Going into Before the Storm, the fourth book in the Silence Jones series. I have a pretty good knowledge and understanding of who Silence is and how he will act. But without completely throwing the formula on its head, Carter could subtly change some things to keep me on my toes, without overall changing Silence or the things that make him tick.
I think the scenes where he’s internally talking about how the establishment he works for is messing with him really re-humanized him to me again. He’s sort of the nameless assassin in the Hitman games, where it doesn’t matter who he is at times. But, Carter did a good job making sure that I remembered his backstory and his causes for doing and acting the way he does.
The story itself was great. I think Carter is really hitting his stride now. The Silence scenes are short and to the point, much like the character. And the interactions with the different people, especially the one(s) he’s out to protect, are priceless and well thought out.
Overall, I thought Before the Storm was the best entry in this series. Now that I know Silence, the reminders of his humanity and the character flaws he still has really made me love this story even more. Tied in with the “whodunit” aspect of the story made me really enjoy this one.