Well when life gives you burnout from your job, sometimes this means getting to ARCs much later than you wanted to.

I have to start by saying that this book did a great job at blending multiple genres: horror, sci-fi and even thriller. I commend the author for their successful imagery with the horror elements, I was genuinely unnerved a couple of times with the graphic descriptions of the ghosts. I think that the first 1/3 of this book was incredibly successful but eventually got a little convoluted and the plot was stretching far at some points. The main issue I had was with the pacing, I found that it took a really long time (or what felt like it from the reader’s perspective) to get to the big finale. Once we reached the point in which the mystery is solved and the loop is closed it was all resolved in a matter of a few pages and just fell flat for me. Another main issue I had was just the language that the author used. Don’t get me wrong I love it when main characters have faults and swear like real people but these swears genuinely felt like something a middle schooler would say and really felt forced. I’ve never actually heard an adult speak in weird made up swear language so this really threw me off and pulled me away from the story a few times. I also have to say that one of the “final” plot twists just didn’t need to be included it felt so forced and there wasn’t much reason for it to occur. The plot could have easily been progressed in the same manner without this “he’s actually not who he says he is” trope. The epilogue was also a very interesting choice and left the reader wondering if another book will happen or??? Overall I enjoyed this book but was left wanting more from the horror/haunting side of things but I think the average reader would enjoy this!

Thank you Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. “Silent Key” was published October 10, 2023 and is available for purchase on Amazon.

Laurel Hightower just never misses with her creeping sense of dread and perfectly constructed atmosphere in her stories. Huge thank you to Netgalley and Laurel for my review copy!

What a grippy, twisted story.
Hightower crafts a mystery wrapped in a supernatural twist!
A slow burn that built to a satisfyingly exciting climax.

Loved it. Can't wait to see what she does next.

A story that mixes pulp mystery and horrifying hauntings, all while keeping its funhouse sensibilities intact. Full review here: https://bewarethescarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2023/11/have-you-read-this-silent-key-by-laurel.html

Gripping, twisty and creepy. A very entertaining and well plotted story, a solid paranormal thriller that kept me guessing and reading.
Well plotted and intriguing
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book was just fine for me. I was initially drawn in by the cover and premise, I love water horror and I love people being confronted with the supernatural. However, the plot DRAGGED for the first half. It did ramp up and ended well though in my opinion. Generally, I think a slow first half is fine if we are getting to know our characters or the world. However, that wasn't really the case here. I didn't hate the characters, but I didn't feel anything for them either and this book needed you to care about the characters to really feel the tension. Also why was there a romance subplot?! It really wasn't needed and there wasn't any chemistry in my opinion.

I really tried to get into this story, but couldn't. I kept picking it up and putting it down because the writing wasn't catching me. I kept waiting for something to happen, but I was just bored. I finally set it down for good at 50% because it wasn't getting any better. I didn't connect with the characters, their conversations always felt a bit off, the "romance" was not good, and everyone was so strange. Oh and I really was interested in it because that cover and the synopsis (comparing this to The Deep and Jaws) seem to indicate that it will take place on/around water, but there was basically none of that in the part I read.

Hey, big shoutout to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press, and Laurel for tossing this digital beauty my way!

Now, let's dive in – straight up, I'm a Laurel aficionado. Not just a stellar writer but a real gem in the writing crew. I mean, she's a friend too. Seeing her rock the debut and those novellas, and now landing with Flame Tree Press – it's like cheering on your pal climbing the success ladder, and boy, does she deserve it.

Now, onto "Silent Key." Couldn't wait to plunge into this one – pun fully intended.

What clicked for me: Like 'Whispers in the Dark,' Laurel pulls us into the chaos of a single mom trying to keep her kid safe. It's her sweet spot, and this time, she flips the script while keeping that Hightower signature flavor.

After the hubby's mysterious exit, our main character unravels some jaw-dropping truths about their relationship. They bolt with her 'adopted' Russian bro and the kid to her uncle's Texas ranch, aiming for a chill escape. Spoiler nudge: Supernatural chaos tags along, spicing up the getaway.

Laurel spins the tale with gradual reveals, layering up the narrative. It guides us to the intense core where everything clicks into place. You're in the dark for a bit, but when the grand reveal hits, it's a satisfying AH-HA moment as storylines mesh.

The finale? Rock-solid. Neatly ties up loose ends, giving you a sneak peek into what's next for the survivors.

What didn't quite hit bullseye: Dimi's tale and its wrap-up? I'm on the fence. It makes sense, but personally, I'm riding the mixed feelings train!

Also, the opening chunk felt a bit like a rinse-repeat when Cam, her kid, and Dimi hit the scene. Understandable in a police procedural vibe, but sometimes felt like treading water.

