The Usual Silence, Arles Shepherd Thriller Book 1 BY Jenny Milchman

In this gripping and lyrical novel, psychologist Arles Shepherd battles her own childhood trauma while striving to help troubled children at her new treatment center in the secluded Adirondack wilderness. She is particularly drawn to a ten-year-old boy who has never spoken, believing he holds the key to his own healing and possibly to her own. Meanwhile, Cass Monroe is plunged into despair as he searches for his missing twelve-year-old daughter, who vanished without a trace on her way home from school. With the police investigation stalled and his health declining, Cass turns to true-crime podcasters, hoping they can shed light on his family's nightmare. As Arles, Louise, and Cass navigate their intertwined fates, the story reveals that their lives are connected by a dark secret spanning twenty-five years. The tension escalates as buried truths emerge, illustrating how silence can reverberate through generations. Milchman masterfully intertwines themes of trauma, loss, and the quest for redemption, inviting readers to delve into the complexity of human emotions and the lengths one will go to uncover the truth. In a chilling exploration of the past's grip on the present, this novel offers a suspenseful journey that is as thought-provoking as it is heart-wrenching.