Although this was much different from the first book I read by this author, I still enjoyed it! Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this!

I've never read anything from Laurel Hightower that I didn't love, so as soon as I saw this announced on social media, I knew I had to get my hands on it.

The synopsis: After the loss of her husband under mysterious circumstances, former Detective Cam Ambrose learns how little she truly knew him. Reeling with the grief of her loss and the realization that the man she loved was a stranger, she must learn how to keep her young daughter safe from a world of the supernatural she never knew existed. With the help of her best friend Dimi and reclusive neighbor Eric Morgan, she sets out to solve a decades-old mystery entangling the machinations of an obsessed killer, her husband’s mistress, and a series of deadly hauntings.

I *loved* this.

I could wax poetic all day about Hightower's storytelling capabilities. Few other authors nail the depiction of grief and loss, the nuances and non-linear nature that comes with such dramatic and exhaustive changes. Her characters are flawed and realistic which only makes you root for them harder, hold them more fiercely. Cam is no different. Her narrative voice is punchy and endearing and engrossing. I was angry when I had to put this down but always looked forward to picking it up.

And it's terrifying. There are some truly scary moments in here that I think readers will be simultaneously angry and thrilled by.

Overall, Silent Key is a 2023 must read, my favorite Hightower work yet (but if this is your first time, I highly recommend checking out her back catalogue; it is spectacular).

Huge thanks to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

2 stars it was okay but mostly fell flat.

I was really excited for this one, but now after reading I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if the cover and the blurb wasn't so misleading.

The writing itself was great, I really enjoyed her writing style. I definitely want to read more from her very soon.

The blurb compares this to Nick Cutters The Deep and Peter Benchleys Jaws, which is one of the main reasons I requested this book but Silent Key is so far away from having any elements of those two. Comparing them is such a stretch, and whoever made it actually did a disservice to the book because of that my expectations were set somewhere completely different than what the book delivered.

This had multiple sub plots that were going in many directions and it just didn't end up making sense to me, maybe if they were fleshed out more. Once finished I didn't have that "oh wow" feeling when things were revealed. To me it didn't feel connected because the story pieces all came together but only because the author said it was. This definitely falls more into police procedural/ domestic drama with hints of supernatural and horror. There's also a lot more romance than horror in this book.

Finally, the cover leads you to believe the book takes place or involves water... the ocean... etc. along with the comparisons to The Deep and Jaws... nope. 90%plus of the story takes place on dry land, when water finally becomes involved its rushed and unfulfilling.

Thanks to netgalley and Flame Tree Press for sharing a digital copy for me to read and review, as always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻

I have extremely mixed feelings about this book. Let's start with what worked for me:
👻 an extremely, dreadfully lethal haunted house
👻 ghosts everywhere, and I'm especially fond of ones that appear as they died so they're usually really creepy if not grisly
👻 the found family element; an ex-detective no-bullshit mom with her paranormal sensitive kid and her ex-mafia unofficially adopted brother
👻 the good boy, Atticus! Undoing unfair judgment on pitbulls one protect at a time

What didn't work for me though, was how misleading the marketing for this book is. It is marketed as "a detective, supernatural mystery with elements of Nick Cutter’s The Deep, Peter Benchley’s Jaws and Stephen King’s Firestarter" and the absolutely stunning cover gives deep sea horror vibes. Let it be known however, that this story is a maximum of 10% deep sea horror which is okay except this specific genre is one of my ultimate favourites so when the story turned out to mostly take part on land I wanted to cry a little.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for this digital advanced reader copy, I leave this review voluntarily and these opinions are entirely my own.

Silent Key review

3/5 stars for this long and complicated, but still intriguing, horror novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the chance to read and review this book!

What to expect if you pick this up: The strongest part of the book is its character development. I loved Cam, Dimi, and Morgan. They were interesting, nuanced, and made me eager to see what would happen to them. That’s honestly what saved this read for me. Because otherwise this was much too long, and much too complicated. It had a lot of potential, and it was well-written, which kept me going. But the plot is overwrought. As horror stories go, it was spooky, and there are some intense ghost scenes that I thought were well done. The end was also a nice touch. So I was conflicted, but ultimately felt that 3 stars was fair.

#netgalleyreview #netgalley #flametreepress #silentkey #laurelhightower #bookreview #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #horrorbooks #horrorreview

"Death is the one thing secret keepers can't plan for, or at least, most of them don't. Maybe like many of us they feel immortal until they're not. Or maybe since they now they won't be there to face the consequences, they don't bother to put the effort in."

