Grace Montgomery may be a successful assistant district
attorney in Jackson who has never lost a case, and who
graduated first in her class at one of the top law schools
in the country, but to the residents of Stillwater,
Mississippi she is still the poor white trash daughter of
Irene. Irene has never been forgiven for marrying
Stillwater's beloved preacher, Reverend Lee Barker. What
his congregation doesn't realize was the dark and sinister
side their good Reverend possessed. Lee Barker
disappeared off the face of the earth years ago, and
everyone in town is convinced Grace and her family killed
him, but they can't prove it.
Grace has returned home for the first time in thirteen
years. She is on a three month sabbatical to try and come
to terms with her past in Stillwater. She is unable to
accept a marriage proposal, and she has been given an
ultimatum -- use her time off to come to terms with
intimacy, or forget the proposal. The only person in town
who treats her with any respect is Kennedy Archer, and
Grace doesn't want his kindness. She has fallen in love
with the Archer boys, and she might just be falling in love
with their father also.
Kennedy Archer has always been Stillwater's golden child,
but he doesn't feel so privileged anymore. His young,
wonderful wife died of cancer and he is raising his two
sons, Teddy, eight and Heath, ten, alone. Also, his
father has been diagnosed with cancer, and the prognosis
doesn't look good. Kennedy is running for Mayor, in hopes
of taking over the position his father has had for
years. Kennedy remembers Grace from school; remembers
that she was sad and needy, and used sex to fill the void
in her young life. The adult Grace is none of these
things, and Kennedy and his sons are both mightily drawn to
her. If he is forced to choose between Grace and
politics, which one will he take?
Brenda Novak has penned a riveting and emotionally charged
romantic suspense tale in DEAD SILENCE, the first book of
her new trilogy. Well developed characters and a pulse-
pounding, tension filled storyline keep the pages flying
by.
Grace Montgomery knows who it is, and she knows why it
happened. She was only thirteen the night it all went
wrong.
And now, like then, she has no choice but to keep her mouth
shut.
Grace left the town of Stillwater thirteen years ago,
trying
to forget, trying to make good. As an assistant D.A. in
Jackson, she's finally achieved the success that was
supposed to change her life. But it hasn't -- so she's come
back to confront her own history. Which means returning to
the farmhouse now owned by her brother and facing the
people
of Stillwater, a number of whom suspect the truth.
Widower Kennedy Archer is one of those people. He's running
for mayor and needs to stay as far away from Grace as
possible. And yet... she's an enigma he can't resist. Even
though her enemies are close to finding out what really
happened -- and that could ruin them both.