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Silent Child cover art

Silent Child

By: Sarah A. Denzil
Narrated by: Joanne Froggatt
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About the performer

Golden Globe and BIFA-award winner and three times Emmy nominee Joanne Froggatt is much-loved for her performance as lady’s maid ‘Anna Bates’ in Downton Abbey. In Autumn 2019, she reprised her role in the feature film of the period drama that topped the US, UK and Australian box offices in its opening weekend. She also won acclaim for her ‘Meryl-Streep level performance’ in Liar, one of 2018’s most talked about dramas. Joanne won a British Independent Film Award for her film debut in In Our Name and her other film credits include A Crooked Somebody, Mary Shelley and One Last Thing. She also starred in the film adaptation of A Street Cat Named Bob and Irvine Welsh’s Filth opposite James McAvoy and Jamie Bell. In 2021, she will take on the title role of Angela Black for ITV.

Editor reviews

" Silent Child is a unique book, a shining light of hidden horrors and unbearable tension in a genre where it is always difficult to stand out. Emma's slow descent into hell from the moment her son disappears feels real enough to make you hold onto your loved ones that little bit tighter. Sarah A. Denzil masterfully carries the reader alongside Emma on a tortured mental journey: theories, conspiracies and increasingly justified paranoia as suspicion falls on everyone she has ever held dear. Along with Emma, you find yourself pointing the proverbial finger of accusation at a series of characters who once seemed safe. A visceral, darkly atmospheric listen that will make your heart beat, your mind race and your spine tingle." - Gabriel, Audible Editor

"A good audiobook for me is one that takes me on a ride that I never could have imagined, and Silent Child did exactly that. Sarah A. Denzil weaves a tale that starts with heartbreak, adds mystery and suspense, and ultimately becomes a thriller. The writing is superb and it created a blockbuster movie in my mind as I listened. Silent Child had me at the edge of my seat the entire time, and I even fell off a few times." - Sean, Audible Editor

"The premise is shocking and it compels you to find out where Sarah A. Denzil will take the story. But, where I think the author is truly genius is in the way she supports the central plot with some heartbreakingly real and genuinely flawed characters that were so obviously as fully developed in Denzil's mind as the thrilling hook that makes you choose the book in the first place. There's so much more to this one than first meets the eye." - Alexandra, Audible Editor

About the author

Sarah A. Denzil is a million copy best-selling author of psychological suspense novels. Her books include number one best seller Silent Child, which was a Goodreads Choice semi-finalist in 2017. Her books have been published in several different languages and have appeared on the Wall Street Journal best seller list.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her husband and cat, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather. She loves to write moody, psychological fiction with plenty of twists and turns.

Summary

Winner of Audible's 2017 Narrator of the Year Award

Introducing Audible's Thriller of the Year: Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil, performed by Joanne Froggatt.

In the summer of 2006, Emma Price watched helplessly as her six-year-old son's red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. It was the tragic story of the year - a little boy, Aiden, wandered away from school during a terrible flood, fell into the river, and drowned. His body was never recovered. Ten years later Emma has finally rediscovered the joy in life. She's married, pregnant, and in control again...until Aiden returns.

Too traumatised to speak, he raises endless questions and answers none. Where has he been? What happened to him on that rainy afternoon? And now that he's back, whom can he trust?

At Audible we love listening to crime books. But every so often one comes along that we think is truly special. An Amazon Kindle number one best-seller, Sarah A. Denzil's Silent Child is taking Audible HQ by storm. In an Audible Exclusive production, Joanne Froggatt (Mrs Bates, Downton Abbey) delivers a powerhouse performance that will keep you gripped until the very last second.

©2017 Sarah A. Denzil (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Listen to clips from the audiobook

<i>Silent Child</i> by Sarah A. Denzil
Emma reveals the harrowing effect of losing her son
Jake Hewitt makes your acquaintance
The boy who returned from the dead, through the eyes of his mother.
Unreliable or simply misunderstood? Meet Rob...
  • Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil
  • Emma reveals the harrowing effect of losing her son
  • Jake Hewitt makes your acquaintance
  • The boy who returned from the dead, through the eyes of his mother.
  • Unreliable or simply misunderstood? Meet Rob...