A young mother finds herself tangled in a web of grief and supernatural mysteries in this detective-horror-hybrid novel by Laurel Hightower.

Synopsis:
After the loss of her husband under mysterious circumstances, former Detective Cam Ambrose learns how little she truly knew him. Reeling with the grief of her loss and the realization that the man she loved was a stranger, she must learn how to keep her young daughter safe from a world of the supernatural she never knew existed. With the help of her best friend Dimi and reclusive neighbor Eric Morgan, she sets out to solve a decades-old mystery entangling the machinations of an obsessed killer, her husband’s mistress, and a series of deadly hauntings.

Review:
I had admittedly high expectations for this novel based off the author’s previous work. Last year, I read Crossroads by her, a novella that blew me away with its visceral depiction of a mothers grief over her son, and the desperate lengths she would go through to be reunited with him against all costs. It’s one of the best examples of “the true horror of grief” captured on page in a novel, and for me stands toe-to-toe with the likes of Pet Sematary.
I was hoping to find that same level of emotional connection and depth of character in Cam, especially since she gets quite a bit more page-time for development than her novella-counterpart in Crossroads. Unfortunately, I never clicked- or became truly invested in Cam. Where Crossroads felt like a more intimate character-piece, Silent Key focusses more on the plot and mystery, which for me took away from the authors true strength.
The mystery itself was intriguing enough to keep me going, but due to the more detached and distant writing-style, I was never completely immersed or invested.

A minor gripe that bothered me more than I’d like to admit has to do with the books cover. The combination of the cover, title and some of the marketing (comparisons to The Deep!) had me believe this would have a strong element of underwater-horror. Through my reading-experience I kept excitedly waiting for it to show up and was disappointed to see it only happening in the very final chapters. Literally around the 90% mark is when the cover-scene becomes relevant. If, like me, the underwater-horror-element was a big selling point for you: know it only comes into play at the very end.

The author lost me here with the strange writing. Why not just say car instead of Kia? Although kias are topical today due to the break ins it’s still weirdly specific. It’s not like a Kia is a luxury car worth mentioning by name. The writing was just messy for me I guess. Couldn’t get into the story due to that.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this novel! <i>Silent Key</i> comes out October 10th.

DNF'ing this at about 32%. Unfortunately, it's just not working for me. It feels overly drawn out and there are a lot of different plot points popping up that just aren't constructed well and make the story feel like it's dragging on and on. I also don't love the writing; it feels a bit clunky and more police procedural than horror. There's also an unnecessary (in my opinion) romance that I just don't care about. (And, this is pretty personal and biased, but the way the love interest talks is way more Georgia/Kentucky than it is Texas...kept taking me right out of the story, as someone who lived in Texas for almost a decade.)

I would highly recommend Hightower's novels, and this might work for you if you like the idea of a woman and her brother on the run from Russian gangs, because that's definitely most of the plot so far. The horror is really taking a backseat.

Silent Key by Laurel Hightower is the Ghost story family drama you've been waiting for your whole life!

This story focuses a lot on grief, which I have learned is one of my favorite themes in horror. The idea that grief is such a haunting emotion that it creates physical manifestations can be honestly terrifying. Silent Key is a story of grief surrounding a Detective who lost her husband, but in true thriller fashion, upon his death, secrets come to light. These secrets have deadly ramifications for Detective Cam Ambrose and her daughter.

Laurel Hightower writes great dynamic characters. Characters that are sure to keep you deeply interested in this story. This book took me a little bit to really get into. I felt lost at first, but once I figured out a few key details, and the ghosts started really appearing, I was hooked. This story's supporting characters also make this story so much fun.

Readers are going to love this new book published by Flame Tree Press! (And if this is your first Flame Tree Press book, you NEED TO CHANGE THAT, they publish some of my favorite horror)! Laurel Hightower is back and she isn't holding any punches in this new thriller! Check it out!

