Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline

All Jake wants is to reconnect with his son, Ryan. Given all his absences because of having to build his business from scratch, he feels now is the time, before Ryan leaves for college. So when he agrees to pick up Ryan after a movie and Ryan begs to drive home even though it is beyond the legal time for him to be doing so, all Jake can do is agree to it. Little does he suspect that this decision will be the worst he’s ever made. What happens next leads to the need for both to lie, and of course one lie begets the next and the next…

This is every parent’s nightmare scenario, one in which we are responsible for a horrific outcome and all we want to do is protect our child, no matter the consequences to us. We see the tragic outcome of Jake trying to be a friend instead of a parent, a mistake we all make at one time or another. Most of us have been fortunate that the consequences were not fatal, but not everyone is as lucky.

On the whole, this novel was taut, suspenseful, and completely unnerving. As a parent reading this, it was difficult, to say the least.

Getting more into the weeds of the writing, however, I have to say that I found it somewhat repetitive, almost perseverative (which might have been intentional, as the circumstances would warrant a repeated self-flagellation). The plot was intricate and twisting and certainly kept one’s attention – it was literally an accident that one could not look away from – but the entire book was plot-driven. The characters were flat, superficial. We learned some insight into Jake’s character, but his son and his wife were merely cardboard figures created to facilitate the plot.

That said, if you’re looking for suspense, twists and a riveting page-turner, this fits the bill. And perhaps many of us could benefit from reading this – it is truly a cautionary tale!