The Usual Silence, Arles Shepherd Thriller Book 1 By Jenny Milchman

In Jenny Milchman's gripping novel, psychologist Arles Shepherd is on a mission to heal troubled children while grappling with her own buried trauma. Having established a groundbreaking treatment center in the remote Adirondack wilderness, Arles is particularly focused on a ten-year-old boy who, according to his mother, Louise, has never uttered a word. As Arles works to unlock the boy’s silence, she is haunted by fragments of her past, desperately trying to piece together her own lost memories.

Meanwhile, Cass Monroe faces a parent’s worst nightmare: his twelve-year-old daughter has disappeared without a trace on her way home from school. With the police at a standstill and desperation mounting, Cass seeks help from a pair of true-crime podcasters, hoping they can shed light on his daughter’s mysterious disappearance.

As Arles, Louise, and Cass's lives intertwine, they are drawn into a web of secrets that stretches back a quarter-century. The story unveils the powerful connection between silence and trauma, revealing that buried truths have a way of resurfacing. With lyrical prose and masterful suspense, Milchman crafts a narrative that explores the depths of human emotion, the fragility of memory, and the enduring impact of the past on the present. In a world where nothing is as it seems, the ultimate revelation will force all characters to confront the shadows they wish to escape. 📚❤️