Dead Silence

This is a book I was excited about due to the hype around it. A haunted house in space? Sounds good!

The background of the main character was interesting to learn about, especially in relationship to the main situation she found herself in, but I think there could have been more exploration of the psychology of the initial experience. The setup and worldbuilding were strong, and the ship they found was a very interesting construct and setting for the main plot.

The structure of the book was used effectively to create intrigue, and I think the plot is the highlight of the book. It occurs in essentially two acts, so it does build the tension effectively. The climax of the book was exciting with several twists and a clever resolution.

The characters were kind of predictable and while the other crew members were somewhat three-dimensional, they were a rather standard array of personalities. The investigators, however were not very deep and were very cliché, as were all the other supporting characters.

I'm not sure how I feel about the romantic element of the book. One the one hand, it is interesting to hear it from a woman's POV, and it isn't unrealistic for there to be feelings between co-workers which provide conflicting thoughts, so I did enjoy that aspect of it. On the other hand, it just felt mildly clumsy and not at all necessary. It isn't that it felt false, so like I said, I'm unsure how I feel about it.

Overall I did enjoy it and it was only on reflection for this review that I was able to find things to nitpick. It was a pretty quick read that I looked forward to getting back to whenever I could.