This book grabbed me from the very first chapter. That short, first chapter gives the reader a very brief glance into the lives of two very different women, both of them going through a whole lot. And you just know that somehow their lives are connected. I had to keep reading to learn more about both of them.

Jo is a very likable character and I immediately enjoyed being in her world. She's like a bulldog that won't give up the bone she's chewing on. She knows something is off in her investigation of the missing woman, Jenny and she is not going to stop until she figures it out. I kept thinking I had it figured out, but boy was I wrong. There were twists and turns I was not expecting. Whew!

How have I not read a book by Susan McBride before now? I love mysteries with strong women characters and this series is off to a great start. I am excited to read more about Jo, her life, and the crimes she solves.

What happened t0 Jenny ? That's what Detective Jo Larssen has to find ou.t. This is a well done procedural- good characters and pacing. Thanks for the arc.

This was an enjoyable crime mystery with a solid plot. There was suspense and some twists and turns. I liked the character Jo and look forward to reading more about her.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

As if I need another series featuring a detective in a small town solving lots of crimes that make me think I don't want to live in a small town. My husband and I have a list of places we don't ever want to move to base off of books I read or TV shows we watch! 😂 But I digress. Do I need, as stated above, another series? No. Am I going to read it and others? You bet. I can't help myself.

Jo Larsen has been a Detective in Plainfield for the last couple of years. She hails from Dallas, just down the road, but escaped the city when she felt like it was closing in on her. Plainfield is slower paced and a good place to catch her breath - it's also close enough to Dallas to keep her connections there. Larsen and her partner have just come in from investigating a theft. Someone stole a whole load of cashmere yard from the local knitting shop and tubas also went missing over at the High School. It's not high crime but Jo doesn't mind these days. In walks Patrick Dielman claiming his wife is missing. She hasn't been seen in about 12 hours and he's worried. It's so unlike her he claims over and over. Jo's tempted to brush the case off, pointing at the wife's desire to take a vacation from her husband but some of the things Mr. Dielman says make her pause ever so briefly. She decides to look into things a bit further before letting it go.

Jo and her partner, Hank, walk right into an actual missing persons case that as evidence floats to the surface, it's making it look like a whole lot more than Jenny Dielman has gone missing. Is she MIA or DOA? And if she's dead, why? Who would bother with quiet, unassuming Jenny? These are the questions Larsen runs into as the investigation and search for Jenny goes deeper.

Truth be told this story is a version of several out there. That's not to devalue the work McBride put into this story and her characters, it's simply an acknowledgement that it's hard to do variations on a good 'ole crime/thriller/mystery. As Solomon would say, "There's nothing new under the sun." McBride weaves a few pleasant twists and and turns into her characters but nothing that I couldn't figure out almost right away. That's the downfall of reading so many titles in this genre, you start to pick up on the little things - almost like you are a detective yourself. Regardless of this title's similarities to others in the genre and being able to pick out things I would miss if I wasn't so heavily invested in this genre, this story and Detective Jo Larsen grabbed me and I read it in one sitting. I had planned to just start it and then do some other things but by chapter 2 I knew I was in it until it was finished. That, my friends, is the mark of a good read.

Walk Into Silence is the powerful and very well-written first book in the Jo Larsen series written by author Susan McBride. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the advance copy.

Unfortunately I didn't get chance to read this book as there was an issue with the system that wouldn't allow me to download this. However, I've heard great things and will be buying the book soon!

Woman murdered--who did it? Her husband, ex-husband, ex-husband's new wife, or the next door neighbor.

Detective Jo Larsen and her partner are enjoying a quiet week before Thanksgiving with cases that include stolen band instruments and yarn when a distraught man comes in. He claims his 35 year old wife is missing and last he knew she was going shopping at a Warehouse Club after work. She had been acting upset lately and confused and after conferring with her Doctor they find she hadn't come to terms with the death of her son with her ex husband. The little boy had been home with the ex husband when he fell from his tree house and died from his injuries. Parts of this story are told in the missing woman's narrative and we learn she was starting to question her son's death. Can the Detective solve the case while dealing with her romance to a married man who recently left his wife for her while she is holding back secrets of her own?

WOW! This book was a real sleeper. With a death occurring within the first few pages, I was lulled into thinking, "Where can this story even go for the next few hundred pages?" This author does not leave you wanting as she proceeds to draw you in with the personal relationships of all the different actors which mesh together into a great whodunnit.

Well, Jo has started herself out rocky. She loves a man, who happens to be married. Sighs. She is suppose to be a great cop, but is already not wise to be involved with a married man. Her distraction arrives quickly when a husband shows up to file a missing persons issue with his wife, Jenny. At the age of 35, Jenny is just gone. Jenny has an ex-husband and a dead child by that ex. She was sure her ex killed her child, and had set about to prove it. Past that, she is the a-typical laid back, never harms anyone kind of character.

So, where is Jenny? What did happen to her son? Who, what, why and look out. The plot, pretty predictable, the characters, they are ok. They aren't outstanding, but they aren't the worst either. They do have room to grow, and hopefully they will.