Ghosts aren’t real, right? That’s what Cam used to think and maybe still does, but something sure isn’t normal anymore. The start of Silent Key is vague, or perhaps cryptic would be a better way to say it. Little bits and pieces are parceled out, nuggets of intrigue that hooked me into the story. After the death of her husband, Cam’s her daughter started to experience things. There is a sense that something is after her…haunting her? And what does Silent Key mean, a phrase her daughter uses repeatedly. Feeling a need to get away, for a fresh start, Cam bundles up her daughter along with her best friend Dimi (who she considers a brother) and heads off to her deceased uncle's house in Texas. Changing venues isn’t the answer however because whatever was happening in New York has followed her. And if anything she now has more questions…like what in the heck happened to her uncle, because it becomes clear his death was not normal at all. This was such a wild tale. I really liked the characters, Cam is a tough woman but you can’t help but feel her vulnerability with her daughter being in danger. Hightower does a wonderful job of creating an atmosphere of creepiness despair, and dread, and I found the complexity of the story to be wonderful. I’ll definitely be checking out more of her work. Thanks so much to Flame Tree Press for the ARC.

Book Review
Silent Key
Laurel Hightower
reviewed by Lou Jacobs


readersremains.com | Goodreads


A perfect amalgam of detective fiction and supernatural ghost-haunting mystery, this story revolves around Detective Cam Ambrose, who spent nearly eight years infiltrating the NYPD gang task force due to her fluency in Russian. Her mission was to infiltrate the criminal organization of Rudy Petrovich.

During this perilous assignment, she found an unexpected ally in a criminal thug, Dimi Zolnerowich, who ended up saving her life. This twist of fate fostered a friendship so strong that he became like an adopted brother to her, even closer than her three biological sisters.

Cam’s world spiraled into chaos with the violent, inexplicable death of her husband, Tony, whose body was discovered in a gruesome state and mysteriously soaked in salt water. There was no trace of evidence explaining his massive injury. Strangely, she found her daughter, Samantha, conversing with her deceased father. There always existed a unique connection between Samantha and her father, and she insisted she could still see him.

My best friend and partner, Rick Fiero, and I were left bewildered by Tony’s unexplained death. Following this tragedy, my role on the task force concluded, leaving me questioning the safety of my daughter and myself. Homicide investigations revealed Tony’s clandestine long-term affair.

To escape this nightmare, my father suggested a relocation to my Uncle Bert’s deserted ranch in the remote town of Silver City, Texas. Cam, accompanied by Samantha and Dimi, willingly vacated her seemingly haunted apartment and embarked on a journey to start anew. Cam is a short, well-built brunette with a “resting bitch face” and a generous chest.

Upon arrival, they were welcomed by neighbor Eric Morgan, who quickly became a confidante and enlightened Cam about the unusual death of her Uncle Bert. Bert’s mysterious demise bore resemblances to “radiation sickness,” and his symptoms eerily mirrored those of Tony’s. During her stay, Cam encountered spectral visions and haunting echoes of the past, portraying the agony of the trapped spirits.

Laurel Hightower skillfully constructs a tale teeming with layers of intrigue, menace, and suspense that crescendo into a cataclysmic denouement. How will Cam disrupt the haunting loop? Who summoned these spirits bound by extreme stress and emotion? Many unforeseen revelations will unfold in this engrossing read that caters to aficionados of both crime and horror fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

1.5/5 Stars

TL;DR - A slow, bland book that reads more like a police mystery than horror. Not at all like the books the blurb compares it to, and not much of anything, really. I felt nothing reading this, except frustration and boredom.

Big thanks to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review!

‘Silent Key’ by Laurel Hightower tells the story of Camilla “Cam” Ambrose, a former NYPD gang task force member, as she tries to piece her life back together after the sudden death of her husband. To make matters more complicated, her five year old daughter, Sammy, sees ghosts, including that of her late father. Cam moves them both, as well as her adoptive brother Dimi - who happens to also be ex-KGB - from New York to Texas, into her late uncle’s home, which is, as they find out, very haunted.

I don’t have much to say about this book, because there’s not much to talk about. The characters were only passingly interesting, certainly nothing to write home about, and I found myself really only caring about the neighbor’s dogs for the duration. The plot is slow, bogged down by a lot of unnecessary internal monologue and a romance subplot that I don’t think needed to be there, and it was a real struggle to keep myself reading because it was just so lackluster.

This is not horror, in my opinion, and I hesitate to even call it supernatural. Sure, there are ghosts, but nothing that ever scared me or even remotely creeped me out, and nothing is ever really explained or fleshed out, other than, yup, there’s ghosts, and yup, this house is haunted sometimes. This was more of a police procedural or mystery-ish thriller, and I definitely wouldn’t have requested it if I’d known it would be so heavy on these aspects and so light on the “horror”. I wanted to DNF for the majority, but I was holding out hope that the horror would pick up, and nope, it never did. Snoozefest.

