Reviewed by: E
In this thrilling and suspenseful fantasy, set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, Vicki DeVine and her lodger, the shapeshifter Aggie Crowe, stumble onto a dead body . . . and find themselves enmeshed in danger and dark secrets.
Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others–vampires, shapeshifters, and paranormal beings even more deadly. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget . . .
After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns like Vicki’s have no distance from the Others, the dominant predators that rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what’s out there watching you.
Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe–one of the shapeshifting Others–discovers a dead body, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the man’s death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, things get dangerous–and it’ll take everything they have to stay alive
This blurb came from Goodreads
I am one of the many hooked on Bishop’s World of the Others ever since reading the first one, Written in Red. I thought I was getting a Little Red Ridinghood spin-off and I ended up with so much more. As the stakes continued to rise during the first world arc and things came to ahead I really wondered what was going to happen next. The world to many humans, well those who remained, was now very different and yet history in Bishop’s world has proven some humans feel they can operate as usual. So I was excited to find out she was going to continue writing in this world and when it seemed like the Others were going to be more prominent since the setting was a human town not human controlled my excitement grew. I am so pleased to say that my wait and eager anticipation were richly rewarded.
From the very beginning, Bishop made it evident this was a new chapter/arc in this world. The Others were front and center in all of their inhumanness for all they were part of the town of Sproinger instead of set apart. This feeling remained evident throughout the story, which added to my enjoyment and inability to stop reading. Things started with surprising incident, almost a pop, and the resulting ripples continued to grow as I came to knew the town and its inhabitants through Vicki and the police patrolman turned town Police Chief. To readers of the previous series arc a few of the Other manifestations will be familiar but to my delight, Bishop further expanded her world by introducing new Others. There are a few references to some characters and previous events but for new readers I felt Lake Silence mostly stands alone.
I spent my time reading caught in a combination of wonder, nervous anticipation, laughter, and hope. It was refreshing to see so many different types of characters try to understand each other and strive for a way to live together. The hope that Vickie and Officer Grimshaw brought to the town with their willingness to treat all the inhabitants as if they had the same rights and deserved the same customs and courtesies was really evident throughout. The flipside of spreading hope was also the sense of community vulnerability when no one person and entity had THE solution to make Sproinger and Vicki’s resort work when outsiders tried to manipulate things. I also liked seeing more of the Simple Life people who were starting to repopulate some of the smaller communities and the impact of their closer connection to Namid.
Once again Bishop has added to the tension of her story by including key characters who were recovering from some sort of previous trauma. Their recovery or setbacks in a sense mirrored those of the community even when the cause was unknown. Watching The Others react to the increased tension and seeing how protective they could be of “their” humans even while maintaining their sense of otherness was a very deft balancing act. The Others were not allowing any leeway for humans to think they were in charge reinforcing the shift between story arcs.
Lake Silence is another great addition to a fascinating world. I was hooked from the beginning and remained invested through the end. I thought the character growth and complexity combined with the different setting and Other population was extremely vivid. I am super curious about what Bishop is going to throw at her characters in the next installment.
I give Lake Silence an A.
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