I enjoyed Kendra Eliot’s Mercy Kilpatrick series, so I jumped at a chance to get an ARC of this book. I hadn’t read the first book in the series. But Eliot gives enough background into the characters that I didn’t feel lost and it worked fine as a standalone.
Ava McLane is an FBI agent. Her fiancé, Mason Callahan, is a Portland detective. He’s called to a murder scene where the dead man has Information about a planned bombing and Ava’s name is mentioned in his paperwork. Turns out, he was an informant of Ava’s. He was also an anti-government, conspiracy believer.
Meanwhile, Ava’s disturbed twin sister had gone missing. And someone is causing problems for Ava’s personal life. Is there a link?
This is a very fast read. Not tons of depth to it, and the ending didn’t really work for me, but it’s entertaining.
Keep in mind that Eliot’s books always have a strong romance component to them. But she usually manages to not go overboard.
My thanks to netgalley and Montclair Romance for an advance copy of this book.

Fans of Callahan & McLane, rejoice! Kendra Elliot finally makes their story whole. As always, the writing is smooth, effective, and delivers a modest amount of thrill. Elliot’s conservative approach makes her narratives the perfect novels for sensitive readers. 4 stars

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheSilence which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

Guess who is back!! That's right Ava and Mason!!! Oh my gosh readers this is the book you have been waiting for and it will not disappoint the most die hard of readers!! Kendra Elliot brings back some amazing characters will updates as well as the perfect story telling that will keep readers up late into the night.

The end of the book is everything readers have been waiting for!

The story is everything you have comes to love from this amazing author. I can't say enough this is a CAN'T MISS Book!!!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance copy of Kendra Elliot The Silence.

Detective Mason Callahan and partner Ray Lusco attend a crime scene which becomes more worrying by the minute. The victim, mutilated and beaten, was a radical conspiracist who had explicit knowledge of a potential terrorist attack which Mason and Ray must now try to contain. As the danger surrounding them escalates they face the dilemma of needing to be in two places at the same time. Special Agent Ava McLane meanwhile has a surprise visit from her troublesome twin sister's boyfriend who has no idea where she is which, where Jayne is concerned, is never good.

Although this is the second book in the new Columbia River series FBI Special Agent Zander Wells is more of a peripheral character once again, working alongside Ava as they join the investigation into the information her fiancee, Mason found.

Having enjoyed the first book in this new series I was looking forward to the second and it was even better than I'd hoped. Although it's been 4 years since the final Callahan and McLane book only a few months have passed in their story and it was easy to slip back into their lives as if they had never been away. Add an appearance by Mercy Kilpatrick and for fans of Kendra Elliot it's like all our christmases have come at onve.

The storyline is excellent, it was surprising in many ways and the actual crime Mason was investigating was as gory and complex as is the norm with this author as well as being satisfyingly taut and attention grabbing. Revisiting such popular characters whose story arcs had been believed to have finished is always a risky business but in this case it absolutely works right from the first word. I loved it.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this author's work. Once again Ms Elliot has written an exciting, page turning crime novel of the highest quality.

Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for the Advanced Reader Copy provided for an honest review.

This is the second book in the Columbia River series. It is third person dual point of view following main characters FBI special agent Ava McLane and Portland police detective Mason Callahan. McLane and Callahan are characters from a previous series by this author and were also involved in Book 1 though not the protagonists. If you read book 1, Zander is Ava McLane’s partner at the FBI and lends an assist to her in this story though it is not necessary to have read book 1 to follow along. While I have not read the previous series featuring Mason and Ava, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything that pertained to this story or mystery. It might have been nice for background insight into any character development but not necessary for comprehension of the story.

I found the book to be a quick and easy read. A straightforward mystery that managed to draw all the characters into the story as it developed. Ava had a lot going on with missing family members possibly causing trouble, navigating new family connections, planning a wedding despite signs of sabotage, all while trying to keep up with her position at the FBI and getting drawn into Mason’s case when her informant turns out to be his murder victim.