Watch our exclusive trailer

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What listeners say about Silent Child

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I had high hopes for this as Amazon has "bigged it up" so much, but I found the pathetic heroine very annoying and her overly dragged out performance was irritating- how long can a voice tremble before it ceases to be of any impact!
The climax was ridiculous and very unbelievable for a woman in labour- can't say anymore without a spoiler alert.
A real shame and a waste of a credit.

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147 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Silent Child Screams for Attention!

Calling anything a thriller of the year is always a bold claim, especially when there are releases fairly close in the genre from authors like Rachel Abbott and Paula Hawkins as well as a plethora of others.  But that's what Audible have done with this book by an author relatively unknown to their listeners.  Does it match up to that claim?

First off I have to say that I definitely enjoyed reading it. The tight, clean writing style suggests to me a confident author working in sync with a good editor.  Denzil takes a very human approach to her characters and builds them from a combination of strengths and frailties which mostly rang very true to me.  She gradually builds the mystery in a plot where, in truth, I think some people will feel that not a lot happens during the middle of the book.  For me, the start was excellent, the middle a quite subtle development of the story and characters before the book quite literally explodes towards the end with a conclusion of some considerable drama.

Most importantly to me the central character, Emma, came across very strongly.  She is put through hell in all kinds of ways, both subtle and monstrous but remains thoroughly believable except at one point towards the end which does involve giving the author the benefit of a touch of artistic license near the end.  

Jaonne Froggatt is also new to me, her narration is excellent.  It's a real performance and while it might sound a strange thing to complement her and the production team on they know the value of a little moment of silence.  All too often even the best narrators give a great OMG moment only for the narrative to carry on with the next chapter immediately meaning the listener either doesn't get to savour that great moment or misses what comes next.  Here, there were a couple of great uses of a little silence which was a great extra to add to a fine performance. 

So, in summary this is a fine thriller, well written and performed.  Is it genuinely the Thriller of the Year?  I'm not quite sure I'd go that far but I think it will be on a lot of readers' shortlists.

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85 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Predictable

Story okay though I had guessed whodunit relatively early, although not entirely correct. I found that the main character started irritating me about halfway through and I started hoping she'd accidentally fall down a flight of steep stairs whilst holding a pair of scissors and chewing on a chunk of beef.
Joanne Froggatt does a great job and I take my hat off to her for injecting some life into an otherwise two-dimensional character.

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67 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Badly written predictable fluff.

Before the end of the first chapter l was bored. So badly written, it read like an overly long English Exam essay. Self indulgent to the point of narcissistic. If any research was done certainly none of it was used. Please do not waste your valuable time. l can only recommend this as a Christmas gift for someone you really dislike.

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65 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Appalling. Don't waste 9.5 hrs of your life...

This was at its best points mediocre and the majority of the time, poorly written, full of cliches similes and metaphors, implausible in every way and not remotely interesting. Characters are 2D and that's being generous. Pace is slow and NOTHING happens. The big reveal is obvious and uninteresting. The 'twist' is non-existent. Narrator does her best but you can't polish a t*rd. seriously, don't waste your time. Read Mark Billingham, Ben Aaronovitch, Clare Mackintosh or even Robert Galbraith instead. At the very least, the quality of writing in those books is strong. This is shoddy and it genuinely disturbs me to think so many people have bought in to Amazon's / Audible's hype around a dreadful, poorly written story that lacks any originality and skill whatsoever. Save your money and 9.5 hours of your life. Trust me.

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28 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

How this is Audibles thriller of the year I will never know!

I found this book so tedious I actually had to give up on it which is something I hate to do. I got 2/3s in before throwing in the towel because the whole book is the main character moaning and repeating herself endlessly. If you want a book that is exciting with twists and turns, a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat, a book you can't put down...look elsewhere.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't put it down

Couldn't put it down. Enthralling story made better by Joanne Froggets mellow, soothing, addictive voice. I shall be downloading more by this author. Excellent

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Caught me off guard

I thought this was going to be another over hyped best seller that didn't stack up...... but boy was I surprised. I was gripped from the outside, by the storyline and the exceptional narration. I didn't see the twists until they hit me in the face. Clever, clever, clever and did I mention the unbelievably fantastic narration. Just wow!

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25 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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narrator too whispery

I cannot easily listen to this narrator. she drops her voice too often and I was constantly turning the volume up and down. very disappointing :( did not get past chapter two. book refunded

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22 people found this helpful

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Loved this book

Well written and keeps your attention all the way to the end, would definitely recommend.

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