September 6, 2017

Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf


Park Row Books | May 2017 | 352 pgs
Source: Library



The story opens with our protagonist, Amelia Winn, surviving a hit-and-run accident after she had seen one of the patients off to the hospital car park. Stacey was sexually assaulted and had gone for the necessary medical checks and examinations and Amelia, being a nurse, felt Stacey needed some emotional support and that the least she could do is to see her off to the car park. Unfortunately Stacey died and Amelia became deaf after her inner ear nerves were affected.

Two years later Amelia moved on but the death of Gwen Locke shattered her inner peace all over again. Like her, Gwen was a nurse and they were even friends at one time. Amelia found her body in a dense bush by the river which was deep in the woods near her cabin. From Gwen's wounds it was clear that she was murdered but no one knew why. Gwen was well liked by her friends and coworkers so it was hard to even speculate for a reason. As Amelia tried to do some detective work on her own, she realised that there was a motive behind Gwen's death and that she would be the next target of whoever murdered Gwen as she has stumbled upon some secrets she was not supposed to know.

Not a Sound stood out in my opinion not only it was a fast paced whodunit psychological thriller but more of the protagonist who was hearing impaired and her service dog, Stitch. The author has done a great job in detailing Amelia's hearing condition and the challenges she faced in life. Not being able to hear is a sad thing and my heart went out to Amelia while reading all the difficulties she had to go through in her life. It was a good thing that she could lip read and has Stitch by her side, but there are still some things she couldn't be able to tell completely even with the help of technology, such as a person's tone without seeing his expression. I understand from the author's note that Heather was born with a profound unilateral hearing loss so I can imagine her situation while reading about Amelia. The whodunit wasn't hard to guess if you follow through the plot but as mentioned before, what made this book a readable one is Amelia and Stitch. I often marvel at the capabilities and the duties of a service dog so reading about Stitch warmed my heart to an extent. I would highly recommend this book if you want a good suspense with unforgettable characters.   


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8 comments:

  1. I've read this author's work before and she has such a way with character's, doesn't she? She is good at really fleshing them out for the reader. I am glad you liked this one, Melody. I purchased a copy when it was on sale through Amazon one day and am looking forward to reading it. Thank you for your great review!

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    1. Wendy - This is my first Gudenkauf book and I enjoyed it a lot. Yes, she has a way of writing her characters indeed. Looking forward to your thoughts! :)

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  2. Stitch is such a great name for a dog! And I don't think I've ever read a psychological suspense novel with a deaf protagonist before...I'm adding this one to my list. :)

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    1. Lark - Me too! I hope you'll enjoy it when you get to it. :)

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  3. I'm always interested in a good psychological thriller, but this one appeals even more because of Amelia's condition and her service dog.

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    1. Jenclair - Indeed. Having an intriguing plot is good, but it'll make a book even more complete with interesting characters. :)

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  4. I thought this one was a good read too and I absolutely loved Stitch!

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    1. Iliana - I'll have to check out her other books after reading this one.

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