I enjoyed the characters and the mystery, though I did guess one of the major plot points. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, fast-paced mystery.

Awesome suspense/mystery book!
Special Agent Ava McLane has met with a Confidential informant several times, never feeling he was giving her anything special. But, when he is found brutally murdered in his home where plans to bomb the local courthouse are discovered, Ava has to wonder if she missed some valuable information. As the body count stacks up, Ava, Mason and several law enforcement agencies in several states have to wonder if and how they are all related. When Ava's wayward twin is discovered to be missing, Ava can't help but wonder if this whole mystery has something to do with her personally, and if so why?
This race agains time suspense book is a great addition to the series. Love the characters and way the story flows easily from scene to scene.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In the mood for a mystery after the last couple of light-hearted books I read, I know I can always count on Kendra Elliot's books to be enjoyable as, like a few others of her series, she sometimes does crossovers with the characters. In The Silence, the book starts with Mason and Ava preparing for their wedding nuptials, and their friends are excited. That is until a series of events start happening that cause them to have to put their wedding on the backburner. The first is a gruesome murder and the victim seems to have been one of Ava's CIs. He also happens to have bomb schematics of the courthouse which sends police racing down there and shots are fired. This ends up with a handful of police officers dead and Mason's partner and best friend Ray in the hospital hanging by a thread fo his life. Brady who has been busy dating Ava's twin sister Janie turns up and it turns out her sister has vanished once again and is causing trouble for Ava when she receives a phone call inquiring about some potential wedding cancellations including the venue she tried forever to get a date for. I have to admit reading about Ava's twin sister and her character - it reminded me a lot of my sister Kimberley and her crazy antics. As the book goes along, we will read as more people turn up dead and it looks like the local police can't get a handle on things as more strange twists and turns to start to unfold which means readers will get a visit from Mercy who stars in the series Mercy Kilpatrick. We also get a glimpse of Dr. Gianna Trask and a few other characters from Kendra's Bone Secrets series as the police start to call on outside help and reinforcements. The Silence didn't stand out as one of my favorites by Kendra as felt a tad too busy for my liking but it was still enjoyable and if you love the three M's - Murder, Mayhem, and Mystery - then you will enjoy Kendra Elliot's Columbia River series.

(4.5)Twist, turns galore! I really enjoyed book 2 more than book 1. Maybe cause it had Mercy in it, I don't know, but it had the works and was a one sitting read for me. It held me captive. It starts with a gruesome murder and races off to a bombing (or is it) at the courthouse. I love watching them work their way through crime scenes, the thoughts that go through their heads, the second guessing and the pounding of the pavement. It brings more understanding to what law enforcement deals with and goes through, something we all need to be more aware of. There were a couple jaw dropping moments for me and the whole book was wrapped up with a fantastic ending. This can be read as a stand a lone. If you haven't yet add Kendra Elliot to your auto buy :) Thank you Montlake, Netgalley and Kendra Elliot for the arc and taking me away from life as it is. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I freely volunteer to share them.

I'm a Kendra Elliot fan and have read many of her books. Kendra weaves characters from her many differing series throughout her books so you are familiar with some characters no matter which series you read. THE SILENCE is an example of Ms Elliot at her best. A gruesome crime is complicated by connections to law enforcement personnel, leading to an attack on the police that is complicated when one of our main characters realizes her sister is missing. Not completely sure if her absence is criminal or voluntary, the clues lead to more questions with few answers. The mystery is twisted, building tension from the first crime scene on. How it all gets resolved is a satisfying result. Kendra Elliot is a superb story teller. Join her fan club and read this book.

This is the second book in this series and whilst it can be read as a stand alone reading the previous books in the Author's interconnecting series featuring the characters of Ava McLane and Mason Callahan would be of benefit .

