Dead Silence (The Stillwater Trilogy)

Dead Silence was a great start to the Stillwater series. And I am glad all three books are more connected than it just being set in the same town or having characters that appear in multiple books. I loved how the author didn't spill the beans on what happened eighteen years ago. We received small clues into the event, which was a great way to keep me interested throughout the book. The main character Grace definitely didn't have a easy childhood/teenage years, but she ended becoming a very strong woman. Kennedy seems like a straight-up guy and the all American boy next door. He does his best to approach Grace, to whom he is attracted to. But Grace can't forget about the past that easily, plus she is keeping secrets. But when Kennedy's son Teddy keeps on visiting and hanging out with Grace, she can't ignore him anymore. I have to say that I absolutely LOVED the interactions between Kennedy's two boys and Grace. Especially Teddy was such a cute and curious boy. I did think the relationship between Kennedy and Grace developed a bit fast, but it didn't bother me that much. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen next.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Complex characters. It kept me up late at night. It was in my thoughts throughout the day until I finished it. The romance and feelings of family love were wonderfully satisfying at the end. Just lovely. This book is the first in a trilogy.

STORY BRIEF:
Grace Montgomery was sexually molested by her stepfather. The locals believed her preacher stepfather "walked on water" and didn't know about his perversion. The stepfather died and only Grace, her mother and brother knew what really happened. Grace remembers burying him on the family farm. The rest of the town suspects the Montgomerys were at fault somehow, but no body is found. Grace slept with a few teenage boys in town during this troubling time of her life. She was made fun of and called white trash because of it. She left town, worked hard to get an education, was at the top of her college class and became an assistant D.A., never losing a case. She is still haunted by her past and returns to Stillwater for a couple of months, hoping to soothe and/or heal from her past. The local boys still make fun of her, and others still look down on her. Joe is one of those boys who slept with her as a teen. He desperately wants to do so again, but she won't have anything to do with him. He continues to try to hurt Grace and her family as much as he can. He believes they killed his uncle, the preacher, and continues to point fingers and search for evidence.

Kennedy had married his high school sweetheart Raelynn and had two boys, currently ages 8 and 10. Raelynn died in an auto accident a couple years earlier. His boys meet and love being with Grace. She is great with them as well. The boys and a few other occurrences bring Kennedy and Grace together, and he keeps learning new things about her, realizing he and the town have been wrong about her.

DATA:
Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one (plus two more that were referred to: telling, not showing). Setting: current day small town Stillwater, Mississippi. Copyright: 2006. Genre: romantic suspense with emphasis on relationships.

OTHER BOOKS:
To date, I've read the following Brenda Novak books.
Stillwater Trilogy:
5 stars. Dead Silence. Copyrt 2006. Review Date 8/26/08.
4 stars. Dead Giveaway. Copyrt 2007. Review Date 6/01/09.
2.5 stars. Dead Right. Copyrt 2007. Review Date 6/03/09.

Last Stand Trilogy:
3 stars. Trust Me. Copyrt 2008. Review Date 6/01/09.
(not read) Stop Me. Copyrt 2008.
3 stars. Watch Me. Copyrt 2008. Review Date 6/8/09.

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Thirteen years ago, Grace Montgomery left her past behind her, leaving Stillwater and never looking back. Until now...

Grace seems to have it all. She's a successful assistant district attorney who has never lost a case, is financially stable, and has the perfect man ready to marry her on a moment's notice. But when he finally grows weary of her resistance and confronts her about, she decides it is finally time to face her fears and really bury her past. Now she goes back home to the farm where her life took a drastic turn nineteen years ago with the disappearance of her stepfather. Very few know the truth though many townspeople suspect what really happened.

Kennedy Archer is running for mayor and the last thing he needs is complications. But that is exactly what he gets when Grace returns. Though he feels some guilt over the way his friends treated her in high school, he has a hard time with her being back since he is one of the many who suspect her family of being involved in the Rev Barker's disappearance. Grace is a complication Kennedy doesn't need if he has any hope of winning the election. But as his children grow more attached to her, so does he.

Secrets have a way of creeping out however and as Kennedy begins to piece together events of the past, he comes to understand Grace and finds himself standing beside her rather than against her. And Kennedy finds himself what's more important to him... his mayoral campaign or his love for Grace.

Grace knows this better than anyone, having been subjected to horrors no young girl should be forced to endure. She has been so emotionally scarred by this knowledge that she was desperate to be loved by others that she acted out in many unfortunate ways while growing up. Now in trying to put her past behind her once and for all, she has to rip open the scars and let the pain out so she can fully heal. These past experiences have made Grace desperate for love, but at the same time terrified of what it could do to her should she allow herself to be vulnerable again. However, she has so much love to give and this is very evident in how she interacts with Teddy and heath, Kennedy's adorable sons. We really get to see her softer side in the unending patience she has with them. Then when she feel she needs to protect Kennedy and the boys from how her reputation could hurt them, it tears her up inside to cut the ties they've formed. One of the most emotional scenes in Dead Silence is when Grace finally pours out her deepest darkest secrets to Kennedy. That is the real moment her healing begins and I was moved to tears at how much courage it took Grace to do that.