It’s definitely nothing like ‘Jaws’ or ‘The Deep’, and I haven’t read ‘Firestarter’, but I suspect it’s nothing like that, either. For a novel that compares itself to two books that focus heavily on the ocean and what lies therein, no one in this story gets within 100 miles of the ocean until 95% of the way through the book, and even then, it’s a few pages and then it’s over. Nowhere close to similar enough to warrant the comparisons, and not even enough to warrant having a diver on the cover. I don’t get it.

I gave this 1.5 stars only because I reserve my straight 1-star ratings for books that have no redeeming qualities, and 2-star ratings for books that I didn’t like but had one or two aspects that impressed me. This book isn’t poorly-written by any means - in fact, it’s perfectly passable craft-wise, if not boring and bland - but it didn’t do anything so well that I could feasibly bump it up to 2 stars.

Final Thoughts:

Misleading blurb and cover, that yes, I’m salty about. Huge disappointment, and then it has the gall to go and be boring to boot. Deleting it off my Kindle as soon as I submit this review.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for allowing me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really hate doing this…but SKIP THIS BOOK!!! Right off the bat when reading the blurb and checking the cover, you see someone in a dive outfit underwater and this book being compared to a few others, most specifically for me Nick Cutter’s “The Deep”. Let me start by saying NO ONE GOES UNDERWATER UNTIL 92% INTO THE BOOK !!!! 92% !!!! Why would you put someone underwater in the book if the FIRST PERSON going underwater is at the 92% mark?

Alternatively, this book is compared to Nick Cutter’s masterpiece “The Deep” and this is nowhere NEAR that absolute literary godsend. Nick Cutter’s novel, for example, has people underwater for the majority of the book, not to mention a storyline that actually works.

This book mainly deals with some women’s obsession with her weird older neighbor. And before any romance novel enthusiasts consider reading this for the love story…don’t. I love reading smut novels and this book doesn’t even give you the satisfaction of that.

What this book does give you is a very watered-down story that hints at a lot of other potentially good storylines, and gives you nothing in return. You want a thriller? This will bore you. You want a romance novel? This won’t make your heart patter. You want people underwater? WAIT UNTIL 92% in LOLOLOL.

I am extremely disappointed in this book. I can’t even begin to explain how excited I was to read this and now I feel like the rug has been pulled from under my feet. Do not read this book unless you want to feel sadly unsatisfied.

The main character drove me nuts, she cares more about her shitty ex-husband than she does people actually around her and alive. This is definitely one of those books that if people just acted like responsible adults and TALKED TO EACH OTHER, there would be no story at all. Don’t even get me started on her weird hang ups with her daughter and her ex-husband… CHRIST!

If you’re looking for a book that is like the three described in the blurb to advertise this one (Nick Cutter’s “The Deep”, Peter Benchley’s “Jaws”, Stephen King’s “Firestarter”) I would suggest typing those into Goodreads and looking at the suggested at the bottom of the page. It is infuriating to think ANYONE thought this book was ANYTHING like any of those authors listed above. ICK !

"I lay awake the rest of the night, still feeling the burn of my dead husband’s flesh."

I enjoyed this one. I wouldn't really consider it a horror but more of a thriller with paranormal elements.
I enjoyed the intricate storyline, the characters had depth and it had a certain creepiness to it that sent just enough shivers down my spine.
The book starts out strong and continues that way right until the very end. The descriptions of the ghosts and the overall terror of our FMC coupled with the uncertainty of how to tackle the ghost of her dead husband, pulled me in and really kept me invested.
I enjoyed the romance and it didn't overshadow the original plot which is something I always appreciate.
This book has everything I want a good thriller read and I absolutely loved the ominous ending.
Thank you to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for my eARC of this book. All opinions are 100% my own.

Laurel Hightower's The Silent Key is one of my favorite Horror reads this year. I couldn't put this book down. Hightower gives us real scares here, in this character driven novel. From top to bottom I loved these characters with my whole heart. Cam was entirely relatable as a mother struggling with her grief, and a betrayal that unfolded after the death of her husband. On top of that the grief and fear of her daughter witholding part of herself rom her was gut wrenching. The impending dread I felt the entire time about what would or could happen was unreal. The best thing about this book is how wholly I loved the characters, The haunting felt fresh and different from anything I have read in a long time, and I love a book that can surprise me. Hightower is a gifted storyteller and I think this will appeal to both horror and thriller fans alike.

