This was such a fun read! It was nothing like I expected it to be and that's not even a bad thing. I don't usually go for detective/police stories, but everything else about this novel was so weird and intriguing that I barely noticed it was a cop-book.

What I loved:
-The thrills! The mystery! This was creepy right from the beginning and kept me guessing throughout. An honest page-turner.
-Paranormal Activity. This was some verrrry unique paranormal content compared to anything I've read before. It all felt so bizarre- I loved it.
-Pacing. Not once did I feel bored or that things needed to move along faster or slow down. Perfectly paced.
-Conclusion. What a great open ending.
-Unique plot. How did she piece all of this stuff together? Russians... cops... ghosts... underwater shenanigans... Texa cowboy-type... What is even going on here? But she did the damn thing.

What I didn't:
-Protagonist Pottymouth. I get that it was part of her character and probably meant to humanize her... but at times, it just felt silly. I just didn't dig it.
-Characters. I didn't particularly feel invested in any of the characters (looking at you, Dimi). It was still lots of fun regardless, so I am not sure that mattered!

NYC Detective Cam Ambrose, her best friend Dimi, and daughter Sammy head out to her Uncle Bert's place after the mysterious death of Cam's husband, Tony. Unsure of what or who killed him, they flee to a small town to try to protect Sammy. Cam learns that everyone around her holds secrets, both the living and the dead. As Cam tries to deal with the fact she knew little about her late husband and the supernatural world he was involved with, she fights to protect her daughter from the ghosts of the past who threaten everyone she loves.

Silent Key is almost more of a police procedural than a horror novel. Libraries with mystery fans who are open to some supernatural elements should consider this title. I think it would appeal to fans of shows like The X-Files. Laurel Hightower, author of Below and Every Woman Knows This, has crafted a book that is a mix of several genres - mystery/suspense, romance, and horror. A read alike would be Children of Chicago by Cina Pelayo, another book that blends mystery with horror.

This atmospheric, emotional tale leaves you holding your breath the whole time. The story starts in media res, and you get to meet the characters as they’ve already experienced supernatural tragedy and are trying to save themselves from further trauma, and things don’t quite go to plan. The characters in this book are really wonderful, and while the young child read a few years older than the age she was given other than that I really felt the weight and authenticity of the characters. There is one character, especially, a Russian ex-mobster, who could have come off as a parody, and yet he was balanced and convincing, given the world. The story is a compelling and unique take on a haunting, and it was a lot of fun, without letting you have a complete sense of what “safe” might look like. The writing wasn’t overly colorful, but it still had an emotional edge and had genuine dialogue that all felt quite real. There wasn’t much world-building, per se, but one thing I enjoyed was that while there were clearly supernatural things happening, the story starts with our characters not understanding them, in terms of the hows or whys, but the book isn’t interested in any lengthy exposition dumps trying to justify the supernatural elements, they are just accepted as an unknown and unnerving reality, and that was refreshing.

The book was well-written and moved at a really fast pace, and this left me a little divided. The chapters were all quite short, and they flowed well into each other, really propelling the book forward in constant motion, never staying in one place for too long. On one hand I appreciate that about a suspense story, where the structure and the narrative elicit parallel experiences of urgency. On the other hand, I would have really loved to spend more time with these characters, and get to know them more. Never mind there are glimpses at secret backstories of characters and families that are only teased, but even with the characters we spend most of our time with, I just would have liked to feel a deeper connection with them. They never felt rushed or not fully fleshed out in terms of characters, which is to say it never felt like lazy writing, but rather I just always felt like we were too rushed to really spend time with them, being with them on occasions when there weren’t fires to be put out. I recently read a novella by this same author which I really enjoyed, and these short chapters and kind of constant narrative energy felt like they would have been perfect in a story that was 150 pages shorter, but here it didn’t feel quite as effective. Letting us slow down with the characters a little more could have ramped up the tension and strengthened our identification with their struggles. So that, combined with a little bit of a hand-wavey explanation at the end, is what holds this back from a higher score. As it is, though, I really enjoyed the characters and the story itself, and thought this was a great read. When the biggest complaint is that you want to spend more time with the characters that is generally a good complaint to have!

(Rounded up from 3.5)

I want to thank the author, the publisher Flame Tree Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a very engrossing supernatural mystery about a former New York detective who moves to Texas with her five year old daughter following the horrific death of her husband. Cam thinks she a her daughter will be safe in Texas at her uncle's old ranch house, but it seems that the supernatural forces she is trying to escape might be able to find her wherever she goes. Brilliant characters and a chilling plot make this a creepy, griping read, but there is also a sweet second-chance romance amongst all the darkness. Highly recommended.

