Complicit (A Legacy of Silence)

In a uniquely compelling novel, author Amy Rivers has successfully combined her knowledge of political science and criminal psychology. Complicit is labeled as the first in her new series, A Legacy of Silence.

Ms. Rivers opens her tale with a flashback to April 1996 when her primary character, school psychologist Kate Medina, was a teen approaching graduation from a suburban high school in New Mexico. What might have been an idyllic afternoon under the bright blue sky, morphs into a shocking discovery? Now that her reader is alert to at least one shocker, Ms. Rivers slows the pace with the following chapter in the present day.

By slowing the pace, this reviewer means that the next couple of chapters are filled with Kate’s contemplative reflections of her family life growing up with her sister, Matilda (Tilly) along with an immersion into Kate’s present-day life – literally living at home with her dad. The plot picks up speed as Kate’s sleepy hometown proves to be a hotbed of intrigue and mayhem. Ms. Rivers drags her reader down into the town’s dark underbelly.

Fans of thrillers and cliffhangers will appreciate Ms. Rivers’ cinematic scenes and realistic dialogue as she weaves her shocking tale. This lead-in to the next novel in the Legacy of Silence series is well-crafted. While this reviewer is a fan of thrillers, albeit on the tamer side, I recommend Complicit for readers who are able to separate themselves from the story once the last page has been read.