Title: The Silence That Speaks by Andrea Kane
Forensic Instincts Series Book Four
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
WHO WANTS MADELINE WESTFIELD DEAD? AND WHY?
Forensic Instincts’ first order of business is to find out who’s targeting their client. Under the leadership of Casey Woods, the investigative team has the resources to do just that, working inside the law—and outside it. FI’s strength is its members, among them Casey’s associate Marc Devereaux, former navy SEAL and a man who’s equal to any situation.
Except maybe this one…
Madeline’s case hits too close to home for Marc. She’s the only woman he ever loved, and she’s his only weakness. Now a nurse at Manhattan Memorial, she’s terrified because someone is trying to kill her. So she turns, reluctantly, to Marc and FI for help and protection.
Meanwhile, Manhattan Memorial is in turmoil. With a merger in the works, the staff is still haunted by their hospital administrator’s sudden death—during heart surgery performed by Madeline’s ex-husband, Conrad. A surgery at which Madeline was present. The killer seems to blame both Madeline and Conrad…
With a growing list of suspects—including the grieving widow and a string of scorned lovers—Forensic Instincts will have to figure out who has the greatest incentive to get rid of Madeline. And FI has to work fast to save her…before she’s permanently silenced.
Review:
The Silence That Speaks is another perplexing mystery in Andrea Kane’s delightfully unique Forensic Instincts series. In this latest installment, the team is hired by a woman from FI member Marc Devereaux’s past following an attempt on her life.
Madeline Westfield has no idea who would want her dead and equally baffling is why she is being targeted. Knowing the police are not taking her suspicions seriously, Madeline turns to the FI team for help in unraveling the mystery. Their investigation begins at a local hospital where she and her ex-husband Conrad are both employed. The hospital is in the midst of merger while at the same time mourning the recent and unexpected death of the hospital administrator Ronald Lexington following heart surgery performed by Conrad.
The team immediately zeros in on Ronald’s death as a possible motive for the attempt on Madeline’s life and the clues certainly seem to support their theory. They soon find out some rather unsavory information about Ronald’s past but their efforts to fully examine the data they uncover are quickly thwarted. In the midst of trying to break the heavily encrypted files, Ronald’s widow falls under suspicion when it becomes obvious that she blames both Madeline and Conrad for Ronald’s death. While it does not appear that her claims have merit, has her grief driven her to try to exact revenge on Madeline and Conrad?
Once again, FI leader Casey Woods depends on her crack team of investigators to dig into the case. Ryan McKay’s cyber skills are immediately put to use and when he runs into a brick wall, he turns to his equally skilled brother, Aidan, for assistance. Claire Hedgleigh’s psychic abilities once again prove invaluable and her intuition helps the team narrow down the focus of the investigation. Newcomer Emma Stirling’s street smarts and youth add another dimension to the team and this provides them with the edge they need to infiltrate the hospital to gain access to the information they need to crack the case.
The Silence That Speaks is a fantastic addition to the Forensic Instincts series. Andrea Kane offers a viable pool of suspects and many plausible motives for the attacks on Madeline, but she does an excellent job keep readers guessing the truth right up until the novel’s conclusion. An overall entertaining whodunit that mystery lovers are sure to enjoy.