Jo Larsen series – The Book Diva's Reads

Walk Into Silence (Detective Jo Larsen #1) by Susan McBride
ISBN: 9781503937628 (paperback)
ISBN: 9781522690030 (audiobook)
ASIN: B01BVD40GE (Kindle edition)
Publication date: December 1, 2016
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer | Amazon

A woman vanishes from a Texas town. Did she simply run off, or is something darker at play?

When Patrick Dielman shows up at Detective Jo Larsen’s desk insisting that his wife, Jenny, is missing, Jo wonders if it’s a case of a bored housewife running away.

But as she digs deeper into Jenny’s life, Jo learns that Dielman keeps a stranglehold on the family finances, down to the last nickel, and that Jenny’s first marriage dissolved following the death of her young son. By all accounts—including her doctor’s—she never recovered from the loss. Between a controlling husband, a tragic past, and a callous ex-husband, Jo can’t be sure if she should suspect foul play or accept that the woman may have wanted to disappear.

For Jo, whose own demons are shadowing her every step, finding Jenny becomes more than the typical protect-and-serve.

Jo Larsen, a detective with the Plainfield police department, presumes that Jennifer Dielman is a runaway housewife. She quickly discovers that although Jennifer may have had a good reason to leave her husband, she most likely didn’t run away from her home and marriage in Susan McBride’s newest book, Walk Into Silence.

Jo Larsen is a thirty-something-year-old police detective on a small town police department. She transferred there after working on the Dallas police department. Initially, Jo presumes that the missing Jennifer Dielman is nothing more than a wife that’s run away from home. However, the more she learns about Jennifer the more she realizes that this woman didn’t leave voluntarily. Just as the investigation is starting to take off, Jennifer’s body is discovered in a local quarry. The autopsy reveals that she was murdered. Was Jennifer still stricken with grief from the tragic death of her young son years earlier? Yes. Was Jennifer dealing with an inordinate amount of stress related to her grief? Yes. Was Jennifer the type of person to walk away from her marriage? No. Jo isn’t happy with the answers she’s receiving from Patrick Dielman – Jennifer’s current husband, Dr. Kevin Harrison – Jennifer’s ex-husband, or Lisa Barton – the Dielmans neighbor.

Walk Into Silence is the first book in the Jo Larsen series by Ms. McBride. The reader is given a glimpse into Jo’s backstory (an abusive childhood at the hands of her stepfather and neglectful mother) as well as the mindset of deceased, Jennifer Dielman. Although Jennifer is still grieving her son’s death, she is also seeking answers about his death and feels that her ex-husband is lying about what happened the night their son died. Jennifer also knows that someone is playing games with her mind in an attempt to make her look unhinged (just because she’s paranoid doesn’t mean someone isn’t watching her). Bit by bit, Jo discovers the truth about Jennifer Dielman’s life and death while also dealing with the trauma from her own childhood. I found the beginning of Walk Into Silence a bit slow, but it quickly picked up the pace and sucked me in. I enjoyed the characters and action in this story and am looking forward to reading more about Jo Larsen in the future.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book for review purposes via NetGalley. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This review is part of a Wunderkind PR promotion.