The Usual Silence

Praise for Cover of Snow

“A terrific debut.” —Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Cover of Snow is a luge ride of action and atmosphere, a terrifically suspenseful read. A suicide in a creepy town, clogged with snow and secrets, starts a young widow on a perilous hunt. Soon we’re careening along with her as she chases clues and as the full horror of what really happened to her husband is revealed. Reading Cover of Snow feels like racing across a frozen lake. Heart-pounding, exhilarating, frightening.” —Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Armand Gamache series

“Everything a great suspense novel should be—tense, emotional, mysterious, and satisfying. Let’s hope this is the start of a long career.” —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series

“Cover of Snow is a darkly atmospheric first novel that challenges all sorts of romantic notions we might harbor about small towns and the people we think we can trust. Luckily, heroine Nora Hamilton—and writer Jenny Milchman—has the skill and fortitude to lead readers through a suspenseful story of switchbacks and surprises. A mystery that will draw in fans of darker fare as well, reminiscent of Margaret Maron’s work, which is about the highest praise I can bestow.” —Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author

“In her debut outing, Jenny Milchman has succeeded in a way many veteran writers can only envy. Cover of Snow is a tightly plotted, wonderfully unpredictable, and immensely satisfying novel. All the elements—character, setting, pace, language—are pitch perfect. Believe me, it doesn’t get any better than this.” —William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of the Cork O’Connor series

“Cover of Snow is what every reader wants—a terrific story, beautifully told. Heartbreaking, sinister, compelling, and completely original. I love this book.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author

“Absorbing from start to finish: Jenny Milchman writes a deeply felt and suspenseful story of a woman whose life is upended by a death and a dark secret. While perceptively reflecting on community and our connections to one another, Cover of Snow is also an insightful look at the intimacies and secrets of marriage.” —Nancy Pickard, Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, and Shamus Award–winning author

“Milchman’s intricately plotted and aptly titled Cover of Snow is layered with suspense, sorrow, and a strong sense of place and character.” —Linwood Barclay

“Jenny Milchman’s expertly crafted, dark, and smoothly suspenseful page-turner slowly reveals the layers of terrifying secrets hidden in a small Adirondack town under Cover of Snow. I only wish I had written this novel! Watch for this stellar debut on the Best First Novel lists.” —Julia Spencer-Fleming

“Quietly unnerving…Milchman reveals an intimate knowledge of the psychology of grief, along with a painterly gift for converting frozen feelings into scenes of a forbidding winter landscape.” —The New York Times

“The first-person account told from Nora’s point of view thrusts the narrative full force into horror, sadness, and every other emotion Nora experiences as she must start over without Brendan…[W]hat makes Cover of Snow sing is Milchman’s ability to make readers care for Nora as she suffers and starts anew.” —The Associated Press

“When house restorer Nora Hamilton finds that her policeman husband, Brendan, has hanged himself, her image of their idyllic life in Brendan’s Adirondacks hometown of Wedeskyull, New York, is shattered in Milchman’s evocative debut…Milchman expertly conveys Nora’s grief in a way that will warm hearts even in the dead of a Wedeskyull winter.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[A] superlative dark, wintry debut…These well-defined characters take us on an emotional roller coaster ride through the darkest night, with blinding twists and occasionally fatal turns. This is a richly woven story that not only looks at the devastating effects of suicide but also examines life in a small town and explores the complexity of marriage.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Milchman’s debut is a chillingly good mystery thriller that quickly picks up momentum and spirals into a whirling avalanche of secrets, danger, and suspense.” —Library Journal

“Milchman makes [readers] feel the chill right down to their bones and casts a particularly effective mood in this stylish thriller.” —Kirkus Reviews

“But the real triumph of Milchman’s first novel is the pacing. The plot unfolds at an excellent clip, stalling in just the right moments, lingering on characters long enough for us to get to know them, ultimately rushing headlong to a series of startling revelations. I found myself completely wrapped up in the story, unwilling to put the novel down until I had reached the fascinating and unexpected conclusion.” —San Francisco Review of Books

“Milchman tackles small-town angst where evil can simmer under the surface with a breathless energy and a feel for realistic characters.” —The Seattle Times

“Cover of Snow is quite dark in tone and mood, which in turn contrasts with the backdrop of ever-present snow literally blanketing every scene…This is a memorable debut from an author who promises much and delivers.” —Bookreporter

Praise for Ruin Falls

“Milchman shows her chops with this sophomore effort (following Cover of Snow, 2013), and she carves out a new niche with this unusual mix of eco-thriller and family suspense drama.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Essential for psychological-thriller fanatics, Milchman’s second novel trumps her acclaimed debut, Cover of Snow. Extreme heart-pounding action follows this determined mother as she risks everything to save her children.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Milchman weaves a complex and intriguing tale, adeptly pacing the narrative as danger escalates…Most impressive, though, is Liz’s transformation from a meek wife…to a strong, capable woman determined to rescue her children at any cost to herself.” —Publishers Weekly

Praise for As Night Falls

“Electric…Jenny Milchman mixes psychological thrills with adventure…to shoot her readers with an extreme jolt of adrenaline…Milchman’s talent for building atmosphere will have readers wondering if they’re shivering from the story’s excitement or northern New York’s winter cold.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“Gripping…a fast-paced tale that should keep readers eagerly turning pages.” —Publishers Weekly

“The suspense starts building right from the get-go…The desolation set the hairs on the back of my neck to tingling, [and] there is a shocking twist. Another excellent psychological thriller that should appeal to readers who favor authors like Lisa Gardner and Lisa Unger.” —Booklist

