Dead Air was the fifth book in the Silence Jones series I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying, and honestly, it might be my new favorite. The pacing and overall “feeling” of this one were better than the others I’ve read. I felt like Silence had more at stake here and had a few human slip-ups compared to typically being more of a machine.
The story itself follows Silence as he investigates some people being kidnapped and held for ransom. All seemingly related to people that work at a world-renowned security company. But the story was much more than that.
We get to see Silence in his interactions with people close to him a few times, and each time I like him more and more. Sure, he’s a relentless assassin, but he’s still human under all of that quiet facade. He mourns and misses people he’s been close to. A few times, he even mentioned trusting his gut (since he usually just goes after facts). So it’s interesting watching someone evolve and start to use more factors in deciding what move to make next (or what the next move of the person he’s after is going to make).
The pacing in Dead Air was excellent. Fast-paced, with many scenes to keep the story moving in the right direction. It had a little bit of that “if it’s not this person, then who?!” throughout, making it one of those stories in that I found myself trying to guess what was going to happen or who was helping this person.
Throw in the excellent performance by Gary Bennett (who, as I think I mention every time) does an incredible job voicing Silence, a character whose voice basically sounds like gravel leaving someone’s throat. He allows Silence to be a real and interesting character while allowing the story’s pacing to move at the speed it needs to.
Overall, I enjoyed the heck out of Dead Air, and to be completely honest, I’ve enjoyed this series immensely. Carter has done an excellent job and has not just kept my attention but built on the character and situations in each additional book.