“Beyond the Silence” by Tracie Peterson

The shadows over this olive grove hide more than just the truth.

Lillian Porter has always wanted to fulfill her mother’s dream of going west, so when she hears about a nanny position in Angels Camp, California, she defies her grandfather and takes a chance on a new future. But she quickly wonders if she made the right choice. Murky rumors swirl around Woodward Colton, her new employer, but the gossip doesn’t match the man Lillian comes to know.

Still, something dark did happen in the family’s past. Lillian’s seven-year-old charge hasn’t spoken in over a year. Gently, Lillian tries to coax him out of his shell, hoping he’ll one day feel safe enough to share what scared him. But the Colton olive farm is no longer a safe place. Lillian encounters suspicious characters on their land and mysterious damage done to the farm. When the housekeeper is brutally attacked, the town once again suspects the worst. Will discovering the truth help Lillian clear the name of the man she has come to love—or will it endanger her even more?

Tracie Peterson’s newest book “Beyond the Silence” is a fast-paced adventure story you won’t want to miss.  The action doesn’t stop – both the emotional and the dangerous varieties.  I loved the way that the mix of characters reacted with each other to keep the drama level high.  The crime is violent and harsh, but Lillian’s sweetness tempers that nicely, keeping the story safely in the adventure and not the high crime category.

The other characters interact well to keep the story moving.  From the simple kindness of the man with the mental disability to the fierce protectiveness of the shopkeeper’s wife, the townspeople have a love-hate relationship with Mr. Colton that feed his spiritual journey.  Lillian and the Coltons all have similar lessons to learn, and the tumultuous relationships with the townspeople spur those on.

I hoped with every turn of the page that this would be a new series.  It didn’t seem as if Lillian’s story would conclude completely within these pages, which had me cheering – because that meant that there would be at least one more book on the way.  In the end, however, the authors found a way to tie up every last loose end, so perhaps this is a stand-alone novel after all, but I would be most happy if there were more books related to this one.

I think the best books are those that keep you thinking about the characters or the plot long after you’ve turned the last page.  When you come back again and again to the characters’ predicament and analyze what happened to them, how they might handle other situations, you know you’ve got a winner on your hands.

Beyond the Silence is just such a book.

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