Price of Silence, The

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House Publishing for a digital galley of this novel.

I've read several novels by Dolores Gordon-Smith in her Jack Haldean mystery series and enjoyed each of them. I definitely appreciate the writing talent of this author and her characterizations and plotting are spot on. I did not read the first book in this new series, Frankie's Letter, but will definitely look for it after reading this second installment. This is a World War I espionage thriller which begins with either a murder/suicide or a locked room mystery. Once that is sorted out the need becomes apparent for Dr. Anthony Brooke to infiltrate behind the front lines into Belgium in order to rescue a little girl. Getting in isn't easy, getting out safely is just as hard.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me and a little more of a departure from the Jack Haldean series than I had expected. I must say, Ms. Gordon-Smith handled the change in series very well. As with most espionage novels the characters often have one or more names they go by and some of that got a little bit confusing at times but the general story was very well done to show the factual devastation in Belgium. Ms. Gordon-Smith also used the real name of an underground Belgian spy network, The White Lady, as well as one of the smuggler operatives in that organization, but his actions in this book were wholly fictitious. I was also very interested to learn about an organization called the American Relief Administration set up by the future United States President, Herbert Hoover, to supply food to the people of Belgium while being exported through British ports. It seems an impossibility that this could have all worked so well when the Germans and the British were engaged in a full scale war, but the organization was undoubtedly responsible for saving an untold number of citizens in Belgium from starvation. This depth of research is what I love to find when I read such a quality product as this novel.

Anthony Brooke is a secret agent working for the British Government during the First World War. His latest mission is to investigate a gang responsible for murders, blackmail, and kidnapping.

The opening chapter takes place in the wealthy Jowett household. This was an era when the servants quarters were below stairs, completely separate from their employers. However, on the day in question, the servants gather to listen at the drawing room door after hearing a violent argument taking place between Mr and Mrs Jowett. The servants are not to know that it will lead to a murder, a suicide, and a natural death. Or is that really what happened? Well have no fear, because Anthony Brooke is about to swing into action, he's determined to get to the truth, and in doing so, it also brings him closer to the vicious gang that he seeks to expose.

Anthony's inquiries into the gang, uncover a plot to kidnap a young girl from a convent in war ravaged Belgium. He intends to find and rescue the girl, but this will be no easy mission, as Belgium is a country that is still under German occupation.

From the parlours of the wealthy, to the muddy and dangerous minefields behind enemy lines in Belgium, this story is rich in detail, and very much of its era. The characters are wonderful and the plot is such that it ensures that attention doesn't wander. I love this particular period in history when detection work relied on the brilliance of great minds working together, without the aid of modern technology. A great story, well told, and very entertaining.

*Thank you to Severn House Publishers for my ARC in exchange for an honest review *