Lets start with the book cover which is... well it IS relevant, but only to a very small portion at the end of the book so don't let it be the sole reason you pick up The Silent Key. The synopsis compares to Nick Cutter's The Deep, well disregard that entirely too, this is absolutely nothing like that.
Good thing those were two of three reasons I picked it up then- third of course being that I love Flame Tree Press.

This is not your average haunting, it is weeeeird- but cool weird. There are no cold misty breaths to warn you the ghosts are coming, no creaking doors or soft steps, they come in with a bang and go out with a crash and it's not easy to work out why.

The Silent Key follows Cam, her 'brother' Dimi and child Sammy as they flee the scene of her husband's murder in New York. A solid start as they relocate to her recently deceased Uncle's Texas farmhouse, a relatively remote location with only one nearby neighbour.

Whilst I really liked Eric - the inevitably lovely, lonely man living next door- I was also irritated by his entire existence in the book. This grieving widow who's scumbag husband had been cheating for years is somehow immediately trusting a total stranger? Falling head over heels in a matter of days and trusting her childs life with him? Oh stop it.
No ghosties or happenings when Eric is nearby, purely so we can call him the safe place because certainly no other explanation is forthcoming.

I've come to learn this about myself; I only like children in books when their snarky, independent or funny. Yes, I'm a bad person. Sammy can see and speak to ghosts, which would be interesting if we ever got to see or hear anything other than her mumbling in corners, making doe eyes at people and refusing to talk about anything at all.

Dimi and Maksim made the novel for me. The dangerous Russian criminals that keep you spinning on whether or not you can believe either one of them- both with developed character histories and interesting dialogue. I also loved to hate the mistress, so well written she almost made my own blood boil!

I've come to the main character last, which may already tell you how I felt about Cam. For me she instigated the plot movement but no more. I didn't care about her at all. Unfortunately The Silent Key is written in first person from her perspective so there's no escaping her bland voice.

I could have done with a little more explanation on some plot lines and a whole lot less repetition on others, the setting isn't as descriptive as I'd like and the pace slowed in places to allow for the inconceivable romance subplot. Overall The Silent Key was an interesting take on a ghost story but I'm not convinced by Hightower just yet.

REVIEW: Richly layered and a slow burn, Silent Key centers on Cam Ambrose as she moves to Texas with her daughter. From there, her detective background comes to the fore as she experiences some very strange occurrences around the events of her uncle’s death and more. Part procedural, romance, horror, and mystery, this is an ambitious work from Hightower, who is always worth a read.

This book was featured in my newsletter, DISPATCHES. Here’s the link:
Dispatches #8 October 2023
The campaign URL for this campaign is: https://mailchi.mp/c9a5a7ba7640/dispatches-issue-6148340

I went into this book not really knowing what to expect (because I mostly wanted to be surprised) and I found it quite suspenseful and eerie. There’s a little bit of everything in here; Russian crime mobs, murders, ghosts, other paranormal events, and even some darker, claustrophobic scenes.

What I really liked:
-The characters felt realistic to me.
-The ghost scenes were unique.
-Pitties were painted in a loving light (my heart loved Atticus).
-There were some really suspenseful parts.

What I didn’t like:
-The ending felt very abrupt to me. The dive didn’t happen until almost the end, and (while it was suspenseful), it just felt rushed to me.

Otherwise, I thought this was wonderfully spooky and it kept me guessing. I don’t want to give too much away because I feel like the reader should go into this book without knowing a lot.

Laurel Hightower's first novel also feels like her first foray into the world of mystery/thriller. The characters are so real, and the story is full of emotion. That's consistently one of my favorite things about Laurel's writing. There's some really brutal stuff in this story, but it feels less like horror than her previous titles. I think this one will appeal to a wider audience, especially fans of Sue Grafton. The main character has a similar unfiltered girlboss perspective that pairs well with the powerful storytelling. Check it out if you like contemporary thrillers, as this has a lot of the same ingredients and style.

Listen to your kids. It can be hard sometimes as they can speak absolute nonsense, but they also speak the truth, and they may need you to listen. Perhaps they wake at night and tell you that things are not right in the house, you can dismiss this as childish fantasies, but their fears could be based on something. The Ambrose family believes their daughter when she says that she sees ghosts. Sammy may be the only things that saves the rest of the family from the same fate as her father and Great Uncle. Something is haunting the Ambrose family and wants revenge.