Detective Mason Callahan and his partner have been sent to a crime scene , a man has been gruesomely murdered outside Portland ........ the victim Rueben Braswell had been an informant for FBI agent Ava McLane in the past .... however she had dismissed his radical rants against law enforcement and the government as paranoia ... a mistake !
When evidence of a potential bomb threat along with references to Ava are found in his home officers rushing to the potential bomb scene are ambushed and attacked ... it becomes a race against time to find out who killed Rueben and why , and to stop the killer before they kill again .
Meanwhile Jayne , Ava's disturbed twin sister , has disappeared with Rueben's brother ..... is there a connection to the violence and murder around them .

This is a fast paced romantic thriller with plenty of twists and turns - will Ava get the wedding of her dreams or will Jayne managed to foul her life up yet once more ?

I love how the Author manages to write various series all with interconnecting characters from past ones because when one series ends you know that you are not necessarily saying goodbye to a character you have to Know and love .

I was given an arc of this book by NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this brilliant book

well the hits just kept coming with this one, right from the first page....

a murdered victim that was brutalised with a hammer
a neighbour shot
guns stolen from the police used in other crimes

and then we have ava's twin jayne who has disappeared......or has she...

with ava's wedding just round the corner its all hands on deck with the recent murders but something isnt right with her twin and should she be more worried about the murder victim and what it means to her...

gripping novel by kendal elliott with surprise guests popping up...brilliantly written and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through...

cant wait for the next book

This author makes me want to visit Oregon and meet her characters.

Ava and Mason AR extremely busy is this book where there has been a brutal murder and a cop killing. This book takes turns that are unexpected and convoluted and it all comes together in a book that might leave you scratching your head. But the beautiful scene at the end is worth every bit of work.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Silence by Kendra Elliot is the second book in the Columbia River series. Here we are reunited with Ava McLane and Mason Callahan from the Callahan & McLane series (which itself was a spin-off from the Bone Secrets series). One thing I love about Kendra Elliot is how her series are interconnected, so even when a series ends you aren’t necessarily saying goodbye to the characters because they might pop-up in another series - like here in this book, we are not only reunited with Ava and Mason but also with FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick from the Mercy Kilpatrick series (which was a spin-off from the Callahan & McLane series, you see what I mean?). I always find the hardest part about ending a series is saying goodbye to the characters which is why I love and appreciate Kendra’s interconnected worlds.

Anyway, on to the story. A man is gruesomely murdered outside Portland, and the blood-spatter evidence found by Detective Mason Callahan is troubling. The murder victim, Ruben Braswell, is found to have been a radical conspiracy theorist. While searching his home rantings against law enforcement are found by investigators and a name is found, Ava McLane fiancee to one Mason Callahan and an FBI agent. It turns out that the vic was Ava’s informant and had good reasons to be paranoid but Ava was dismissive of those rants, until Ruben turns up dead…And then law enforcement officers, responding to a threat found in evidence at Ruben’s house, are attacked. It’s a race against the clock to find out what happened to Ruben and stop the killer before they kill again.

Man, this was such an edge-of-your-seat read. Just when you think you’re on your way to figuring out, there’s a twist. The adrenaline starts pumping and you can’t put this book down until you get to the end.
There were some really wonderful developments in Mason and Ava’s personal life but a whole lot of drama and some heartache as well, what else can you expect when Jayne is one the scene? But we get a dreamy wedding, so I guess alls well that ends well. And this is probably not the last time we’ll hear about Ava, Mason, and Mercy.

I would like to thank Netgalley for an advance copy of The Silence by Kendra Elliot.

I have read some of Kendra Elliott’s Mercy Thompson books before, so I knew this was going to be a great suspenseful mystery. This is told from Ava and Mason who are characters in her other books. Ava and Mason are detectives and a murder of Ava’s informant reveals a plan to strike against police force. They also have their wedding on the horizon, and Ava has a twin sister who is a drug addict who has gone MIA. A few exciting plot twists and we are taken on a nice ride.