Praise for Wicked River

“Wicked River is partly a who-is-my-husband-really story, partly a horror-in-the-wilderness story, and partly a Manhattan-family drama, all rolled up in elegantly propulsive prose and shot through with sinister suspense.” —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series

“Suspense oozes like blood from a wound on every page of Jenny Milchman’s Wicked River. As scary and tense a book as I’ve read this year.” —John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of the Dismas Hardy series

“From time to time, I come across an action manuscript that shares my high regard for the [action] genre and the intensity it can achieve. One such book is Jenny Milchman’s Wicked River, which I urge you to experience. It thoroughly gripped me, not only because of the excitement it creates and the inventiveness with which it does so but also because of the subtext about a honeymoon in which the various stages of a marriage are condensed in a wilderness that’s both physical and psychological. Wicked River is a wild ride.” —David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood

“On a honeymoon gone terribly awry, two newlyweds battle for their lives in a powerful story of survival told by one of the richest and most riveting voices in today’s thriller fiction. Wicked River twists and tumbles and roars, carrying readers along for one hell of a thrill ride. Mark my words: this novel will jump off the shelves.” —William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of the Cork O’Connor series

“Jenny Milchman’s characters jump off the page…Wicked River is compulsive reading—I kept holding my breath and turning the pages faster and faster. It’s a book that should cement Jenny’s place as a must-read thriller writer for fans hungry for domestic suspense in the style of Gillian Flynn.” —M.J. Rose, New York Times bestselling author

“Chock full of suspense and danger, Wicked River by Jenny Milchman takes you on the journey of a lifetime, canoeing fast-moving rivers and hiking through tangled forests where humans have seldom trod. This is the story of Natalie and Doug’s honeymoon; they wanted natural beauty and adventure. They get both, in abundance. You’ll be glad you joined them. Wicked River is wicked thrilling!” —Gayle Lynds, bestselling author of Masquerade and The Book of Spies

“Deliverance, meet Into the Wild. Jenny Milchman knows how to construct a tautly wound, rawboned thriller that will keep you up like the howl of wolves outside your tent.” —Andrew Gross, international bestselling author of The Blue Zone and The Dark Tide

“A story about passion and betrayal on the high-stakes stage, Wicked River is intensely gripping and perfectly paced—a real standout that pushes the domestic-thriller category to its very edge. With her usual mastery of setting and character, Jenny Milchman has outdone herself.” —Carla Buckley, internationally bestselling author of The Good Goodbye

“Milchman has crafted a truly engrossing novel where the river is not the only thing that’s wicked.” —Jeff Ayers, the Associated Press

“Riveting…A hybrid between John Fowles’s classic The Collector and Erica Ferencik’s The River at Night, this novel will appeal to fans of psychological suspense as well as those who enjoy trips to the backcountry.” —Library Journal

“A tense exploration of survival and psychological manipulation with a raw, sharply drawn setting sure to please fans of wilderness thrillers like those by Nevada Barr and C. J. Box.” —Booklist

“Milchman shakes things up with Wicked River; in this author’s hands, a babbling brook can become a deliverer of death. The suspense ratchets up steadily, making this a highly satisfying summer read.” —The Strand Magazine

Praise for The Second Mother

“The Second Mother is a gothic unraveling of a novel, as moody and atmospheric as the isolated island on which it’s set.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light

“Rich in atmosphere, expertly plotted, and populated by characters who live and breathe, The Second Mother is as much a portrait of survival and redemption as it is a harrowing deep dive into the secrets and troubles of an isolated island in Maine. Jenny Milchman writes with insight and compassion, creating a vivid sense of place and masterfully ratcheting up the tension page by gripping page.” —Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger Inside

“With her ever-masterful sense of place and astute psychological insight, Jenny Milchman takes us on a journey from the Adirondack Mountains to a remote island off the coast of Maine, and from the dark depths of grief into the light. This is a harrowing and heartrending story that earns its place in the sun.” —Carol Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of The Lake of Dead Languages and The Sea of Lost Girls

“When Julie arrives on a beautiful, rustic island off the coast of Maine—with a one-room schoolhouse, where people embrace a simple life—she is hoping for a chance to start over. Slowly and expertly, Milchman peels back the layers to reveal what lies beneath the idyllic surface. The Second Mother is an atmospheric thriller resonating with the weight and power of secrets. Settle in someplace comfortable, lock the doors, and turn on the lights—you’re not going to want to put this one down!” —Jennifer McMahon, author of The Winter People and The Invited

“The Second Mother is a tense, riveting story about a woman who flees to a remote island off the coast of Maine to escape a tragic past. Starkly beautiful, the island holds the hope of a new life and a new love, but schoolteacher Julie Weathers finds herself facing dangers she never imagined. Told with Milchman’s stunning prose, The Second Mother is a gripping tale of obsession, secrets held close, and the dark side of island life. Harrowing and addictive, I dare you to put this book down once you’ve started.” —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and This Is How I Lied

“A do-not-miss tour de force.” —Linda Castillo, New York Times bestselling author

“Jenny Milchman is one of the best suspense writers at work today, and The Second Mother is a page-turner extraordinaire. Milchman takes the nostalgic daydream of teaching in a one-room schoolhouse and turns it ever so slowly into an urgent nightmare. That the story is set on a remote island off the coast of Maine—one of the most claustrophobic places a stranger can ever set foot—is an added bonus.” —Paul Doiron, author of the Edgar Award–nominated Mike Bowditch series