Cam Ambrose is a successful detective for the NYPD, but her family always comes first. When her husband is found dead his remains are left disfigured in a bizarre manner. Cam soon discovers that he was having an affair before he died, and her daughter Sammy says that there is a ghost haunting them and they must leave the city. Cam decides to move her remaining family to rural Texas and the house her uncle left behind, but it soon transpires that his death was more bizarre than her husbands. What is happening to the Ambrose family and what did they awake?

Many of the best ghost tales that you can think of are based on ‘real life’ stories. They work so well as there is a real fear in protecting your family, be it from a poltergeist or animated doll. Laurel Hightower’s Silent Key recreates this sense of the familial with a fictional household. The centre of the story is the Ambrose family. The powerful matriarch, the innocent child, and the mysterious brother. No matter what they face, they face it is as a team, trusting in one another.

This trust is key to the book working. Cam believes her daughter that there are ghosts. Her husband spoke of them too before his death. This belief means that the book can enter the spooky zone immediately, we do not have to sit through a hundred pages or more of scepticism. The family unit also helps develop Cam’s relationship with her new neighbours, the man who lives in the property next door, or the police. Her first thoughts will always be for her daughter if this means doing something ‘wrong’ she will not care.

There are some unerring moments in Silent that makes it a great ghost tale, but it also has aspects of a thriller and crime story. As an ex-police officer, Cam goes about trying to solve her ghost problem in a procedural manner. Not being hampered by being employed by the law, Cam takes on a maverick approach.

As the book progresses the supernatural world and our own comes closer, but no matter how fantastical things become the book remains grounded because Hightower wrote a character in Cam who refuses to be overwhelmed. Cam is the centre of the book, her actions, her love for her daughter, and her loyalty to her brother all dictate how things play out. It feels like Hightower allowed the character of Cam to lead where the story went, and it works. The door to the otherworld is left open and you can see the Ambrose family having to deal with the supernatural again.

Up until the ending, this was a three-star book for me.

The moment-to-moment writing wasn’t amazing. Not bad, but there was no poetry or lyricism to it. It felt perfunctory, which is something I don’t particularly enjoy.

The character motivations were often baffling. Why did Dimi hide the fact that he knew what the coordinates were? Why did he lie about knowing Maksim? Why did Cam refuse help from both of the people who knew more than her? Why did Cam attack Maksim when she knew she needed him? Why did Ally go to the haunted house by herself? And for that matter, why was Ally okay with Tony marrying another woman?

There were plot threads that went nowhere, and honestly began to look like plot holes. Why could Cam find the submarine when multiple teams of talented divers had failed? Who was the guy on the phone? Why was Burt so determined to find this Russian guy? Why did ghosts not appear around Morgan? Was this meant to imply that he was the child of somebody on that vessel?

The fact that “ghosts won’t appear around Morgan” was set up as a mystery in the first half of the book and then completely dropped was honestly kind of insulting to me. It was half the reason I wanted to keep reading. Was Morgan secretly some kind of medium too? What made him special? We never learned the answer to this, and I found that very frustrating.

I didn’t hate the plot. I do broadly like the idea of a family being haunted by a Russian submarine going into a meltdown. That’s fun and unique, and could have been really interesting had it been better fleshed out. The mystery was fine, and some of the concepts were interesting (I liked the radio transmissions idea) but they felt under-utilised and definitely could have been given to the reader better.

The reason this is a 2 star book for me, though, is the ending. Rushed, confusing and unsatisfying. It felt like the author went “oh shit, I have to wrap everything up in the next 20 pages” and squashed 60 pages of plot down to get it to fit. The fact that so little time was spent on the climax makes the use of time elsewhere even more baffling. If they had just cut Ally out of the picture, the book would have been a lot more cohesive, and it would have had more breathing room to flesh out the characters that sorely needed more time, like Maksim.

Ultimately, this was a book with a pretty good plot that just used its time really unwisely.

(I received a free copy in return for an honest review!)

Silent Key is a supernatural horror-mystery about a recently widowed ex-detective trying to reclaim her life and save her daughter from forces beyond her understanding.

I greatly enjoy Laurel Hightower's writing. Although the pace of this story is slow, I don't feel that a page was wasted along the way. As we learn more about the occurrences that surround Cam's family, even more questions arise. One of this novel's biggest strengths is the development of most of the main characters, particularly the protagonist. Although the ultimate climax lacked the satisfaction that I was looking for and failed to surprise me, it was meaningful--doubly so for those who have struggled to overcome the lingering affects of unhealthy relationships. I just hoped for more of a twist or big reveal than what was given.

