The Silence

British author Allot’s solid if gloomy debut touches on domestic violence and a shameful piece of Australian history. In 1997 London, Isla Green receives a phone call from Australia from her alcoholic father, Joe, who tells her he’s the prime suspect in the possible murder of Mandy Mallory, who vanished from their Sydney neighborhood 30 years earlier. Isla believes her father when he says he’s innocent, and decides to visit Sydney to uncover the truth. Flashbacks to 1967 reveal that Mandy is unhappily married to Steve, a disturbed cop who must forcibly remove Aboriginal children from their families. Meanwhile, Joe’s wife, Louisa, distressed by his drinking, leaves him and returns home to England with Isla, then a small child. Joe and Mandy’s marital woes bring them together, and they begin an affair. Back in 1997, Isla pieces together cloudy childhood memories with shocking secrets from her parents in her effort to clear Joe’s name. Allot does a good job building tension, but what happened to Mandy will surprise few readers. This one’s for mystery fans who prefer in-depth character studies to action-driven plots. Agent: Nicola Barr, Bent Agency (U.K.). (May)