A man murdered and disfigured with a mallet and missing his fingers; police lured into an ambush; the twin sister of an FBI agent kidnapped. Are they connected? And if they are---how? That's what detective Mason Callahan and FBI agent Ava McLane have to figure out. And since the twin is Ava's sister, she vows to find out. Hopefully before her wedding to Mason.

This is the second book in the Columbia River series and I have not yet read the first one although I have read the Mercy Killpatrick series and a couple in the Callahan McLane series which helped but I don't think was required to read the story. Detective Mason Callahan and his partner and fiance, Ava McLane, are called to investigate a brutal murder. The victim was Reuben Braswell, a conspiracy theorist with a particular hate for law enforcement and government. He was also one of Ava McLane's CI's. They find documents in his home indicating an imminent bomb attack at the County Courthouse, but, as the entire law enforcement gathers to prevent the attack, it turns into a mass shooting of law enforcement. The documents also mention Ava by name. It was a quick paced, intriguing story with a good number of plot twists and a nasty bad guy. I was nice to see Mercy again and the personal and professional friendship between the two women.
Thank you to the author, publidher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've always enjoyed Kendra Elliot's works and this book is no exception. The Silence is Book 2 in the Columbia River series, it can be read as a standalone although I still highly recommend that you read Book 1 first.Once again Kendra Elliot does not disappoint me with The Silence. This book is filled with mystery and suspense, the characters are fleshed out. I couldn't put the book down as I need to know what actually happened and its resolution. If you've read Mercy Kilpatrick series (another great series by Kendra Elliot), you will enjoy seeing her in this book too. I highly recommend readers of suspense to check this book out.

This book was gifted to me by NetGalley but the opinions above are of my own.

Another great addition to the Columbia River series, and it also closes some of the open threads from the last book in the Callahan & McLane series as well. The murder of a conspiracy theorist who is known to FBI special agent Ava McLane, leads to a devastating event that draws her fiancé, Detective Mason Callahan, and her into an interconnected case of terrorism, murders, loss and misidentification. I loved the family dynamics, romance and all the suspenseful twists in the story. I also enjoyed seeing Mercy once again and thought that Ava's twin sister, Jayne, added an extra level of interest into the mix. Though not quite as much as a thriller as the first book in the series, it is still full of great plot twists, mystery, and suspense. Though part of a series, this book can easily be read as a stand-alone. I look forward to reading the next book by this author.

Years ago, I read the Callahan & McLane series and was always checking to see if a new installemt would be coming out soon-----disappointed when I saw no plans for one. So, I was very surprised when I started reading this book and those two showed up as the main characters. It threw me off a little because I was expecting the same family of sisters from the first book in the Columbia River series. Not surw why this wasn;t marketed as Callahan and McLane??? Anyways, I really enjoyed this book. Detective Mason Callahan and his partner are called to investigate a savage murder. Investigation reveals that the victim was Reuben Braswell, a radical conspiracist. They find documents indicating a bomb attack that very afternoon at the County Courthouse, but, as the entire law enforcement gathers to prevent the attack, it turns into a mass shooting of law enforcement.

Investigators also find ties to Mason’s fiancée, FBI special agent Ava McLane. The murder victim was her informant.

Meanwhile, Braswell’s brother and Ava’s twin sister, Jayme, both disappear, and disturbing acts of sabotage target Ava’s personal life.

This book just like the first book in the series has a good plot and lots of amazing characters. There were a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout the book. And the ending was perfect.

Mason Callahan and his partner are called to the scene of a brutal murder. While processing the scene they find a note about a possible bomb at the courthouse. Police respond in huge numbers only to come under attack by a sniper leaving multiple officers dead. The investigation into the murder and the shooting at the courthouse follows a twisted path. This story grabbed me from the beginning and I didn’t see all the twists coming. I didn’t guess who the perpetrator was until his identity was revealed. The book is the 2nd in a series but could be read as a stand alone. The story brings back Ava’s twin sister who becomes an important part of the story. The ending was perfect. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.