Elizabeth Goddard; When the Silence Breaks

By Kelly Bridgewater

Series: Mercy Ridge #1
Release Date: August 4, 2026
Genre: Fiction / Romantic Suspense, Fiction / Mystery & Suspense

A deathbed confession. A decades-old secret. A mountain that holds the answers--and danger closing in.

When intelligence analyst Sarah Ellison learns of her grandfather's deathbed confession connected to her brother's murder, she's determined to protect her remaining family. After further investigation, she discovers the disclosed information points to a decades-old government secret buried deep in the Cascade Mountains. With this knowledge, she looks for a guide who knows the terrain like the back of their hand.

After his father's death in a tragic mountain accident, former Navy SEAL Ryder Goodwin no longer guides for the family business. At first, Ryder refuses to help Sarah, but he sees the trouble chasing her and can't stand by while someone brings danger to his small-town mountain community.

Ryder and Sarah gear up to climb the mountain in a race against time and a looming storm. When the danger escalates, their search for answers shifts to a survival mission. Their only chance to make it through involves trusting each other and confronting the truth no one wants them to find.

This gripping romantic-suspense thriller set in the Pacific Northwest from USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard is a series opener that will sweep you away in a rush of adrenaline.

My Thoughts:

When the Silence Breaks by Elizabeth Goddard is a mixture of a treasure hunt and suspense at the same time. Someone is following the heroine and hero as they are trapsing up the mountainside looking for a longtime missing airplane during World War II. Goddard does a wonderful job at creating characters who are completely different, and readers will have no problem distinguishing between the two. Both characters can play off each other and work well together, especially in the harrowing situations they are thrown into. Readers will also love how detailed the setting is because Goddard uses great description to invite readers into the story and allow them to feel the cold get colder as they move upward on the mountain. As for romance, it is really not there, which I like. There are moments where the heroine and hero wonder if there is something more than what is on the surface, but Goddard did not force a relationship between the two. Overall, When the Silence Breaks by Elizabeth Goddard was a quick and thrilling read in the mountains. I want to read the next book in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of When the Silence Breaks by Elizabeth Goddard from Revell Publishing through JustRead tours, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 

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