Kendra Elliot doesn't disappoint with this Callahan & McLane book. It's exciting and action packed that will keep you interested. These two are great characters that you feel you really know and like them.

Detective Mason Callahan and FBI agent Ava McLane are engaged to be married in just weeks - if they can get these new cases they have been involved in solved and stay alive. Ava's identical twin, who has never been anything but trouble, may be trying to spoil the nuptials.

The cases they are working on are dangerous and possibly connected. Someone seems to hate the law officials and is targeting them including Mason. A murdered man is discovered, Ava's twin sister seems to be missing and possibly in serious trouble. and someone is spoiling the wedding arrangements, All these things keep the couple in action to find the killer or killers and get to their wedding.

Excellent story that keeps you turning pages late into the night. I like all of Kendra's characters but these two are a couple of my favorites. Well worth the read. Thank you NetGalley, Kendra Elliot and Montlake for allowing me to read this ARC. This is my honest opinion of this book. I highly recommend it if detective, FBI, murder mystery and romance mixed with family trials is what you like.

A gruesome murder, a mass-shooting, a vanished twin, and a wedding send Ava and Mason careening into action working together and apart from the pen of an author who writes some of the most riveting romantic suspense out there.
Review

The Silence is the second of the Columbia River series and one could also say it is the fifth of the Callahan & McLane series which are connected to the earlier Bone Secrets and the later Mercy Kilpatrick. But, this one can do well enough standalone or out of order if the reader doesn’t mind the occasional mention of a previous case or character.

Oregon State Police detective, Mason Callahan, gets called out on a gruesome homicide that quickly morphs into more when he spots Ava’s name in the victims secret files and a bombing plan. Meanwhile, FBI agent, Ava McLane gets a visit from her wayward twin’s boyfriend who is looking for her and this leads to Ava splitting her attention between her sister’s antics and a mass shooting of police officers. Their cases really hit home for them and Mason and Ava turn to each other for support and understanding which bodes well for the wedding they are planning and hope they and all their guests will make it to alive.

I read the first of Ava and Mason’s stories, Vanished, earlier this year and enjoyed meeting this pair and their situations. This book comes after three more harrowing series of cases and also the first of the Columbia River stories in which they featured as strong side characters. I already love this authors books, but I was really anticipating the story knowing who were the leads.

Ava and Mason are both in branches of law enforcement and I love how they respect each other so much that they can cheer lead, support, but also worry a little without it getting in the way of their relationship. Mason is much older and already has a painful divorce under his belt and Ava comes with a problematic twin sister who can also intrude on their lives. But, they make it work through mature thinking and communication. Does it mean they can’t make mistakes? No, they do and they have vulnerabilities, but they learn and grow.

There were quite a few irons in the fire for this one and not all necessarily related to their cases. I caught on to several facts before the characters, but got a couple fun twists as well. And, yes, some of those unrelated story threads suddenly got together for a rather exciting finish. I might have done a little yip of delight when there was a crossover character and Mercy Kilpatrick made an appearance.

All in all, I thought The Silence was a real page turner and I didn’t want to put it down. There was always some important find or an intense situation that kept me at it. I can’t recommend this author or her books enough including this one.

I rec’d this book from Net Galley to read in exchange for an honest review.

The Silence is an entertaining book that bends under the weight of the unlikeliness of the plot.
Was it too much?
It probably depends on where you are coming from. If you want a police procedural that's true to life, this isn't your book. But if you want some entertaining romantic suspense you'll probably love this book despite the few liberties the author takes.

This author has done it again. Her stories are action packed, with well developed characters. Although she writes books in a series I have always felt they were easy to read as a stand alone also. I enjoyed reading this one!

The death scene is horrific, blood spatter everywhere and the body tortured. Truly an act of rage, but why and by who? Thus, begins one of the most puzzling cases for Detective Mason Callahan, his fiancée Special Agent Ava McLane and their teams. A set up to murder police officers, Ava’s missing identical twin, another murder, a hunt for a killer or killers and an upcoming wedding. Ms. Elliot seamless weaves these events through this complex and fascination mystery. Surprises and twists blend through the lives of the characters as they follow the evidence to solve the various crimes. I was unable to put this one down, I had to know what was next. Great characters and a thrilling story. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Book Info
Hardcover
Expected publication: August 25th 2020 by Montlake
ISBN 1542006767 (ISBN13: 9781542006767)
Series Columbia River #2
Other Editions (4)
Source:Netgalley EARC
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BOOK BLURB
A dead conspiracy theorist. A mass murderer. Two cases collide for Callahan and McLane in a pulse-pounding thriller by Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author Kendra Elliot.

