The Silenced by Brett Battles

In The Silenced, Jonathan Quiinn is a professional cleaner. No, not the janitorial type. He job involves removing bodies from crime scenes to make sure they are never found again. He's not a killer, but his hands are not exactly clean either. He's just been hired to remove a body from a building that's scheduled to be demolished. The thing is that the body has been there for 20 years already. When he discovers that he's being watched and his family is threatened, he realizes that this is no ordinary job. He has to get to the bottom of this intricate web to not only save his life, but save the lives of those around him.

Awesome book! It was fast paced and well written with a smart, complex and edgy plot. The story alternated at times between the bad guys and Quinn and his team. I loved this method of storytelling. It added lots of suspense to the story and kept me on the edge of my seat. The plot was filled with twists and turns while the action was non-stop.

Even though the part of the story takes place in numerous international locations (Asia, Europe and the US) I was thrilled to see that one of the locations in the book was a place I'd actually been to, Warroad, Minnesota. I was even more thrilled when my home town, Winnipeg, was mentioned (page 252). Believe me, that doesn't happen very often. Later on, the Lake of the Woods was mentioned, which is where I spent many summers during my teenage years. Who knew that part of an international plot could reach into my own backyard? Very cool.

Jonathon Quinn was a very appealing main character. He's already been in a number of books, so I guess lots of readers like him. Now that list of readers includes me. I loved reading about his job and the way he does it. Even though what he does in on the shady side of the law, he does have his limits. He's an expert at getting himself and his team out of jams. He's a man of mystery with a secretive past. Besides, Quinn, the book has some other interesting characters, namely Orlando and Nate.

Highly recommended. I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for the other books featuring Jonathon Quinn.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the Random House website.

For more information about the author and his other books, please visit Brett Battles's website.

Thanks to Dana Kaye from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

The Silenced by Brett Battles, Dell (Random House), ©2011. ISBN 9780440245674(Mass Market), 401p.