Heather Gudenkauf, The Weight of Silence

In Willow Creek, Iowa, Griff Clark has gone fishing when his wife Antonia awakens from her sleep to find their seven years old daughter Calli gone. She is worried because this is not normal for her child who has been mute for three years after a run in with her abusive father.

Checking with the neighbors, Antonia learns that Calli's best friend Petra Gregory is also not home. Distraught, Antonia turns to her long term friend, Deputy Sheriff Loras Louis to learn what has happened to her daughter. He arranges a manhunt even as he hides how much he loves Antonia from her.

Although it takes a minor adjustment, as the perspective rotates between five key players, this is a tense dark family drama that hooks the audience from the moment Antonia wakes up to the worst that could happen to her; much more so than the beatings from her abusive spouse. The realistic story line is fast-paced even with the rotating viewpoints, but never lightens up; so is not for everyone as the aptly titled THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE is very heavy as "Silence like a cancer grows" (Simon and Garfunkle's The Sounds of Silence).

Harriet Klausner