Relative Silence by Carrie Stuart Parks

Relative Silence by Carrie Stuart Parks
Stand-alone Novel
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (July 14, 2020)

REVIEW BY KELLY GOSHORN

Relative Silence centers around the Boone family and their lives on the private and exclusive Curlew Island. The heroine, Sandpiper “Piper” Boone still reals from her own tragedy, the loss of her only child fifteen years prior that destroyed her marriage, her faith in God, and for a time, her will to live. As a result, Piper is viewed by her family as weak, a trait that is tolerated as long as she stays in line and does nothing to upset her brother Tern’s career as a U.S. Senator.

Tucker Landry, a forensic artist who saves Piper from a bullet meant to kill her, is asked by police to sketch the shooter from Piper’s description. Tucker is also struggling with grief from the past loss of his wife and unborn child. The pair eventually bond over mutual brokenness.

In the days following the shooting, a local reporter writes an article about the shooting and indicates the Curlew Island curse had struck again. Piper begins to revisit past tragedies her family has endured—the robbery that led to her child drowning, the death of her father followed five years later by the death of her sister, Sparrow, as well as the sudden disappearance of another sister who Piper believes is estranged from the family. Instead of her mother and brother shedding light on these tragedies, she is faced with constant opposition under the guise of preserving the family’s carefully crafted public image.

Caroline Boone, the matriarch of the Boone family, was fond of saying that her husband had built the perfect home for the perfect family on the perfect island.

Relative Silence, Carrie Stuart Parks

But as Piper and Tucker begin tugging on the loose threads dangling from the Boone family’s past, it becomes evident that behind the façade her perfect family is built on a precarious stack of secrets. The plot thickens as the killer strikes again and the pair discover the lengths people will go to protect their secrets.

Tucker and Piper were written as real, hurting people looking for peace and forgiveness. I could easily identify with their losses and with their desire to move beyond their tragedies into a better life. Their brokenness allowed them to experience some major breakthroughs in their faith journeys as well.

Piper is an especially sympathetic character who drew me into the story right away. Between past misfortunes and discovering that the people closest to her aren’t necessarily who they appear to be, Piper is challenged to dig deep inside herself to find the courage she’s always believed she lacked and challenge the false narrative she’s been fed about her family’s past. The author does a good job shedding light on how easy it is to ignore signs that things may not be what they seem in some of our relationships because we want to believe things to be a certain way. I loved that Piper’s method to handle stress and anxiety was reciting movie lines and then identifying the title and year of production.

The complex plot does not slow this fast-paced story down but adds to the mystery as the reader races along trying to solve the puzzle and identify the killer. Multiple plot twists will keep readers guessing and engaged until the very end without gratuitous violence.

I found the scene involving the age progression rendering of Piper’s daughter fascinating. Parks is an internationally known forensic artist and often incorporates a character with such skills into her stories. Woven into the plot are Parks’ trademark quirky characters, tidbits of real history, and tension-alleviating humor.

Bottom Line: Five Fish – Relative Silence is a compelling read with an ending I didn’t see coming.

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