Book Review: Silence Is Golden

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Silence Is Golden     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Penny Warner
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Woman Main Character
Series: Connor Westphal # 6
Perseverance Press, Oct 2003, $13.95, 216 pp.

She moved from San Francisco to Flat Skunk in the Sierra Nevada gold country to lead a serene life style. Lately life in the former boomtown is anything but peaceful. Connor Westphal is a bit skeptical when local resident Sluice Jackson, the town’s eccentric and oldest living prospector, finds a gold nugget in the Buzzard Hill mine. The gold played out a long time ago but the owner is a little too quick, to Connor’s way of thinking, to accept Sluice’s claim and develop a plan that would invite investors.

While most of the town is infected with gold fever, Connor is busy getting reacquainted with Josh, her ex-lover from college. He and his young daughter and ex-wife are in town to obtain a cochlea implant for the child. When Josh’s ex-wife is murdered the sheriff arrests him for the crime; Connor promises him she will find evidence to clear him. While Connor is trying to clear Josh, she comes to the attention of the real killer who is determined to silence her permanently.

Although the protagonist of SILENCE IS GOLDEN is deaf, she is much more aware of the world around her then people who aren’t hearing impaired. She is very at ease in her own skin and leads a very extraordinary life (even if she could hear sound) as she jumps from one dangerous situation to another. Penny Warner is a creative writer who knows how to develop fascinating characters that turn her novels, especially this amateur sleuth tale, into action packed winners for readers.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner