Kept me glued to the pages, it was honestly really good.
Intriguing, splendid prose, and the characters are well conceived.

This was somewhat implausible, however other that that it was a thrilling ride. Ruby and her mother Yasmin have travelled to Alaska. Yasmin is looking for her husband Matt. Even though she has been told that he was killed in a fire, she has a deep belief that he is alive. Along the way, they have to contend with the harsh Alaskan winter weather as well as a nagging suspicion that she is being followed. Someone may be trying to prevent her from making it to her destination. Some of the plot points I.e. Yasmin (with no prior experience) has no problems driving a truck over an ice road are quite unrealistic. Overall I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second half.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for providing me with a eARC to read!

The cold permeates my reading as the descriptions are so vivid. Alaska in winter, when daylight is only a memory, and the cold and dark are extreme.

Told mainly from the point of view of ten-year old Ruby, the narrative relates her thoughts and fears. Mostly, the fear that they will not be able to find her beloved father. Because Ruby is deaf, she interprets her surroundings, and the things and people in it, in a different way than a hearing person would. This adds an added dimension to the story. Interspersed throughout are Yasmin’s memories of her own youth, her mother’s death, and her memories of when she met her husband, Matt. Yasmin’s chats with Ruby during this momentous voyage results in her getting to really know her daughter.

Meanwhile, the mother and daughter brave great physical dangers, both from the brutal weather conditions, and, from someone who does not want them to travel north in the event that they discover something unethical and reprehensible.

The title was perfect for the novel. The quality of silence being something unique to both deaf people, and in the remote, brutally cold Alaskan tundra.

The read was by turns tense, harrowing, and poignant. Despite the novel being at times implausible (with a city-born astrophysicist driving a forty-ton, eighteen wheeler on a desolate Alaskan ice road) this was a well executed cautionary tale of what happens when greed surpasses moral integrity and ethics.

This is the first time I’ve read Rosamund Lupton’s work, and “The Quality of Silence” serves as a good endorsement for me to read more. It is a suspense-filled novel with themes of environmental ethics, misguided patriotism, familial loss, and loving tenacity.

3.5 stars rounded up

Love the strong female lead in this book. A very suspense filled read, and having it set in Alaska just added to the story.

This one was just Wow! The setting made the book. Having the characters in the truck battling the freezing cold really added to this story. The setting was almost like another main character. My teeth were chattering as I read this one.

I liked the main characters, and the bad guys were so menacing and evil! The storyline was compelling and kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. The setting couldn't have been better, and there was plenty of action! This was a fast paced and thrilling book!