Review: The Silent Children by Amna K Boheim

The Silent Children

by Amna K Boheim

Publisher: Troubador Publishing

Pages: 

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Vienna, 1938: Something's amiss at the home of young Annabel Albrecht. First, her favourite maid Eva disappears, then her friend Oskar. Worse is to come – her brother is murdered and her mother is taken away, leaving Annabel to fend for herself. 

Almost 70 years later, Annabel's son Max uncovers his mother's long-buried past, and unlocks the secrets preserved by Annabel's missing friends. But as Max is to discover, some children can never be completely silenced. Is he haunted by ghosts or by guilt, and will he ever escape?

Kritters Thoughts:  I wanted so much more from this book.  With a small vague synopsis, I was excited to accept this book for review - it sounded like just the right perfect of creepy for a winter night, but there were just some things that didn't work for me.  

This may be a spoiler, but I must say this to give my dislikedness some context, so stop now if you want to remain unspoiled.  

OK - there are ghosts in this one and like weird take over your body kind of ghosts and those kind of ghosts aren't my thing.  I have read books with spirits and ghosts and even recently and the way they were done just worked so well, but this one the puzzle pieces didn't match up for me.  The only thing I can say is, maybe if this had been a Halloween read for me I could have liked it a bit more, but I am not sure that I would be even open to trying another from this author.  

I also thought there was a lot going on in this plot and at times a little too much.  There were hints at World War II, but it didn't feel fleshed out.  There were major plot points with Max's ancestors - those I liked, but it just felt like the author was trying to tackle a bit too much in one book.

You will see my shoe rating below, I use this one very rarely, it is only reserved for ones that I just couldn't find a good light at the end of the tunnel.  I hope by telling you what I didn't love about the book could either keep you from it or even sell you on it.  I try to be honest and kind in all my reviews.  


Rating:  not such a good read 
       (only use this shoe rating about 2 or 3 times a year)

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Smith Publicity.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.