Reviewed by Deborah Stone for Readers' Favorite

Silenced Song by Gloria Marlow is a tender romance story tucked neatly inside a powerful suspense novel. The characters are dynamic and compelling and the story grips you and doesn’t let you go. Susanna Morgan has returned to the home that she abruptly left when she was a child. When her sister Samantha was killed in a hit and run, her parents took her and left town and left all the bad memories behind. Now, she has returned to sell the family home thirty years later. Susanna will discover more than what was left behind in the family home; she will find truths that she had not even imagined. In the midst of her apprehensions about returning to Parnell, she reunites with a childhood friend that may become something much more. Grant Logan was a few years older than Susanna and she remembered him well. He was Emily’s brother, another victim of the same hit and run accident. Grant and Susanna quickly renew their friendship and, just as quickly, they seem to be falling in love. As the days go on, strange things begin happening to Susanna, things that seem almost silly at first, but then take on an ominous tone that is frightening. Does someone want to hurt her? If so, why? Three families lost a daughter that day thirty years ago and they have all suffered. Now, it seems someone wants to make them suffer some more.

Gloria Marlow has woven a story with many layers and, as one is peeled away and you think you have the answer, another layer is exposed. This story is well written, well developed, and it carries you along on an adventure that is sometimes scary and at other times tender and gentle. Gloria Marlow has given us characters that are strong yet vulnerable, and situations ranging from loving to terrifying. The pace of the story moves steadily and is gripping. While Susanna is trying to tie up the loose ends of the past, one that she barely recalls, someone is tormenting and threatening her. Is she really in danger or is this some sort of sick prank? Who is stalking Susanna and others? When you think you have it all figured out, Gloria Marlow takes another turn and takes her reader right along with her. This is a romance, a suspense drama, and it also touches on spiritual truths. This book is hard to put down, one of the best books I have ever read.