Why should you nab this? Cam is perhaps Laurel's most genuine and finely crafted character. You're cheering her on, rooting for her win, and when things get wild, you're ready to be her backup. 'Silent Key' is a genre cocktail, deftly mixed by Laurel – one of the most solid "paranormal-mystery-thrillers" I've seen lately. Shelf-worthy, no doubt!

"Silent Key" by Laurel Hightower is a captivating detective mystery infused with supernatural elements. The "Silent Key" is an enthralling journey through themes of love, loss, and the eerie unknown.

This is the third book of Laurel Hightower's that I've read, and I can't overstate how much I love her writing enough - she nails the emotional aspect of horrifying things so, so well. In other books, she's written from the POV of a mother character, and that's also the case with this one - but it isn't repetitive at all, with each of her characters standing on their own solidly. I also have to note that for some reason I thought this was a novella when I started it, and it flew by so quickly that I didn't realize it was just over 300 pages until looking it up online! I was so immersed throughout, I didn't even notice the length! And that's a sign of a great book.

I couldn’t get into this story. It’s truly a shame as I was so looking forward to it after reading the summary. I got through the first few chapters but just found I couldn’t connect with the story and characters. I stepped back from it for a while before trying again but it unfortunately just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I feel bad, but I just could not get into this and made it a quarter of the way prior to giving up. The synopsis was interesting, but I was unable to connect with any of the characters.

What a creepy book. Anything underwater is super creepy. The suspense was built gradually to the exciting climax. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

This one was a page turner to the end. It was intriguing how well the hauntings and deep sea mysteries meshed so well together.

A fantastic work from a fantastic author. Full of twists, turns, mystery and emotion. A beautiful writing style that haunts and hurts. Highly recommend.

My goodness, Laurel Hightower is an amazing author! Her writing is dark and ethereal... to the point of getting lost in the story and you have no idea where the hour went. Andyou keep on reading.

If you really enjoyed this story, check out her other stories. I highly recommend this author!

#NetGalley #SilentKey

I want to start by saying that I loved this book! I got into the plot and characters very quickly and easily and was totally hooked on living their story with them, resenting the intrusions of real life.

That important point made first, I will say that the cover of the book and the comparisons to books like The Deep and Jaws are a little misleading, as this isn’t really a story about underwater investigation or monsters of the deep – the main character only enters the real water in the last 10% of the plot, although the saltwater is technically present from the start. Luckily for me, none of this bothered me as I wasn’t here specifically for the underwater vibes anyway but was hooked in by the mixture of paranormal and detective fiction, and on both of those counts this book delivered brilliantly.

In addition to ghostly goings-on and main character Cam’s police-trained investigation into a number of very personal suspicious deaths, the author has mixed in some pre-made found family vibes with Cam’s relationship with her ex-gangster ‘brother’ and psychic daughter; some touching clean romance with a socially-awkward, good-guy neighbour; some aspects of the single parent struggle after the death of a co-parent and the destruction of spousal deception, and just to top things off there is a brave, clever, guardian-angel pitbull rescue dog that will capture your heart! It had everything I wanted in a paranormal mystery and I was (pardon the pun) thoroughly immersed.

With loads of action, some haunting apparitions and a lingering sense of unease about Cam’s ex-husband’s intentions, this was a five-star read for me all the way through until the climax, but as soon as we actually got underwater I found myself a bit lost. I had expected some dramatic, climactic resolution, involving the lost seamen and Cam, and Sammy – maybe a ritual or a sudden startling realisation of how to fix what had gone wrong – but instead Cam suddenly becomes a passive observer and I couldn’t really follow how her actions fit into the wider story. It all felt a little bit rushed after such an intense and complex build-up to that point.

Despite that, though, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and have my fingers crossed that the hints about Tony at the end mean that there is more to come from Cam and her Pit Crew family – I would definitely follow a whole series based on this premise and featuring these characters.

If you are specifically looking for sea monsters and diving explorations then you might be a little bit disappointed, but fans of the X-Files, Fringe and other similar paranormal investigation shows are likely to enjoy this story as much as I did.

Cam Ambrose is a former detective who completely loved and lived her job but with a young daughter needing her attention full time since their family was completely destroyed by her husband's extremely senseless, violent death by an attack of unknown assailant. Cam's adopted brother will travel with them acting as their bodyguard since they might also be targets of more attacks and they don't know why or by whom.

They decide to stay at Cam's recently deceased uncle's home knowing it will be a safe haven until Cam soon finds out her uncle and his close friend also died of similar violence with no explanations. Cam uncovers many secrets that her (so called) loving husband had been keeping from her including a mistress and she is just devastated once again. Cam will find out that something supernatural is at play but doesn't know how to handle these answers since she never believed in the paranormal itself.