Kennedy is drawn to Grace, in spite of the impact he knows their relationship will have on his campaign and on his bonds with his parents and his friends. This is especially apparent in the deterioration of his relationship with his long time best friend, Joe Vincelli, who saved Kennedy's life when they were boys and just happens to be Rev Barker's nephew, and the strongest accuser of Grace's family's guilt. We see Kennedy change and grow as he begins to suspect the Montgomery family secrets and tries so hard to help Grace get beyond her past.

Dead Silence is almost as much about Grace's family as it is about her. We see what strain the events of nineteen years ago put on the Montgomery family. Clay was forced to grow up too soon and now spends his life keeping the truth hidden. Molly, their sister fled Stillwater several years ago, even though at the time everything happened, she was too young too understand what was going on. Madeline, Barker's only child from his first marriage, suffers with the agony of not knowing what happened to her beloved father and defends the Montgomeries with her every breath, feeling a stronger familial bond to them than she does to her own blood relatives. Then there is Irene, Grace's mother, who feels like it is her fault this all happened. If she hadn't been so desperate to find security for her children after her first husband abandoned them, she may have seen the signs sooner and been able to prevent so much suffering.

With Dead Silence, Brenda Novak has written a powerful novel full of suspense and bound to tug at the heartstrings. Evil takes many forms and often can be found n unlikely places. So unlikely in fact, that people would never believe it if they new. This is actually the basic premise, if you want to get to the bare bones, of the story. A warning though... Make sure that you have Dead Giveaway, the second book in the trilogy, ready to go as soon as you finish Dead Silence. You will not want to wait even a minute to see where Brenda Novak and the Montgomeries take you next.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2007. All rights reserved.

SPOILER ALERT!
This was such a 'dumb' book. 419 pages of nothing. What 30 something person bullies an old classmate for being a tramp during their teens? The whole book was about this. On and on and on about actions of a teen ager 20 years ago!
Not to mention former jock falls in love immediately when seeing her again. No. Not even close to something that would ever happen.
I couldn't wait to be done, but I will read the next book to see if they ever find out the story. Only because I'm like that about books and movies as well.
I advise to not even bother with this series. Boring, silly, immature, UN REAL!

Grace Montgomery has not been able to accept her boyfriend's proposal of marriage because of her past and has decided to go back home in order to put her past behind her for the sake of the future.

When Grace arrives in her hometown of Stillwater, Mississippi she realizes that not a lot has changed in the thirteen years she's been gone. The town's people never accepted her or her family when Reverend Barker married her mother and moved them to this small town. When the Reverend went missing that fateful night thirteen years ago, the people of Stillwater never let them forget that they believed her family was responsible for killing him, even though a body had never been found. With Grace's return, the old rumors of murder start up again and it would seem that someone knows exactly what happened that night and is determined to bring it to light.

Grace has to decide how best to protect herself and her family, but the only way to do that is by trusting Kennedy Archer, the boy who didn't pay any attention to her in school and the man who can't seem to stay away from her now. Does Kennedy have Grace's best interests at heart or will his need to protect his children and his campaign for mayor put Grace in the line of fire?

Dead Silence is the first in the new Stillwater, Mississippi series by Brenda Novak that is sure to be a captivating and thrilling hit with readers. In this exciting story you get introduced to the Montgomery family and the diverse people of Stillwater that provide the foundation for the series.

Dead Silence is a deeply emotional and touching story that had me desperate to learn more. Grace is a very strong woman that has been through so much in her life that you can just feel her pain as it radiates off the pages and has you hopeful that she will find some peace. Kennedy has also had his share of pain being a widower with two sons to take care of ; his love for his family shines through his pain. There seems to be a lot of darkness in the town of Stillwater, which gives it such a realistic, suspenseful feel, and will have you holding your breath waiting to see what will happen next. Brenda Novak has outdone herself with this first exhilarating story in what is sure to be another hit series. I cannot wait to get started on the next book Dead Giveaway.

By Tammy
Fallen Angel Reviews

In Stillwater, being the daughter of white trash, Grace Montgomery knows she has no future here by the way everyone either scorns her or leers at her. She has decided the first chance she gets she will leave her hometown to forge a future somewhere else where no one knows about her DNA; thus she began her rise in a greasy spoon in Jackson, but soon won scholarships to Iowa and Georgetown law school.

Grace succeeds, but now thirteen years later has returned home to resolve the event in her past that left her shrouded in mystery when the Reverend vanished eighteen years ago, humiliation and the tag that the acorn does not fall far from the tree occurred. However, she quickly learns that here unlike the outside she remains what she was when she left, white trash. Rising politician widower Kennedy Archer thinks otherwise as he is attracted to Grace and admires her spunk and ethics. However, he also knows by seeing her, his political career could die before it blossoms. Worse she knows that too.