At no point in my reading did I take issue with anything regarding the plot, prose, or otherwise. However, this just was not the type of story that really gripped me. This feels like more of a personal preference issue rather than a critical one, so I would still recommend it to others. If you enjoy slower-paced mysteries with a horror edge to them, definitely try this one out. If you are looking for themes surrounding the trauma of losing family members, infidelity, and the balancing act of protecting those you love, I would make the same recommendation.

“You don’t want to see the insides of someone you love, opened to air and hands and instruments and the thread that pulls him back together before the casket closes for the last time.”
Silent Key has everything you could want in a horror book; tension, mystery, dogs, ghosts, humor, a great platonic friendship, clairvoyants, and a guy that I can only picture as Sam Elliott if Sam had a pack of rescued pit bulls on his mostly isolated ranch and had a library full of horror books.
This story feels like you are sitting around a firepit with the logs crackling, the dogs curled up by your feet, the stars overhead, and a cool glass of something smooth to warm your belly. Your good friend Laurel Hightower is sitting next to you and she starts telling you a story. Its enchanting...you are so into the story...then you hear bursts of static...a foreign language stuttering over a radio...a warning, or a plea for help...you look over at Laurel and she grins an evil little grin..."Welcome to Silver City...Welcome to my little claustrophobic Hell."
I am not telling you much about this story because you need to add this to your book club now. Silent Key is an incredible story and there are so many things to discuss and wonder about. This would be a blast to hear others speculate on where it is heading in real time as you talk about these characters and this tale.
“I couldn’t take the word of a dead man as gospel truth, especially when filtered through a five-year-old.”

I loved the last book I read by Laurel Hightower, but could not get into this one. I liked the supernatural aspect of it, but it didn't draw me in.

Posted on Goodreads.

4.25/5⭐️

Laurel Hightower is a must read anytime she releases a book and this book reminded me why she’s on that list.

Always excellent at writing grief and subtle creepy moments, that window scene at Eric Morgan’s house, anyone, this book took me on a much needed spooky journey from New York to Texas to down deep into the ocean.

Detective Cam Ambrose is struggling with the death of her husband and all the secrets that came with his death. A long time mistress, secret trips and paranormal teachings to their five year old daughter push her to leave NY and travel to her late uncle’s farm.

It’s here where she begins to unravel her husband’s death, her uncle’s death, other mysterious deaths, why she’s being followed from NY and who the hell is this mistress.

The characters are well fleshed out, the grief is overwhelming, the silent key puzzle was interesting and how everything is connected was *chef’s kiss*.

The spook is subtle but damn it that window scene really stayed with me. Doesn’t help I read it at 1am. All in all a great read and perfect for October/Fall.

Thank you netgalley, flame tree press and Laurel hightower for the opportunity to read this arc.

Although this was much different from the first book I read by this author, I still enjoyed it! Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this!

I've never read anything from Laurel Hightower that I didn't love, so as soon as I saw this announced on social media, I knew I had to get my hands on it.

The synopsis: After the loss of her husband under mysterious circumstances, former Detective Cam Ambrose learns how little she truly knew him. Reeling with the grief of her loss and the realization that the man she loved was a stranger, she must learn how to keep her young daughter safe from a world of the supernatural she never knew existed. With the help of her best friend Dimi and reclusive neighbor Eric Morgan, she sets out to solve a decades-old mystery entangling the machinations of an obsessed killer, her husband’s mistress, and a series of deadly hauntings.

I *loved* this.

I could wax poetic all day about Hightower's storytelling capabilities. Few other authors nail the depiction of grief and loss, the nuances and non-linear nature that comes with such dramatic and exhaustive changes. Her characters are flawed and realistic which only makes you root for them harder, hold them more fiercely. Cam is no different. Her narrative voice is punchy and endearing and engrossing. I was angry when I had to put this down but always looked forward to picking it up.

And it's terrifying. There are some truly scary moments in here that I think readers will be simultaneously angry and thrilled by.

Overall, Silent Key is a 2023 must read, my favorite Hightower work yet (but if this is your first time, I highly recommend checking out her back catalogue; it is spectacular).

Huge thanks to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

2 stars it was okay but mostly fell flat.

I was really excited for this one, but now after reading I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if the cover and the blurb wasn't so misleading.

The writing itself was great, I really enjoyed her writing style. I definitely want to read more from her very soon.

The blurb compares this to Nick Cutters The Deep and Peter Benchleys Jaws, which is one of the main reasons I requested this book but Silent Key is so far away from having any elements of those two. Comparing them is such a stretch, and whoever made it actually did a disservice to the book because of that my expectations were set somewhere completely different than what the book delivered.

