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Silent Witness
Silent Witness
Jan 15, 2026 7:15 PM

Author:Richard North Patterson

Silent Witness

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.

Reviews

A finger-scorching page-turner

—— Daily Mail

This is Kennedy at his brilliant best

—— Daily Mirror

If you haven't discovered Douglas Kennedy yet, it's about time you found out what you've been missing... Where Kennedy excels is in creating fundamentally flawed characters who are still likeable

—— Glamour

Kennedy is a clever learned writer, with a beguiling lightness of touch

—— The Times

Kennedy proves himself an agile and entertaining storyteller. His love stories are mature... and informed by a sympathetic sensibility that would not be out of place in a John Irving novel

—— Independent

A racy page-turner, peppered with moral dilemmas... Kennedy has a knack of bringing his characters to life and sitting them right down next to you

—— Daily Express

Dunmore chillingly evokes the atmosphere of Soviet suspicion, where whispered rumours and petty grievances metastasise into lies and denunciation. A gripping read

—— Daily Mail

Meticulous, clever, eloquent. An absorbing and thoughtful tale of good people in hard times

—— Guardian

A remarkably feeling, nuanced novel that satisfies the head as well as the heart. This does not read like a retelling of history, but like a draught of real life. With her seemingly small canvas, Dunmore has created a universe

—— Sunday Herald

Dunmore's genius lies in her ability to convey the strange Soviet atmosphere of these very Soviet stories using the most subtle of clues

—— Spectator

Storytelling on a grand scale

—— The Times

This cleverly constructed novel will have, deservedly, widespread popular appeal, especially, perhaps, with young female readership

—— School Librarian

A beautifully written book with moments of real sadness, hope, laughter, tragedy and joy, which make you appreciate all the little things you love, as your eyes brim with tears

—— Booktrust online

A beautifully-crafted, heart-breaking look at love and loss

—— Western Daily Press

Another must is If I Stay by Gayle Foreman, which deals with deep, universal emotions and unpicks the truth about moving on after unspeakable loss - a fresh and compelling piece of work

—— Sarah Webb , Irish Independent

A heartbreaking and beautifully written novel that should be a must-read for everyone. I doubt anyone who reads this will get to the end dry-eyed. Stock up the tissues!

—— So Little Time for Books

If I Stay makes you appreciate what you have, all that you've lost and all that might be

—— Shout

A beautifully written book with moments of real sadness, hope and joy

—— Rachael Ashley , Sainsbury's Magazine
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