I very much enjoyed Colette McBeth's last book, The Life I Left Behind but I have to say that An Act of Silence is on another level. It's nail-bitingly exciting and has more layers than an onion!

We have disgraced ex-MP, Linda Moscow and we have her son, Gabriel Miller, who is a comedian. We know from the very beginning that their relationship is a difficult one and throughout the course of the book we start to understand why. What I liked about McBeth's writing is that she makes us feel alternately sorry for each party as they put across their stories.

The tagline is "If your son was accused of murder, what would you do?" and yes, Linda is forced to consider whether her son is capable of such an act after a young woman's body is found. But.....this is essentially a book about corruption within government and takes a lot from the recent spate of celebrities turning out to be not the much loved family oriented people we thought they were.

The plotting is amazing. I found myself turning back several times to reread parts that suddenly came across so differently upon reading another section. There are sections written from the perspective of many different characters and it really was just like watching a scandal unfold.

The storyline is unlike any other psychological thriller I have read. It really felt quite unique to me. It's full of suspense and intrigue and not at all what I was expecting.

An Act of Silence gripped me from start to finish and I found it very hard to put down. It's a superb thriller of a book. ( )