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Silent as the Snow by Emily Pattullo


Four teenagers, Anna, Rudy, Seth and Dougal, are involved in an accident on a wintery night that will change their lives forever. A stranger is killed, and they agree to keep what happened a secret. Heavy snow has covered the crime scene, and it feels like they might get away with never revealing the truth because of the snow. But it’s not long before one of them is convicted of murder and sent to prison.


Twenty years later, Anna and her friends' lives intersect after a long absence because of a funeral. They are no longer scared teenagers, but the past still haunts them and this time, Anna is forced to look at what really happened all those years ago. But what she remembers is not what her friends remember, and she wonders if she was mistaken about the events. Looking into the past deconstructs her life in ways that seem unimaginable.


As Anna delves into her past, her own family comes under the spotlight, secrets emerge, and she discovers nothing is as she thought it was. Has her life for the past twenty years been a lie?


Silent as the Snow is a compelling novel that unpeels multiple layers until it finally reveals the truth about the central event and the protagonist's real characters. It is simply superb.


Reviewer: Karen McMillan

Root to Rise Publishing

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