The prologue was intense. It foretold of something terrible happening – something that would have really ruined the books for me, to be honest. So I wasn’t sure how to feel about reading on. I was more than a little apprehensive.

There were a lot of major character-related revelations that shocked me. I can’t say who or what or I’ll spoil it, but I was – for the most part – pleased with the things we learn in Dead Silence. Derting shows us a different side to many of the characters and we also get to learn more about characters that might not have been front and center in previous books.

Violet learns a lot about her ability in Dead Silence, and we get to know more about Violet’s grandmother, who also had the ability to sense echoes. This was a nice glimpse into the past, and we learn some fascinating – yet creepy – things about the ability.

The “killer” in Dead Silence was a little more complex than in some of the other books. I guess the best way to describe the killer is by comparing the killer to the one in The Last Echo, as far as their motives, inner thoughts, and family life. I felt sad for this killer, sympathetic. And then, as with the killer in The Last Echo, I felt dirty and slimy for sympathizing with a killer. I definitely feel Derting does an incredible job with these little sections of the books. Getting a glimpse inside the killer’s head really makes you think.

I’ve been up and down with how I feel about Jay throughout this entire series. And I feel really bad about this, but I just don’t like him. He was better in The Last Echo, kinder and less possessive. And he gave Violet the chance to explain and tell her side of the story. But in Dead Silence, he was back to being this angry, jealous, over-protective… butt-head. And as if Jay’s attitude wasn’t bad enough, Violet takes the things he says as gospel – like she was completely in the wrong and needs to beg for forgiveness. It almost felt like an abusive relationship. Personally, I’m still Team Rafe.

The ending was… interesting. Honestly, this is the part where I feel the most conflicted. On the one hand, the ending felt incomplete, like there were a lot of loose ends to tie up. And on the other hand, everything really was wrapped up nicely. Kimberly Derting actually did a blog post explaining why the book ended the way it did. FAIR WARNING: That post contains MASSIVE spoilers, so don’t read it unless you’ve read the entire series.

After reading the post, I honestly felt more confused. I finished the book, and right away I thought, “Man, that ending was NOT satisfying and it left a lot of loose ends.” And then I read the blog post and was like, “Oh… Well, when Kimberly Derting puts it that way, everything really WAS tied up nicely.”