Not a Sound

Starred review from March 20, 2017
Former ER nurse Amelia Winn, the gutsy narrator of this moving thriller from Edgar-finalist Gudenkauf (Missing Pieces), is struggling to rebuild her life in rural Iowa, digitizing patient files in her new clerical job at the area’s largest cancer clinic, two years after an unsolved hit-and-run destroyed her hearing. Then, while paddle boarding along the deserted Five Mines River not far from her isolated cabin, Amelia and her service dog, Stitch, discover the strangled corpse of a woman: nurse Gwen Locke, a colleague of Amelia’s who was once a good friend. When Amelia’s dramatic 911 call airs, she becomes a potential sitting duck for a killer concerned about just how much she may have seen. Although friend since childhood Det. Jake Schroeder urges her to leave the investigating to pros, she can’t resist any more than she can stop delving into anomalies in patient files. As increasingly frightening events menace the heart-tuggingly vulnerable Amelia and her fiercely loyal four-legged protector, Gudenkauf maximizes tension all the way through the literally cliff-hanging finale. Agent: Marianne Merola, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents.

February 15, 2017

Finding a dead body while paddle boarding with her recalcitrant service dog Stitch was not what Amelia Winn expected on a crisp fall morning. When she realizes that the deceased woman was Gwen Locke, a former nursing colleague and friend, Amelia is thrust into a hunt for Gwen's killer. She's still recovering from the aftermath of a hit-and-run accident that left her deaf, depressed, and out of a profession she loved. Amelia begins to reengage with her friends and family to uncover Gwen's last movements before her death. But she risks losing everything in her fragile new existence--from her recovery from alcoholism to the tenuous bonds with her husband and young stepdaughter--to expose the truth. VERDICT Gudenkauf (The Weight of Silence) cleverly incorporates the daily challenges of hearing-impaired individuals and delivers a fast-paced, solid suspense novel that will appeal to fans of Joy Fielding and Jenny Milchman. [See Prepub Alert 11/21/16; library outreach.]--Joy Gunn, Paseo Verde Lib., Henderson, NV

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2017
A deaf woman and her dog take on the world--or at least a callous, murdering sociopath--in Gudenkauf's (Missing Pieces, 2016, etc.) latest. After losing her hearing in a freak hit-and-run accident that also killed a woman, Amelia has struggled with alcoholism and unemployment and is finally striving to get her life together. She finds peace on the water, kayaking or paddleboarding with her service dog, Stitch, another survivor and misfit, until the day she discovers a body left in a shallow channel. Shocked not only by her discovery, but also by the realization that she used to be friends with the victim, Gwen, Amelia also worries that the publicity surrounding her 911 call might lead the killer right to her doorstep. In the meantime, she takes a job doing clerical work for a doctor friend of her estranged husband, himself a doctor, and she begins to wonder if Gwen may have been silenced because of a secret she discovered about something or someone in the medical community. Someone clearly has his or her eye on Amelia and is working to discredit her with both boss and husband, so she must be close to finding out the truth. Gudenkauf has created a memorable character in Amelia. Self-deprecating and sometimes angry, her candid voice is a breath of fresh air and an antidote to traditional thriller heroines. In addition, she is self-reliant and strong. The plot contains some clever twists, and the final showdown crackles with tension. It's hard not to root for Amelia and Stitch; flawed as they are, they're tough, engaging fighters. Come for the mystery; stay for the taut suspense, the unique heroine--and of course, the ugly, loyal dog.

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