This novel tells a complicated and emotional story through engaging, well-written prose. The characters evoke care and sympathy, especially as their histories are revealed and the consequences of past choices become clear to the reader. The complexities of families, social expectations, PTSD, and grief are vividly present without being cloying or melodramatic.

The book suffers from poor marketing on the publisher's part. The synopsis suggests that it is a suspenseful thriller. It was recommended to me on this basis. It is not this. These Silent Woods is an excellent story, well-told and very much worth reading, but it is not frightening, spooky, or a thriller.

The audiobook is excellently narrated by Bronson Pinchot.