Shadows of Silence: A FBI Psychological Thriller (Samantha Hayes Thrillers Book 1)
Diana Freel
4.0 (1 rating)
Shadows of Silence: A FBI Psychological Thriller (Samantha Hayes Thrillers Book 1)
Pages: 283
Reader Reviews
4.0
1 rating
Dhawy F.
Aug 9, 2026
Review of an advance copy received from author.
This is a tense story that takes me a lot of time to forget. Not because I hadn’t read anything like that before, but it’s really because the story has some interesting things inside the world of detail police investigation.
From this book, I can see how evidence-based investigation doesn’t point to the obvious suspect sometimes, because the villain actually has a brain to play behind structures and keep their crime untraceable.
And sometimes, answers to big mysteries lie in the smallest detail no one talks about. In this book, readers can clearly see, behavioral analysis and pattern recognition reveal everything without people realizing. Followed by supporting visual clues in drawings of a traumatized kid refusing to speak.
———
The story follows a rookie FBI detective named Samantha Hayes. Working with the NYPD, she has to solve the case of a murderer at Mayor John Butcher’s house.
The mayor’s housekeeper, Jasmine Rivera, was found dead in the storage room. And Jasmine’s daughter, Ella, hadn’t spoken since she was found.
The mayor’s house has a neat security system, but before Jasmine‘s death, the camera’s position was changed. By whom?
Someone bummed it out. Someone clean, meaning someone who understands how to quietly hide their crime. Someone who doesn’t force the system because they know how it works.
———
The most satisfying part of the story is not just when the puzzles of the thread finally tie to the well-executed ending. During my reading experience, I found Samantha’s interpretation of every movement, every gesture, and every spoken word so enjoyable to understand.
And, don’t forget Samantha‘s quiet observation. Without any questions asked, she earns Ella’s trust to receive all her meaningful drawings. All the drawings that somehow speak as loudly as the witnesses’ words in the interrogation room. Isn’t that sweet?
———
If we talk about discrepancies, there’s only one thing I can’t quite understand. I don’t know though, if this is just me or if it’s really a discrepancy. What I know is, that thing sits there, tickling my brain lol.
So, it’s about the stuffed cat. Do you guys notice on the day Samantha runs into Jasmine and her kid at the playground way before the case begins?
Ella has that stuffed cat with her, right? But it says that stuffed cat looks exactly like Samantha‘s. And at the ending of the story, Ella gives her stuffed cat to Samantha. Does it tie to anything? How come there’s two cats match without any correlation to anything?
This is a tense story that takes me a lot of time to forget. Not because I hadn’t read anything like that before, but it’s really because the story has some interesting things inside the world of detail police investigation.
From this book, I can see how evidence-based investigation doesn’t point to the obvious suspect sometimes, because the villain actually has a brain to play behind structures and keep their crime untraceable.
And sometimes, answers to big mysteries lie in the smallest detail no one talks about. In this book, readers can clearly see, behavioral analysis and pattern recognition reveal everything without people realizing. Followed by supporting visual clues in drawings of a traumatized kid refusing to speak.
———
The story follows a rookie FBI detective named Samantha Hayes. Working with the NYPD, she has to solve the case of a murderer at Mayor John Butcher’s house.
The mayor’s housekeeper, Jasmine Rivera, was found dead in the storage room. And Jasmine’s daughter, Ella, hadn’t spoken since she was found.
The mayor’s house has a neat security system, but before Jasmine‘s death, the camera’s position was changed. By whom?
Someone bummed it out. Someone clean, meaning someone who understands how to quietly hide their crime. Someone who doesn’t force the system because they know how it works.
———
The most satisfying part of the story is not just when the puzzles of the thread finally tie to the well-executed ending. During my reading experience, I found Samantha’s interpretation of every movement, every gesture, and every spoken word so enjoyable to understand.
And, don’t forget Samantha‘s quiet observation. Without any questions asked, she earns Ella’s trust to receive all her meaningful drawings. All the drawings that somehow speak as loudly as the witnesses’ words in the interrogation room. Isn’t that sweet?
———
If we talk about discrepancies, there’s only one thing I can’t quite understand. I don’t know though, if this is just me or if it’s really a discrepancy. What I know is, that thing sits there, tickling my brain lol.
So, it’s about the stuffed cat. Do you guys notice on the day Samantha runs into Jasmine and her kid at the playground way before the case begins?
Ella has that stuffed cat with her, right? But it says that stuffed cat looks exactly like Samantha‘s. And at the ending of the story, Ella gives her stuffed cat to Samantha. Does it tie to anything? How come there’s two cats match without any correlation to anything?