Soon, Cam will become a believer when she finds her precious little girl talking to her daddy and as unbelievable as it sounds Cam knows it is true but she doesn't want the dead visiting her daughter until she witnesses something so horrifying that she realizes she needs specialized help but who can she turn to and who can she trust to keep her daughter safe and why are all these horrific events plaguing her family!

This was an intriguing and entertaining book that I enjoyed very much. The characters were well developed especially Cam. I had so much empathy for Cam and her horrible situations that she couldn't control and wanted her to be able to figure out how to empower herself without placing her own life in danger since I knew more deaths were inevitable if she didn't find answers quickly.

Cam's Russian brother was a wonderful and colorful character to enjoy throughout the story. I loved reading everything about him plus there is also a possible romantic twist to weave in and at first it seemed a somewhat sketchy but I found myself all for it and wanting more. This would make a great series and I hope maybe there will be another one in the future because these characters and the storyline were just so entertaining and enjoyable. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author "Laurel Hightower" in the future.

Please remember this is a supernatural horror thriller so there was some graphic violence and gory and disturbing scenes throughout but perfect for horror lovers or dark thriller lovers also!

Want to thank the publisher "Flame Tree Press" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital copy and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

Laurel Hightower is now firmly in my category of ‘I will read anything they write’. One of my favourite books of the year.

Short snappy chapters have you hooked and force you to speed through the book whilst the underlying eerie dread drips from every page makes this feel like a slow burn.

The characters are so realistic and well written, including the ones who aren’t still alive. The story have a consistent mystery that you can never quite solve or fit all the pieces together until the final 10% where everything collided in a brilliant finale.

Thanks so much for the ARC.

4 Stars!

Life throws curves at all of us and those curves seem to be coming fast and furious toward me this year. During a somewhat tumultuous time in my life, I started reading Silent Key by Laurel Hightower and found that many of the story elements seemed almost reflective of what I have been going through. Top that off with one heck of a good story, and this was a novel that quickly became one of my favorites of the year.





Cam Ambrose would have never thought there would be anything more difficult than losing her husband. She was wrong, though. When her husband is brutally murdered at the home of his mistress, she faced not only loss but betrayal as well. Then things got worse. Her daughter began to converse with her dead father and Cam felt threatened by whoever murdered her husband, so she resigned from the NYPD and her career as a detective and moved to her uncle’s house in a small town in Texas. Her deceased uncle’s house, who had died a similar death to her husband’s: gruesomely disfigured and soaked in salt water. The move provided no relief for Cam and her daughter, though, for it was not a person who murdered her husband. It was something far more sinister, and it was coming for them.





The horror starts shortly after Cam arrives in Texas and she finds herself chased from her new home into the house of a stranger. Even that, though, will not keep her safe. Death is not the end but just the beginning of a whole new world. Cam discovers her husband was involved with the occult and working to stop something from the past from entering into their lives and hunting their daughter. What threat, though, could a Cold War Russian submarine present to her family? And what was the hidden secret of Cam’s Russian friend, Dimi? She must turn to the most unlikely allies to find the answers before death comes for her and her daughter and the secret lies only in the silent key.



Silent Key is an interesting novel with a mix of an military thriller mixed with a supernatural horror story. Hightower does a good job of balancing both elements of the story so that they blend together in a way that makes them feel almost real. The backstory, although remaining somewhat vague to me, provided enough of a base to build the tension on that it gave the story a fleshed-out feel. The story does not bog down at all, but it provides enough in the way of building up the story that the readers feels as if this is something that could really be happening. Hightower ramps things up on a slow burn that creates an atmospheric horror feel to the story and at times it is difficult to tell what is real and what is imagined. This is very good stuff and it kept me glued to the pages throughout.



If I had one quibble with Silent Key, it is that the silent key just does not come into play much at all in the story. This seemed like a lost opportunity to me. It ties into the back story of the story. Maybe I missed something, but this was a minor distraction for me. Overall, however, this is a very good novel and will undoubtedly be one of the best that I read this year. Hightower crafts a story that has one foot in reality and one in the grave to create a unique tale that grabbed my interest from the start and never let go. The blend of the supernatural with real-world intrigue made the story much stronger than it would have been without either of the elements so that it read as a horror story but also allowed the reader to try to unravel the mystery from the past as well. This novel is high on intrigue and Hightower keeps building the tension until the very end. . .and maybe beyond? There is a hint of a potential follow up to the story at the end, and I would not mind that at all. Silent Key may be a little light on horror for those who enjoy their novels more on the extreme side of the genre, but it is highly recommended for anyone who is just looking for one heck of a good novel



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. Silent Key is available now.