DEAD SILENCE is a fascinating family drama in which events that are almost two decades old still haunt those left behind by what happened. The story line creates the atmosphere of a laid back town while introducing the key players especially the lead couple. Though that enables the reader to get deep inside everyone's head, however, that twisting pace also leaves little room for action until the latter segment of the novel. Thus not for everyone, fans who enjoy an insightful character study will want to know what happened in Stillwater that some residents prefer to remain concealed.

Harriet Klausner

I could NOT put this story down! The characters are rich and complex. Grace and Kennedy's romance was a the only thing slightly lacking (The reasons Kennedy was taken with Grace enough to risk so much were never really clear.) But,the mystery is written with a subtlety and intelligence that builds until the author has the reader completely engrossed and lost to the outside world until that last page is turned.Luckily I started this story well after all three in the trilogy were written. I can quickly grab the next!

Grace Montgomery has returned to Stillwater, Mississippi. She left to forget what happened that long ago night when her step-father was killed. She returns to make peace with event that she feels responsible for, regardless of the fact that it was out of her control. Only four people know what really happened on that night, 18 years ago. Only four people know where Reverend Lee Baker is buried.

Kennedy Archer remembers Grace from high school. He remembers his friends taunting her. He remembers his friends bragging about "Grinding Gracie". He knows that he never said one word against her. He also knows that he never said one word to stop it. When Kennedy finds himself attracted to Grace, he knows that he can't do anything about it. Part of the most powerful family in town, he is also running for Mayor and he can not have any scandal attached to his name. He didn't count on his two young boys taking that decision out of his hands. Soon he found himself falling for her, even though he knew she was keeping a secret that could destory them both.

The town of Stillwater have blamed the Montgomery family for the dissapearence/death of their beloved Preacher. There are still some people who will do anything to have the truth come out, even though it's for all the wrong reasons. There are also some people who will do anything to protect the secrets of the Montgomery's.

This book is about a woman who is trying to come to terms with her past. It's about the abuse of a child who had nowhere to turn. It's about the shame of that child, shame that was carried through into adulthood. It's also about two people finding each other at the most unexpected time.

I highly recommend this book. I am looking forward to the next in the series, which is about Clay Montgomery, Grace's brother.

Great emotional and gripping start to the Stillwater Trilogy by Brenda Novak. That Reverend Barker was one sick son of gun. This story grabbed me from page one and didn't let go until I finished the entire series!

Fabulous characters...I actually found myself caring for these people. The plot was fairly different and you're sure to feel empathy for the true victims of the heinous crime. It's an age old story of "who really is the victim?" Several times throughout a character says something about believing in justice. This book makes it clear that justice is viewed differently in the town of Stillwater. Innocent until proven guilty means nothing to the town's residents who are all too eager to persecute without anything stronger than heresay as a basis. I agree with the others who have mentioned its best to have the other books ready to go as you won't be able to just 'stop' this story until you've reached the conclusion.

Brenda Novak does it again. Dead Silence is a mysterious, intriguing, intense and at the same time heart warming page turner. Brenda knows how to keep us in suspense and welcome the reader into the lives of her very real and endearing characters. I highly recommend this book and after reading the excerpt of her new book Dead Giveaway-- I know it will follow in the same tradition of excellent writing and suspenseful developments which make every page memorable.

This is a unique opening. We know the much-loved Reverand is dead and we know his own family killed him and hid the body. We even get a glimpse of why and we don't blame them, but the "Dead Silence" keeps us sweating whether the family will be found out by suspicious townsfolk. Didn't realize this was 'romantic' suspense, I might have not picked "Dead Silence" up quite so readily if I had. That would have been regrettable. Novak did an excellent job keeping her reader hooked.

This is the first book in the Stillwater trilogy. So many twists and turns and keeps you guessing all the way to the end of the book. What a great ending. The book has mystery and romance. An amazing book. looking forward to reading book #2.

Though the subject is a difficult one to write about, Ms. Novak does so flawlessly, by using imagery and subtlety. The characters are wonderfully believable, the tension is palpable, there is mystery and suspense, and a cliffhanger. Not to mention it is technically superb. I am a busy work-from-home-mom, I have a degree in creative writing, and am very picky about the quality of books I read. I stayed up two nights in a row just to read this book and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Simply put, the reason why I will always pick up a new Brenda Novak book, is because they just keep getting better and better. So go buy this book! You'll enjoy it.

I have never read anything by Brenda Novak before and picked this book up on a whim. I was very pleasantly surprise. Mystery, romance, and suspense are all wrapped up in a wonderful package. I recommend highly.

I really liked the start of this new series. You have to admire Grace for having the courage to come back home and face her personal demons. The author, Brenda Novak, writes on a very touchy subject without going into great detail. I can't wait to read Clay's story.