After the loss of her husband under mysterious circumstances, former detective Cam Ambrose learns how little she truly knew him. Reeling with the grief of her loss and the realization that the man she loved was a stranger, she must learn how to keep her young daughter safe from a world of the supernatural she never knew existed. With the help of her best friend Dimi and reclusive neighbor Eric Morgan, she sets out to solve a decades-old mystery entangling the machinations of an obsessed killer, her husband's mistress, and a series of deadly hauntings.
About the Author :
Laurel Hightower grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, and after forays to California and Tennessee, has returned home to horse country. She’s a fan of true life ghost stories, horror movies, and good bourbon. She is the author of Whispers In The Dark, Crossroads, and Below, and has more than a dozen short story credits to her name, including publications through Burial Day Press, Cemetery Gates, Brigid’s Gate, Dead Sea Press, Brian Keene’s Patreon, and the forthcoming anthology Human Monsters from the newly formed Dark Hart Books. Crossroads was the recipient of an Independent Audiobook Award in 2020 in the category of Best Horror, as well as the This is Horror Best Novella Award for 2020. She has also co-edited three anthologies: We Are Wolves, a charity anthology released in 2020 by Burial Day Press, The Dead Inside, an anthology of identity horror released in 2022 by Dark Dispatch, and Shattered & Splintered, a charity anthology released in 2022 to benefit the Glen Haven Area Volunteer Fire Department, who saved the historic Stanley Hotel from wildfires in 2020.
Review :
'Silent Key is one hell of a read. In this masterful melding of multiple genres, Hightower weaves mystery and espionage into a stellar twist on the ghost story. This book deserves to make it into every airport bookshop and supermarket spinner rack. Laurel Hightower is one to watch!'
"Silent Key is a great mash-up of different genres, full of well-drawn characters, dropped into a fast-moving plot with some thrills and spills and a fair dose of frights ranging from feelings of dread and unease to full blown jump scares. You have been warned."
"Silent Key, being primarily a horror and supernatural story, has sturdy elements of a police detective and crime story and even some elements of historical espionage, which work wonderfully together. On top of that, reading it was almost like watching a film in book form."
"A great ghost tale [with] aspects of a thriller and crime story."
"Laurel Hightower remains consistent in her ability to really weave horror in with motherhood, grief, and humanity, creating compelling characters facing supernatural threats with a particular kind of strength."
"A chilling ghost story."
"Part police procedural, part mystery, and part paranormal horror, this book is sure to hook readers right from the start, pulling them deeper and deeper as things progress. Readers that enjoy tales that slowly unravel while the action picks up are going to love this."
"Hightower’s skill at portraying strong female heroines who don’t give up without a fight is on full display here. Fans who have enjoyed Hightower’s previous books will enjoy this one."
"Thoroughly absorbing. This is not just a supernatural tale – there is mystery combined with thriller and horror elements. If, like me, you delight in a compellingly gripping ghost story, you will not want to miss this one!"
"A highly readable and enjoyable horror novel which was dreamed up by an incredibly fertile imagination."
"‘Silent Key’ features a melding of several genres that Laurel Hightower wields deftly and confidently, ultimately giving us readers one of the more solid ‘paranormal-mystery-thrillers’ I’ve read in some time."
"An outstanding genre-bender." / one of Tony Jones' top horror novels of 2023