This had multiple sub plots that were going in many directions and it just didn't end up making sense to me, maybe if they were fleshed out more. Once finished I didn't have that "oh wow" feeling when things were revealed. To me it didn't feel connected because the story pieces all came together but only because the author said it was. This definitely falls more into police procedural/ domestic drama with hints of supernatural and horror. There's also a lot more romance than horror in this book.

Finally, the cover leads you to believe the book takes place or involves water... the ocean... etc. along with the comparisons to The Deep and Jaws... nope. 90%plus of the story takes place on dry land, when water finally becomes involved its rushed and unfulfilling.

Thanks to netgalley and Flame Tree Press for sharing a digital copy for me to read and review, as always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻

I have extremely mixed feelings about this book. Let's start with what worked for me:
👻 an extremely, dreadfully lethal haunted house
👻 ghosts everywhere, and I'm especially fond of ones that appear as they died so they're usually really creepy if not grisly
👻 the found family element; an ex-detective no-bullshit mom with her paranormal sensitive kid and her ex-mafia unofficially adopted brother
👻 the good boy, Atticus! Undoing unfair judgment on pitbulls one protect at a time

What didn't work for me though, was how misleading the marketing for this book is. It is marketed as "a detective, supernatural mystery with elements of Nick Cutter’s The Deep, Peter Benchley’s Jaws and Stephen King’s Firestarter" and the absolutely stunning cover gives deep sea horror vibes. Let it be known however, that this story is a maximum of 10% deep sea horror which is okay except this specific genre is one of my ultimate favourites so when the story turned out to mostly take part on land I wanted to cry a little.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for this digital advanced reader copy, I leave this review voluntarily and these opinions are entirely my own.

Silent Key review

3/5 stars for this long and complicated, but still intriguing, horror novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the chance to read and review this book!

What to expect if you pick this up: The strongest part of the book is its character development. I loved Cam, Dimi, and Morgan. They were interesting, nuanced, and made me eager to see what would happen to them. That’s honestly what saved this read for me. Because otherwise this was much too long, and much too complicated. It had a lot of potential, and it was well-written, which kept me going. But the plot is overwrought. As horror stories go, it was spooky, and there are some intense ghost scenes that I thought were well done. The end was also a nice touch. So I was conflicted, but ultimately felt that 3 stars was fair.

#netgalleyreview #netgalley #flametreepress #silentkey #laurelhightower #bookreview #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #horrorbooks #horrorreview

"Death is the one thing secret keepers can't plan for, or at least, most of them don't. Maybe like many of us they feel immortal until they're not. Or maybe since they now they won't be there to face the consequences, they don't bother to put the effort in."

A young mother finds herself tangled in a web of grief and supernatural mysteries in this detective-horror-hybrid novel by Laurel Hightower.

Synopsis:
After the loss of her husband under mysterious circumstances, former Detective Cam Ambrose learns how little she truly knew him. Reeling with the grief of her loss and the realization that the man she loved was a stranger, she must learn how to keep her young daughter safe from a world of the supernatural she never knew existed. With the help of her best friend Dimi and reclusive neighbor Eric Morgan, she sets out to solve a decades-old mystery entangling the machinations of an obsessed killer, her husband’s mistress, and a series of deadly hauntings.

Review:
I had admittedly high expectations for this novel based off the author’s previous work. Last year, I read Crossroads by her, a novella that blew me away with its visceral depiction of a mothers grief over her son, and the desperate lengths she would go through to be reunited with him against all costs. It’s one of the best examples of “the true horror of grief” captured on page in a novel, and for me stands toe-to-toe with the likes of Pet Sematary.
I was hoping to find that same level of emotional connection and depth of character in Cam, especially since she gets quite a bit more page-time for development than her novella-counterpart in Crossroads. Unfortunately, I never clicked- or became truly invested in Cam. Where Crossroads felt like a more intimate character-piece, Silent Key focusses more on the plot and mystery, which for me took away from the authors true strength.
The mystery itself was intriguing enough to keep me going, but due to the more detached and distant writing-style, I was never completely immersed or invested.

A minor gripe that bothered me more than I’d like to admit has to do with the books cover. The combination of the cover, title and some of the marketing (comparisons to The Deep!) had me believe this would have a strong element of underwater-horror. Through my reading-experience I kept excitedly waiting for it to show up and was disappointed to see it only happening in the very final chapters. Literally around the 90% mark is when the cover-scene becomes relevant. If, like me, the underwater-horror-element was a big selling point for you: know it only comes into play at the very end.