My copy came from Net Galley. I left this review because I can do that. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Walk Into Silence (Detective Jo Larsen, #1) by Susan McBride

Jenny Dielman is reported missing by her husband to Detective Jo Larsen. It is not like Jenny to disappear without telling someone where she is. Jenny usually stays at home when she is not working at the library. Jo doesn't quite know what to make about jenny's sudden disappearance. Is this a case of a bored housewife that left all on her own and doesn't want to be found? Or is their more sinister forces involved here and is Jenny's disappearance a matter of foul play? The author is very talented in that she is able to get us reader's emotionally involved. Both Jenny Dielman and Detective Jo Larsen have something in common. They are both victims with a history of abuse that they have kept to themselves. Neither one of them wanted to share it with anybody else leaving them both isolated alone with their pain. Here is where the talented Susan McBride is able to involve us as reader's the emotional pain that stems from a history of abuse. We as reader's are able to feel the affects of the pain that accompanies being abused. It doesn't matter how much time has passed since the abuse happened or who abused us. We continue to feel the effects that abuse leaves us with and it doesn't ever completely goes away, we just learn to live with it.

As Detective Jo Larsen starts her investigation into jenny's disappearance she learns that Jenny was divorced to her first husband because their young son Finn dies. Jenny's first husband was supposed to be watching Finn when he died. Jo also discovers that Jenny has never recovered from losing her beloved son Finn. Jo also discovers that Jenny's current husband controls all of the finances in their house down to the last penny. Jo's sidekick detective thinks that Jenny committed suicide over the loss of her son. To tell you anymore would create spoilers and ruin your own reading experience. This novel succeeds because we are emotionally invested in the characters who are all very well developed. It is easy to read because the sentences flow from each other nicely. This is the first in the series and I am looking forward to reading the next installment by Susan McBride. I hope that you will decide to try this author's work. It is time well spent and you will enjoy this author's work because she has the ability to pull you into the story and make you feel.

A very grateful thank you to Net Galley, I am also grateful to the author Susan McBride and to the Publisher Thomas & Mercer for providing me with my digital copy via an honest and fair review.
9 likes

Excellent novel. Blends the stories of two amazingly strong but damaged women. Jo goes to great lengths to solve the supposed suicide of Jenny. Instead she solves two murders and uncovers not one but two sociopaths. Engrossing and really enjoyed the input of Jenny through her journal entries. Complex characters and good plot development..

This is a story mainly from Jo's point of view. Jo is a detective in a small town. She deals personally with issues from her past, but mostly doesn't talk about it. A local woman, Jenny goes missing. Jo relates to Jenny in so many ways. I won't post any spoilers, but this case becomes very personal to her.
I really enjoyed this book. Logical sequence of events & logical choices are important to me. I liked the unpredictable end, especially because I could look back & see the clues.
The book could have used one more chapter at the end. Nothing to do with Jenny, but some of Jo's personal issues (hinted at) weren't explained. Maybe the author is writing a second book? I don't know, but that was my only complaint.
I enjoyed the read & would recommend it.

This book was fantastic! I really enjoyed the plot line, trying to figure out if there was more at play than simply a woman who was depressed enough to do the unthinkable. It Any story that involves a child being hurt is difficult to read but McBride did an amazing job of weaving the details without making me want to sob my eyes out. I will definitely be including Susan McBride in my "to read" list!!

Pretty good read. Lots of suspense to keep the pages flipping. The ending makes you wonder why Jenny didn't do the same as Jo, concerning the 'evidence'. On the other hand, I guess it would have made it a short read. Overall it was an interesting read.

Sometimes when things were too close, they weren't as easy to see. Not until you took a step back, far enough to make the blurred edges crisp. For the little girl she'd never been and a child she'd never known.

Two women brought together because of a crime. Detective Jo Larsen has a past that she is stuck in. She avoids intimacy and as a wall around her heart but she is faithful. Faithful in that she is like a dog with a bone. When something grips her heart, she can't let go. Jenny Dielman has disappeared and her husband is concerned because of Jenny's past. A loss of child from a previous marriage. Jenny has been haunted by her son's death and is unable to get past it. With her new marriage, it all seems pristine. But is it? Larsen and her partner continue to dig deeper into Jenny's past and her past marriage. When Jenny is found by Larsen, Larsen feels a connection and becomes determined to give Jenny justice for the losses she suffered.

The narration is told by the two women - Jenny's narration by her journal as she searches for the answers to her son's death and Larsen as she finds the answers to what happened to her and her son and the connection that they all share. This was a balanced plot and character driven crime mystery that has you guessing to what happened and why. Was Jenny crazy or did she have reason to believe that a crime was committed to against her son. Larsen who worked better thru the connection she had with her victims than the average detective. Larsen who never was a little girl but had to grow up fast and Jenny who would never hold her child again and the loneliness it caused. The connection between the two drove the plot and the characters. I liked it!

A Special Thank You to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

This thriller has two main plot lines running throughout, one of which works better than the other. The main story involves a detective relentlessly pursuing even the smallest leads in order to learn the truth behind a troubled woman's disappearance. This part of the novel was excellently written, suspenseful, and page-turning. The secondary story takes place in the main character's past, meant to serve as an explanation for why she's become the woman she is now. Unfortunately, the language used to allude to the abuse she suffered is too vague and repetitive, making it seem like that part of her character was hastily added to give her more depth. The parts of the story taking place during the current investigation, though, I have no complaints about, as they are well-written and filled with enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing.

This was a really good book from beginning to end! The story is told through the Detective, Jo and through journal entries by Jenny who has disappeared either because she has run off or because she has been the victim of foul play. The characters were very well developed and the story itself was very suspenseful and at times quite intense. I like how the author was able to throw in humor here and there to lighten it up and make the characters even more endearing. I hope there will be more stories about this detective in the near future.

This is a missing person story, but not like the others I have read lately. The plot was interesting and the mystery kept me guessing until the very end. I enjoyed the relationship between the two police officers, Jo and Hank. It was refreshing to read about a caring friendship that did not involve sex. The rest of the characters were well developed also. I received the ebook from NetGalley for an honest review.