Silent Witness
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In each successive novel since Degree of Guilt, Richard North Patterson has experimented with flashbacks and past tragedies to drive the present suspense of his legal thrillers. Silent Witness is, perhaps, his greatest achievement with the technique: his hero, Tony Lord, is still haunted by the murder, 27 years ago, of his high school girlfriend, Alison Taylor.
In the late 1960s, Tony is the star of the Lake City, Ohio, high school football team. But when Alison is found strangled behind her house, even Tony's closest friend, Sam Robb, suspects him. Alison's true killer is never found, and Tony flees his home town to forge a career as a high- powered, high-profile San Francisco criminal attorney and marry a movie star. Cutting to the present day, Tony is called back to Lake City to defend his old friend. Sixteen-year-old track star Marcie Calder was found dead on the shore of Lake Erie, and Sam, now the overweight assistant principal and track coach of Lake City High, is the accused. A series of scandals slowly erodes Tony's confidence in Sam's innocence as Tony comes to terms with his own troubled past.
As with Patterson's previous works, Silent Witness is a novel with subtle characters who happen to be involved in a compelling (and authentic-seeming) criminal trial. For dedicated Patterson fans, some insight into the life of actress Stacey Tarrant is a special treat. She's Tony's wife in the present world of the novel but was the lover of Senator James Kilcannon before the senator was assassinated. James was the brother of Kerry Kilcannon, the enigmatic presidential candidate at the centre of Patterson's 1998 blockbuster, No Safe Place. --Patrick O'Kelley
Product Description
1967, Lake City, Ohio. Tony Lord and Sam Robb, both in their teens, are best friends and athletic rivals. Twenty-eight years later, Tony is a successful San francisco attorney; sam is an assistant principal at Lake City High School. Sam has never left home, and Tony has never returned since the trauma that changed his life: the brutal murder of his first love, Alison, of which he was wrongly accused and which turned everyone, even Sam, against him. Now Sam is a suspect. One of his female students has been murdered. Tony, reluctantly but inevitably, comes back to defend him. At once, Tony is plunged into the unfinished business of his past. In the merciless arena of a murder trial, he must confront not only his fear that Sam is a murderer but also the buried truths that obscure the real meaning of Alison's death. Powerful in its portrayal of the complexities of male friendship, of the darkest recesses of love, and of the many ways in which the past stakes its claim upon the present, Silent Witness is that rare suspense novel which is far more - the kind of story we have come to expect from Richard North Patterson.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This has got to be one of the best books I have ever read. It's enthralling, captivating, gripping and any other such adjectives you can think of. I particularly liked the way in which the author takes the reader back 30 years to set the scene. The attention to detail and the empathetic way in which the reader can identify with each of the characters, especially Tony Lord, is excellent. This book kept me hooked well into the wee small hours of the night. The fact that the ending became quite predictable did not detract from my enjoyment of the story at all. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I'll definitely be reading more. Thanks for lending it to me Sis.
Well done, Richard, keep up the good work!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I could not put this book down. An old cliche I know, but entirely true. In the very best tradition of Grisham, a fascinating insight into American court rooms and small town life. The powerful desriptive writing made the reading experience similar to actually watching the story on film. If you read only one book this summer...read this !
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was my first read of a Richard North Patterson novel and I came upon it by pure accident in a book stall in Venice. Having read my 'holiday' book I bought this one as the 'best of the bunch'. Best decision ever. I became almost one with Tony Lord. Felt his sadness and heartbeak, his regrets and feelings for his best friend Sam. His need to get away and never return to his chidhood home. I won't say anymore as it would spoil the story for the reader but to spend time reading this book is time well spent. I would and have recommended it to my friends and even passed it on. I will keep it and read it again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
long winded
I know it has received good reviews here but I just thought it was too long winded. By trying to fit two cases into the one novel with not really any much excitement in either, I... Read more
Published 4 months ago by booklover
Page turner
I bought this book, based on the accolades of previous reviews, and found it exhilarating and well constructed. Read more
Published 11 months ago by K. S. Jones
Absorbing, poignant and thought-provoking
This was the very first RNP novel I picked up and read and I was hooked right from the first few pages. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2008 by Ticked Off
I'm not like that'!
This starts out seemingly as a simple murder mystery, but before you know it you are wrapped up in the story and cannot put the book down. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2008 by C. White
Highly recommend this
This is the first book that I've read by this author and I have to say I was not too sure what to expect initially. Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2008 by Cosmic
A cliche, but this is really a 'page turner'
I just loved this book, easy to read but with complex characters.
Patterson keeps you guessing, but you have empathy and in some cases outright contempt for some of the... Read more
Patterson keeps you guessing, but you have empathy and in some cases outright contempt for some of the... Read more
Published on 16 July 2008 by ANTHONY Baird
Patterson delivers.
This has to be without doubt the best book i have ever read. I cant praise it enough, it was quite simply superb. A must read for everyone.
Published on 7 April 2008 by Peter Lewis
Great novel !!
This is my first Richard North Patterson novel. And believe me, it won't be my last.
His character portrayal in this book is excellent, and the plot pacey and... Read more
His character portrayal in this book is excellent, and the plot pacey and... Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2007 by Mr. Tony Griffiths
Brilliant
This book is about as good as it gets and is arguably Patterson's best work. The author switches the story from past to present with ease, which helps bring the story together. Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2002 by P. Gill
Yet another great book by Richard North Patteson
A wonderful 'who-dunnit' book by Richard North Patterson. Couldn't put it down. I like the way that characters are interlinked between books. Read more
Published on 21 Jun 2000
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