Strangled Silence

Gr 10 Up—Originally published in the UK in 2008, McGann's novel sometimes feels dated, but makes for an entertaining pick for mature readers. In her second year at university, Amina Mir lands an internship at the Chronicle. Her mother is a well-known and respected journalist, but Amina intends to make her own way. She expects the internship to start out as making coffee and keeping the copier working. When she is asked to do a human interest story on a veteran who has won the lottery but is not spending any of the money, she is glad just to have received a story assignment. What she does not expect is to find herself in the middle of a huge government conspiracy. Ivor McMorris, the veteran, tries to convince Amina that someone has manipulated his memories of how and why he lost an eye in Sinnostan. Then Chi Sandwith, a conspiracy investigator, gives her even further reason to believe it just might be true. Has Ivor concocted his story of brainwashing or could it really be true? The characters are well developed and believable. Hovering UFOs, a rogue surgeon, and mindwashed schoolchildren are just a few of the pieces that readers will need to put together to figure out what is really going on in this suspenseful tale. Those who are ready to move beyond Gabrielle Lord's "Conspiracy 365" (Kane Miller) series or Anthony Horowitz's Stormbreaker (Philomel, 2001) will enjoy this one.