The Price of Silence

By: Kate Wilhelm

Narrated by: Anna Fields

In a small town, everyone knows everyone else's business. But in Brindle, Oregon, there's a secret nobody wants to see.

Todd Fielding, a newly married young woman, comes to Brindle for a job with the local newspaper, which plans to celebrate the town's centennial by printing photos and letters from the town's history. But the relics of the past hide a dark secret.

When a young girl disappears and no one in the town appears particularly concerned, Todd looks deeper. She uncovers the shocking fact that five other girls have run away from Brindle under strange circumstances over the past 20 years, but no one seems interested in finding them. As she begins to understand the history of a town steeped in evil, manipulation, and cold-blooded murder, she decides the secrecy has lasted far too long.

©2005 Kate Wilhelm (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Combining oppressive isolation and creepy characters, genre veteran Wilhelm creates a genuinely eerie atmosphere that pulls readers in and keeps them turning the pages." (Booklist)
"One of the masters of psychological fiction in America." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Good, but left a bit undone.

OK. Psychological thrillers that are plausible are really cool to read.
This one was maybe 3.5 stars. I say this because one of the main characters (the icy wind) was never explained. Why does Todd feel it so strongly as an outsider? Why does she have such a strong psychological connection?
This thread is never completely explained by the author.
I enjoyed the story overall, I just wish the author had wrapped it up better. She brought us right up to the door of the doer, and -boom- that was it. None of the stuff that makes it a psychological twist was explained. I was looking for a past ancestor connection or something. This was a hole in the story and now I feel unfulfilled as a reader.

Hard to follow.

Love this author but I had to keep rewinding to keep track of all the rabbit holes

the price of silence

this was a fabulous read. lots of surprises and plots. I highly recommend this book

Story was pretty good!

I found this to be a good story with lots of twists and turns. I didn’t figure out “who done it” until the very end. That said, there were a few gripes.

First off, the beginning and ending the book have a couple minutes of creepy music. I didn’t like that.
Secondly, The narrator sounded like Ellen DeGeneres to me. I didn’t care for her portrayal of the men in the book. It sounded very false. However, I realize there were a lot of characters to keep track of, and in that sense she did a good job separating them by using different voices for different characters.
Thirdly, the main character’s name (female) was Todd. I struggled with that throughout the whole book. And her husband’s name was Barney. That name is just too old-fashioned for the story setting. In fact, the historical figures in the story had more modern names than some other current story characters. Odd
But I enjoyed the Oregon setting, and how the story unfolded. Worth the listen, I’d say.

Entertaining and thought provoking

Nicely done. Held my interest throughout. I won't call it captivating, but I found it of interest whenever I could work it into my schedule.

Weird story and terrible narrator

I think the biggest thing I disliked about this audiobook was the narrator. Her male voices were atrocious. There was a cool element of a mystery coldness that only some people could feel. But this part of the story just seemed to disappear towards the end. It wasn't explained. Where did the female lead name of Todd come from? What a horrible name for a female. Parts of the story was ok, but so predictable. A small town with old secrets and still existing secrets.

Didn't enjoy the narration.

The narrator was fine, but adding the bad male voices is just too much. Makes all the men sound dumb.

Amazing

Done very well great story line. Want more of this author she is rocking!!! Awesome

God story

I figured the mystery out it was a predictable solution but good story
Worth reading

New fav

Fabulous suspense and mesmerizing characters. The vocal talent- well, Ruthann was a sophistication and well-educated woman but she sounded as if she were a man missing her dentures. Most regrettable. But a great story and the vocals were good for Todd.