Not A Sound

I found myself quickly engaged with this book. The opening was powerful and intriguing and set the scene for this thriller. It also provides the back story by giving us important background on Amelia, the main character, in this. As a result of an accident which severely injured her Amelia, a highly trained nurse at the time, loses her hearing. Additionally alcohol becomes a major factor in her previously happy life.

The story is set some two years after the accident and Amelia is beginning to get on top of the life that she now leads. And then she finds a body while out paddling on a local river. Her companion at the time - indeed her main companion now - is Stitch, her support dog. I have to be honest and say I am not really a dog person however Stitch is a good character and it quickly becomes obvious he will be a major part of this story.

Written in the first person and present tense this book has an immediacy which enhances the pace for me. From the start it was one of those books where I thought "I'll just read one more chapter…". The simple writing was effective and tense. I found Amelia appealing and convincing as a character. The use of her deafness in this tale was very well done.

The setting of this book worked well for me in the broadest sense. A combination of the wilds, work, home and those she interacts with was quite vivid to me. This was a tense and well paced read. I'd not read any of this author's work before however I will certainly keep my eyes open for another of her books based on this one. 4.5/5 for a very good holiday read I think.

"Not A Sound," is another excellent novel from Heather Gudenkauf. She has created a wonderful character in Amelia Winn, a former nurse whose life has spiralled out of control since a hit and run left her deaf as well as a great relationship with her service dog stitch.

As she begins to rebuild her life, she discovers the body of an old colleague in a river near her home, leading her to begin to uncover the mystery surrounding Gwen's death. I have been impressed with all of Gudenkauf's previous work and this one is no exception. Highly recommended to fans of Jodi Picoult.

Heather Gudenkauf has done it again! Another thrilling read that captivated me from the start and kept me hooked all the way through. I am a fan of Heather since stumbling across her books in my local library a couple of years ago. Since then I have eagerly worked my way through her titles, and have never been disappointed. Not a Sound is no exception.

What I love most about Heather’s work is how not only does she deliver a thriller that keeps you intrigued and engaged in the action, but she will add other dimensions that as a reader I find thought provoking and increase my awareness of difference. In this book the main character is profoundly deaf following a road accident a couple of years before. Whilst I know a couple of people that have hearing impairments it had never really dawned on me what it must be like to lose such an important sense, and how much it subconsciously aids us in so many ways.

Amelia is a nurse who, like I mentioned, had her world turned upside down after being in an accident that resulted in her deafness. Since then things have spiralled downwards for her, and when we meet her she is a bit of a mess, but determined to turn things around. Whilst out she discovers a body, and having known the person, and being in a small community, Amelia wants answers as to what happened.

Cue Amelia becoming like a dog with a bone and cant let go until she knows. Trouble is that with her intrigue comes potential danger and the perpirtator wants to shut her up. And so begins a game of snakes and ladders where she makes headway, falls back, starts her come back, but will she reach the end and be victorious?

The book is brilliantly written and really did build up a sense and visual of Amelia and her service dog Stitch so well I felt like I was part of the book. Like Amelia I like to try and solve mysteries so I enjoyed being with her and tyring to suss it all out. I felt that Heather managed to create a scene that as a reader really drew me in, and it definitely had me gripped.

I really enjoyed Not a Sound, and although I did work out ‘whodunnit’ it didn’t end there, and so I still had my heart racing all the way until the end. Can’t wait to see what Heather writes for us next.

I'm a huge fan of this author's work and this book didn't disappoint. Full of mystery and intrigue, psychological thriller readers will love this.