A man is savagely murdered outside Portland, and Detective Mason Callahan finds blood-spatter evidence that tells a troubling story. Files reveal the murder victim, Reuben Braswell, was a radical conspiracist. In his home, investigators find pages of diatribes against law enforcement as well as ties to Mason’s fiancée, FBI special agent Ava McLane. The victim was her informant—and had strong reasons to be paranoid.

To Ava, Braswell’s rants were those of a wearying and harmless man…until they collide with her investigation into the murders of police officers and finding the connection becomes urgent. Meanwhile, Braswell’s brother and Ava’s twin sister both disappear, and disturbing acts of sabotage target Ava’s personal life.

For Mason and Ava, the brutal crimes and escalating mysteries create a perfect storm for a terrorist conspiracy that becomes dangerously personal—one that has yet to claim its last victim.

My Thoughts
Like Mercy Kilpatrick series before it the Columbia River series is a pleasure to read despite at times it’s foray into the seedier side of life as Special Agent Ava McLane, along with fiance Detective Mason Callahan, navigate the many twists that make up this story of murder and conspiracy.

When past events collide with present ones things really get going as murders old and new merge into one heck of an investigation process that leads the couple into uncharted territory they never saw coming.

Amazing twists and turns throughout the book.

For me happy to say book 2 lived up to book 1!

[EArc from Netgalley]




On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

I loved Elliot’s Bones Secret Series, and I was very excited to receive the ARC for the second book in Kendra Elliot’s new Columbia River Series, The Silence. Elliot is a phenomenal writer, who’s story telling ability keeps you hanging as you go page by page. This book was no exception. It checked off all my awesome book boxes. Law enforcement ✅. Suspense ✅. Fantastic storyline✅. Great, well developed characters✅. Action-packed✅.

Many of the law enforcement characters in this book are part of Elliot’s other series and she does a fantastic job weaving them altogether in this book to solve the death of a conspiracy theorist and to catch a mass murderer.

Detective Mason Callahan and FBI Special Agent Ava McLane from Elliot’s Callahan and McLane series are the main characters in The Silence, and when their cases collide the lives of their friends and family are put in the crosshairs of a killer. Mason and Ava have to stop the killer before their lives and future are change irreparably. Can’t wait for the next book in this series.

This review was originally posted on <a href="http://booksofmyheart.net/2020/08/21/the-silence-by-kendra-elliot/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I discovered this author with the <em><strong><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/178669-mercy-kilpatrick" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mercy Kilpatrick series</a> </strong></em> and decided to try this new <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/275978-columbia-river" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Columbia River</strong> </em></a>series.  <strong>The Last Sister</strong> was an odd FBI case in a small town with characters I didn't know.  The murder case is in the foreground with a bit of  romance.

<strong>The Silence</strong> is featuring Mason and Ava who are part of another series.  Mason is a homicide detective and Ava is an FBI agent paired with Zander from the previous book.  I want to read the series with Mason and Ava. I had hoped to get there before this book but nope.

I found this to be a very intense read. These are smart, caring law enforcement. But the crimes are brutal and they have some disturbingly personal connections.  The suspense while waiting for information from contacts or forensics is crushing. It seemed just when they figured something out on one of their cases some new information drops a bomb and sends them scrambling.

I was worried for their lives but thrilled to have the action and see them work together so well.  Mercy had a cameo which was exciting.  I'm looking forward to the next book, with Mercy and Truman!

4 Stars!

This was my first Kendra Elliot book and most certainly will not be my last! Jumping into the second book of the series did not take anything away from the story. There's enough back story provided to pick right up on everything that's happening.

The story is very well written and the characters are very interesting. I love that Ava is a Special Agent in the FBI and has an identical twin sister that's led a bit of a criminal life. I also loved that Ava's fiance, Mason, dresses like a cowboy and is a State Police detective. What girl doesn't love a hunky cowboy?!?

