“The Weight of Silence” by Heather Gudenkauf

The story of five-year-old Calli, a selective mute who does not speak, becomes more suspenseful when she and her best friend, Petra go missing, and when several people are suspected, tensions build and threaten to explode. As the story progresses, details of the past and present are revealed by various narrators including Calli’s mother, Antonia, her brother, Ben, Deputy Sheriff Louis, Petra’s father, Martin, and even Petra and Calli themselves, so that although I figured out the “whodunit” long before the final chapter, it was still an intriguing read. 3 Stars

“Miss Benson’s Beetle: An uplifting story of female friendship against the odds” by Rachel Joyce

Remembering how much I liked Rachel Joyce’s other book, “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”, I thought I would try this one, and although I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much, it was an enjoyable, albeit implausible, taleof a spinster who snaps and enlists a quirky weirdo with a questionable past to join her in an expedition to a remote location in search of a golden beetle that has been rumored, but never scientifically validated. The quirky and bizarre story of how Marge and Enid eventually discover true friendship, and how each one changes and pursues her own dreams, is involved and unbelievable, but diverting nonetheless. 3 Stars