Don’t Say a Word

Julia DeMarco’s attention is first captured by a beautiful melody that is lovely and sad all at once and follows the hallway to discover the source of the music. As she enters a room she realizes the music is a haunting backdrop as her attention is then captured by a historic photograph on a museum gallery wall. What is the music from Russia and a photograph of a little girl in front of an orphanage in Moscow so intriguing? Julia has never traveled out of the country. Why is she so captivated by the music and the photograph? Julia’s fiancé, Michael Graffino suddenly interrupts her thoughts and wants her to hurry. As Michael says, “We don’t have time for that. Come on.” This is the turning point of story introduction when the show more reader knows with every fiber of her core that Julia will not set a wedding date with Michael that day nor anytime in the near future if at all.

Julia thinks she knows exactly who she is, what her life purpose is, and how her past has led to her future that Michael has explained they will share and plans that he has set in motion. But what if that’s not the future that the bride-to-be really wants? And what if there could be more? What if…? What if you begin to trust strangers more than the people you’ve always called family and don’t remember a time when you didn’t love them?

This story has so many poignant and compelling aspects. In one family, a husband burying his grief in a bottle as he mourns his wife’s death, daughters mourning the loss of their mother and feeling the simultaneous loss of their father due to his drinking. The same daughters in their roles as sisters loving each other but also seeing each other’s shortcomings but seemingly stuck to move their own relationship and lives forward. Then there are two (2) entirely different men named Michael Graffino and Alex Manning. Michael, the captain of a charter boat service, and Alex, a photographer who has followed in his father’s footsteps. What if there’s more to the things they aren’t sharing? What if the things you’ve always been told are only parts of the truth?

This is reading so intense that you can feel there is more to the photograph than just one simple mystery. There are secrets to be unraveled and new mysteries that unfold as some answers are revealed. “Don’t Say a Word” is to be on the edge-of-the-cliff in suspense with the turn of each page. As each chapter ended, it was difficult to stop reading regardless of how early the alarm was set for the next morning. It is writing that absorbs the reader’s thoughts and especially the reader’s heart. It is a poignant reminder that sometimes when your heart and mind seem hesitant to set a wedding date or pursue a job you thought you always wanted, maybe you need to pause to explore for the answers that are causing that very hesitancy. Maybe the answers are not what you expected but will ultimately lead you to your destiny – the best of who you can be and to the best partner to share the journey. show less

Julie thought she had the perfect life until one photograph sends her perfect world spinning out of control and into dangerous territory. Behind the looking glass lies a stranger in need of answers and secrets that lead her to a destiny she never knew. It could also end up being her undoing. What drew me to Don't Say a Word was the fear of the unknown. Everybody has questions about who they are and where they came from,, but to come face to face with the answers is scary. Ms. Freethy created a world full of suspense that is as thrilling as it is tragic. Julie serves as a beacon that from some of life's darkest moment can rise many of the brightest.

I don't normally enjoy romance books. However, this one had quite a good story behind the romance. Of course it wasn't true to life but it was nice to get lost in another world for a short time.

When a woman sees a picture of a child outside a Russian orphanage, she thinks it could be her. Her quest to find the answers puts her in great danger and changes everything in her life. A well written book filled with intrigue, adventure and some romance.

Love, love, love Barbara Freethy's books. They're so complex, and all those little threads get tied up. In this one, the heroine sees a photograph of a little girl outside an orphanage in Russia, and the little girl is wearing a swan necklace identical to one she had as a child. So she looks up the photographer to ask him about it, and opens a huge can of worms. Spy stuff, intrigue, danger, hidden identities, families torn apart.

A fairly generic suspense novel, heavy on the romance angle. The characters are just too cardboard to really capture the reader's interest. The plot is very predictable. A fairly ho-hum book that didn't do much more than chew up a dozen hours in the car. Thank goodness it was a library book and I didn't spend money on it.

typical book by this author which is exactly what I wanted. fast read, turn the brain off and picture San Francisco