Back to the story.....one of Ava's confidential informants ends up being on of Mason's murder victims. He also happens to be a crazy conspiracy theorist. There are lots of fun twists and turns with this story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Montlake Romance, and Kendra Elliot for providing me with an ARC.

A great read. I found this book to be like a puzzle, as you read there are pieces scattered all about and slowly they start to move together and form a picture.

Books with twins in them, especially when they are central to the story, fascinate me.

It was great to see some characters from the first book in this one, although you don't need to have read the first one for this story to make sense. The tiny personal bits of the lives of the main characters was a nice touch and I love the ending - although I was half-expecting Jayne to go into labour or something similar just to upstage her sister on her big day.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Thriller

Ava is an FBI agent who has been seeing a CI for a while now. She's not quite sure he's a true CI as he never really has ever given information that is worth anything. When her CI is found to have been killed, but left behind strange bomb references, Ava is called in to see if there could be any credibility to the threat.

Mason is Ava's fiancé, but he is also a police officer himself. When he realizes that Ava is semi-implicated in his case, he knows that she'll want to be a part of it. Mason is trying to figure out why there might be a bombing and trying to keep Ava out of harm's way.

While these two race against the ticking clock to find out where the bomb might be happening and why, the twists and turns this story take are very fun. You also get to glimpse into Ava's home life and family life. Both Ava and Mason are used to dealing with Ava's sister, but this time, it comes at the most inopportune time. I really enjoyed seeing other characters from Elliot's other stories too. This won't disappoint if you like a mystery with a little romance thrown in.


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
We start with Mason at a pretty gruesome crime scene where an informant of Ava’s has been murdered. A manifesto found at the crime scene leads to a bomb threat which leads to an even more devastating crime. While Mason works on the homicide investigation, Ava is assigned to the task force looking into the fallout from the bomb scare. More crimes take place that may or may not be connected to the investigations Ava and Mason are working on and it was exciting watching it unfold and trying to figure out who did what and how various crimes were connected, if at all.

The Silence flowed really well and had a good pace. Not so slow that you get bogged down in details and not so fast that you can’t keep up with the story. During all the crime solving and action, Mason and Ava are preparing for their upcoming wedding and dealing with the disappearance of Ava’s misbehaving twin sister.

This is a really good, easy-to-read story for those of us that like good crime solving and a little bit of love story mixed together. The action is really good too and as I read, I couldn’t help thinking that this would make a great movie or TV series. The Silence gets a solid 4 stars from me.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is a huge, confusing jigsaw puzzle of a murder mystery. Kendra Elliott fans will remember Mason and Ava from previous books. Here, the state police detective and the FBI agent are thrown into overlapping cases weeks before their wedding. As Mason attempts to solve a homicide, Ava is appointed to the task force for a related mass shooting.

This story is complicated, moving quickly between Ava and Mason’s investigations. I really like the interplay between the couple and their partners. Many of the characters are familiar from the author’s earlier books and I enjoyed seeing them in a different context.

This story moves quickly, and I like the way all the plot threads eventually meet up. I don’t feel like Mason and Ava are quite as developed as some of my favourite Kendra Elliott characters, but the storylines involving Ava’s family add depth and complexity to her character. This isn’t necessarily a murder mystery that readers can solve alongside Ava and Mason. I enjoyed following the twists and turns of their investigations, but I usually like to be able to put the pieces together for myself. I enjoyed the fast pace of the investigations and I love that there are a couple of revelations that took me completely by surprise.

Fans of the author will enjoy this book but I think new readers might be thrown by the many characters we’re expected to know from previous books and series. I’m fairly sure the book could work as a standalone but I’ve read too many of the author’s books to know this with any certainty.


Shannan – ☆☆☆☆
The Silence is the second book in the Columbia River series. You should read book one to completely understand the storyline.

Ava and Mason are planning their wedding until a murderer forces them to put their plans on hold. Mason finds out his murder victim is tied to Ava. While they work together, they face many obstacles, both on the job and with family. As always, Kendra Elliot leads you on a suspenseful page-turning journey. The Silence does tie up some lose ends that were hanging from book one, bringing their story to a natural ending.

I was intrigued by this read. It had me invested throughout.