This is a character driven tale of grief and despair.

The writing is quite lovely and the story, eerie.

I’ll admit that I didn’t love Cam, or any of the characters really, but it didn’t keep me from being anxious to know the resolution of our story.

My first book from the author. I’ll read her again.

• ARC via Publisher

This was a non stop thrill ride, where a woman who discovers the husband she is grieving had not only a mistress, but a whole life she had no idea about.

After the death of her husband, Cam discovers Tony lead a very different life from the one she knew about. Now, she has left her gang crime detective job and she is trying to raise their sweet daughter, but something keeps pulling her back. She discovers that the circumstances around his death are increasingly strange. Now, his mistress is trying to get in touch with her, warning her that she and her daughter aren't safe. Whatever Tony was mixed up in is coming after them...

Cam, her brother Dimi, and the intriguing neighbor Eric Morgan do absolutely everything they can to keep them safe and find answers. There was a lot going on in this book. I loved the various eerie elements and the different horror aspects. Silent Key is a very suspenseful book that leaves you guessing as you go along for the ride.

A silent key?
If you're like me, you pictured a lock. Don't do that. It actually has nothing to do with locks.

This book had me dreaming about water. I think because I was thinking about it so much. It's a bit mystery meets ghost story. I didnt know who to trust until the last page. I was questioning everyone.

The storyline is so interesting, the characters are great, I was really worried about who was bad. I got mad with the characters and often agreed with their methods.

It was just an overall good time!! Another reason to stay away from water.

SILENT KEY is a thoroughly enjoyable book. A first rate piece of popular fiction, that’s unpretentious but intriguing and packed with characters you grow to care about.
Laurel Hightower has crafted a novel that manages to blend genuinely creepy supernatural elements with an old school thriller plot and a pleasing dash of romance. I had a great time with it.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Laurel for an advanced digital copy of this one!

Look, I’ll say it right off the hop here – I’m a huge fan of Laurel’s work and I consider her one of the most solid folks in the writing community. I consider her a friend and as such, I love seeing friends succeed. With the acclaim of her debut and her recent novellas, her fan base grew exponentially, and when I saw this one announced I was so over the moon excited for her! Flame Tree Press! Another step up the ladder that is well deserved and well earned.

I couldn’t wait to dive in – pun intended.

What I liked: Much like ‘Whispers in the Dark,’ ‘Silent Key’ follows a single mom trying to navigate her new normal and keeping her child safe. From there, the story morphs into its own beast, but it was great to see Hightower return to that POV character to drive this one, as that’s 100% her bread and butter.

After her husband has died under mysterious circumstances, some things have come to light that have her questioning the depth of their love, while also revealing some truths that have followed her and her daughter. Coupled with her ‘adopted’ Russian brother, they flee to her deceased uncle’s ranch in Texas, where, much to her surprise, the supernatural elements follow and make things that much more difficult when all they want is to just get away.

As the novel progresses, Laurel continues to reveal different elements that add to the narrative (I’m not gonna expand on this to prevent spoilers) and lead us to the deep dark depths where the crux of the story takes place. We’re led to this moment, often unsure of what exactly is going on, but when we get there, it’s an AH-HA! of storylines coming together.

The ending is solid, closing things off really nicely and giving us a glimpse of what life will look like for those who remain topside.

What I didn’t like: I’m not totally sure if I am 100% sold on Dimi’s storyline and how things turn out. I mean, it all makes sense, I just don’t know if I personally liked it haha!

And, I will say, the first quarter does have some repetitive storyline aspects where it feels like we’re spinning our wheels once Cam, her daughter and Dimi arrive. It is needed, especially in the police procedural narrative, but there are moments where it doesn’t feel like you’re progressing forward.

Why you should buy this: Cam may very well be Hightower’s most developed and ‘real’ character she’s created. You want to root for her, you want to see her succeed and be happy and when things go bad you want to step up and be her backup. ‘Silent Key’ features a melding of several genres that Laurel’s wields deftly and confidently, ultimately giving us readers one of the more solid ‘paranormal-mystery-thrillers’ I’ve read in some time.