In the beginning of BROKEN SILENCE, six year old Lana is in the hospital after her parents were shot to death and burned in their car. The little girl won't speak, and is quite traumatized. Her mother's 'nurse' is in control of Lana's 6 month old sister; and has warned her to keep her mouth shut or her sister will be hurt.

Assistant State Attorney Daphne Montgomery is on medical leave after being kidnapped, and then rescued by Baltimore Special Agent Joseph Carter. When a friend who is involved in 'equine therapy' ropes Daphne in to help bring Lana out of her shell; she discovers a tragic mystery to be solved. Seems Lana's parents had been quite rich, and the motive was to kill them for some very expensive jewelry that the killers now can't find; but think that Lana knows where it is hidden.

BROKEN SILENCE is a haunting, intriguing story. It is basically an epilog to Daphne and Joseph's story from Did You Miss Me? (Romantic Suspense, #14); but for such a short story, Karen Rose wrote a satisfying and well-rounded novella. My only real complaint was that I probably would have enjoyed the story more had I read their book. There were too many things thrown at the reader that tied the story too tightly to Did You Miss Me to be a true standalone read.

Reviewed by - Rachel Williams