was straying too much into the world of Hollywood blockbuster and for me, this really worked. It is one of those books that in my mind takes place in the dark and the shadows that lurk at the end of corridors. And for me, there was enough blood splashed across the pages to keep my interest up. Without wishing to give anything away, the subjects the author tackles within this book do take you to some very sensitive subject for a lot of people. He would be hard to say this is always done in the most sensitive of ways. But this is not that sort of book and the world views of our Villian at that of everyone. The is a great deal of religious extremism that takes place and for those who take the bible word for word it shapes every one of there actions. All be it twisted to the most extreme and violent form. But by the end, I was convinced that the author had taken his time and plotted out each twist and turn well. Now that is not to say this is one of those jaw-dropping head-snapping books but for me, it ticked all the boxes I could wish for.
This is one of those books that's great to curl up on an evening with. There was enough to keep the old grey cells ticking over and plant of danger was not only thrown at our heroes but also any girl that had the miss fortune of crossing paths with our villain. I would say it is a good sturdy crime novel nothing massively original but an entertaining story none the less.
When I first started this book I was completely unaware that it was the second in a series of books. But the synopsis sounded so great that is in part why I chose it as my next read. Also, I do love a great bloody crime novel. And let's be honest it did sound like it was going to be one. There is however always the chance that jumping in beyond the start would reveal certain facts that will spoil the previous book. But as I said I was already partway in when I discovered this. To best of my knowledge having got to the end, it would seem like the story was fairly self-contained but I guess there will only really be one way for me to find this out.
Rath comes at you like he has escaped from the heyday of scandi noir. He is bitter and bewildered by most that goes on around him. He is one of those charters we all love so much. And while the family is slim on the ground he does have a daughter to look after. He is that truly dogged detective who will get the case solved even if it costs him his own life. And that bleeds into his relationship with Rachel. As a single father he does his best but as you can imagine with jobs like these family will for the most part come secound. I do like the dynamic these two have and it works well in the content of the book. It was also great to see how the villain of this book developed. Little by little finding out his motives was one of the joys of this book. And while his motives seem extreme to me they do perfectly fit within the realms of possibility. They are views you could probably find on a good few internet forums should you look in the right place.
I think the world created by this author was one that fits within the framework of the real world. I never felt he was straying too much into the world of Hollywood blockbuster and for me, this really worked. It is one of those books that in my mind takes place in the dark and the shadows that lurk at the end of corridors. And for me, there was enough blood splashed across the pages to keep my interest up. Without wishing to give anything away, the subjects the author tackles within this book do take you to some very sensitive subject for a lot of people. He would be hard to say this is always done in the most sensitive of ways. But this is not that sort of book and the world views of our Villian at that of everyone. The is a great deal of religious extremism that takes place and for those who take the bible word for word it shapes every one of there actions. All be it twisted to the most extreme and violent form. But by the end, I was convinced that the author had taken his time and plotted out each twist and turn well. Now that is not to say this is one of those jaw-dropping head-snapping books but for me, it ticked all the boxes I could wish for.
This is one of those books that's great to curl up on an evening with. There was enough to keep the old grey cells ticking over and plant of danger was not only thrown at our heroes but also any girl that had the miss fortune of crossing paths with our villain. I would say it is a good sturdy crime novel nothing massively original but an entertaining story none the less.
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