This review is not going to be long. I am not a huge fan of a review rehashing the entire plot and spoiling it for everyone.

Kendra Elliot has done it again. This book is suspenseful, fast paced, intriguing and action packed. She does a wonderful job of making her characters come to life. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I will totally recommend this book to anyone that loves a great read!

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The twist ending will catch most readers by surprise… fans will look forward to seeing characters from the author’s other series take the lead in future installments. I loved this book and its characters. this book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.

I read The Last Sister (book 1 of the Columbia River series) back in February and have been looking forward to catching up with the characters in The Silence. While I wish there was more Zander and Emily, we got a peek into Mason and Ava’s relationship leading up to their wedding.

While the Columbia River series is a spin-off of Kendra Elliot’s The Bone Secrets series, Mercy Kilpatrick series and Callahan & McLane series, I didn’t feel lost. Sure having read the previous books would have provided a more nuanced backstory but Elliot does a great job of telling the reader what they need to know.

I do want to go back and read the other series though because I’m a nerd and prefer to read everything in order!

Once again, the pacing was perfect and I flew through this one. The twists and turns kept me guessing right up to the very end!

THE SILENCE is out on August 25th! Thank you to Netgalley, Montlake Romance and Kendra Elliot for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3188867117
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CD1pry2AIn9/

As usual an amazing job! You can never go wrong with the suspense, the intrigue and the tell tale passion of these characters!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Silence by Kendra Elliot that I read and reviewed.
I really enjoyed this book which was the second in the Columbia River series. I liked how it looked deeper into Ava and Mason’s story. I really enjoy the two of them paired together as a couple. I also love how Ava deals with her sister and all the crazy things she does and how she tries to help her no matter what. This book was also I testing because it brought in a favorite character from another series so it was fun to see the crossover.
This story get the reader in the edge of their seat from the start with a bloody murder and a trap for cops that leads to a number of deaths and it goes pedal to the medal from there. There are a number of plot turns that you don’t see coming and the book ends with the wedding we having been waiting for when Mason and Ava finally say their vows. This is an excellent book by Kendra Elliot!
The Silence gets five out of five stars!

I loved this book as much as i loved the first one in the series.
The fast paced and never ending twists and turns made for a perfect afternoon with some of my favourite characters.
I love when i found authors that manage to make my imagination run wild and prove that my theories aren't correct even if they lead us to a different ending.
Suspenseful , thrilling and it felt like watching the best crime serial on tv.

In this story, Ava McLane and Mason Callahan are both involved when Mason is called to investigate a gruesome murder. The man is severely beaten and tortured. When Mason investigates the man's house he discovers that the man was one of Ava's informants. He also discovers that there is a plan to bomb the Clackamas County Courthouse.

But the bombing was only a ruse. When law enforcement from many jurisdictions converge on the courthouse, they run into a sniper who kills a number of the police officers and wounds Mason's partner Ray. Mason's vest is the only thing that saves him from being wounded himself. Now Ava and Mason are trying to track down the sniper which leads them to a larger conspiracy which includes stolen weapons that were being transported after confiscation.

But that isn't the only problem that Ava and Mason face. Ava's sister Jayne is making a reappearance in Ava's life. Every time Jayne shows up she sows chaos and this time is no exception. She cancels the reservation for the wedding venue that Ava and Mason had chosen. She also calls Ava to beg for help getting away from the man she is with.

Then Ava gets a phone call telling her that her father - the man she has just met and isn't sure how to deal with - was attacked and killed while jogging. Ava is torn between being with her newly discovered family and working on her current case. Things get even more tangled when it is discovered that the gun used to kill her father was the same weapon that was used to kill someone across the street from the first victim Mason was investigating.

This was a very busy story with lots of twists and turns. I liked the appearances from other characters from other books written by Elliot. I liked that it looks like Ava and Mason are on the way to their own happy ending.

This breathtaking tale is filled with twists, turns and red herrings at such speed that will confuse thrill and leave you spent. The author writes such vivid characters you feel like you know them. This story sucked me in from the first line to the last.

Ava and Mason are back! I love these characters and it was great to have another story. The case they are involved in has a lot of twists that kept me guessing. The book was quick paced and I enjoyed every minute. All my favorite characters made an appearance plus there was the wedding! I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.