| First edition | |
| Author | Becca Fitzpatrick |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | James Porto (photographer) Lucy Ruth Cummins (design) |
| Language | English |
| Series | Hush, Hush series |
| Genre | Paranormal Romance, Thriller, Young Adult, Fantasy |
| Published | 2011 (Simon & Schuster) |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | October 4, 2011 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 440 |
| ISBN | 9781442426641 |
| Preceded by | Crescendo (2010) |
| Followed by | Finale (2012) |
Silence is a 2011 young adult fantasy novel written by Becca Fitzpatrick. It is the third book in the New York Times bestselling Hush Hush Saga. [1] It focuses on the protagonist, Nora Grey, whose memories have been erased.
Four days after Nora is kidnapped by her biological father Hank Millar, Patch and Hank meet in a graveyard to make a deal. Patch agrees to spy on the fallen angels, and Hank agrees that after he releases Nora, Hank will wipe all of Nora's memories of Patch and stay away from her.
Nora wakes up in a cemetery next to her father's grave. She has no memory of how she got there, and Detective Basso finds her and takes her to the hospital, where she is allowed to go home with her mother after some medical testing. Nora soon realizes her memory loss spans further back than her kidnapping. She also learns that her mother is now dating Hank Millar, Marcie's father. One day, when dining out with her mother and Hank, Marcie drags Nora to the bathroom and starts telling her about Patch, a mutual friend of theirs. Marcie asks her for a necklace Patch gave to Nora. Nora is confused, as she has no memories of Patch. When riding home, she stops at the wrong place and sees three fallen angels (Gabe, Dominic and Jeremiah) trying to get a nephil to swear fealty. She only escapes the encounter because a stranger named Jev rescues her, who Nora finds very familiar. She accidentally touches Jev's wing scars and sees his memory of an archangel trapped by Hank.
Later, as Nora is visiting a warehouse she believes is owned by the Black Hand, she stumbles upon the factory that is housing Hank's Nephilim recruits and barely esapes, Jev saving her yet again. This time, Jev tells her the truth and Nora realizes Jev is Patch, but since she doesn't remember their relationship, she still needs time to figure out her feelings towards him.
When Nora hears that her mother is injured and in the hospital, Hank mind tricks her into going to the hospital with him. On the way, they are attacked by three men, and Nora hears Hank swearing something about fallen angels. She is thrown from the car and sees Hank bloodied briely between unconscious bouts. She is soon released from the hosptial and sees that Hank is unscathed. Some time later, Nora sees the fallen angel that attacked her while in the car with Hank. Patch shows up and they discover that it is really a nephil. Soon after Patch leaves, Nora gets a call from Scott asking for help. She goes to his rescue, and he kisses her as a thank you. He also throws his enchanted black hand ring into the ocean at her request. They both get captured by the Black Hand. Then, Hank explains his plan to Nora. During the car accident, he gave her a blood transfusion so that her blood would be pure nephil. She swears an oath to take Hank's place in leading the Nephilim army against the fallen angels if he dies. Hank swears to leave town and never return.
When Nora goes to meet Patch in his apartment, he shows Nora his memories about how he rescued the trapped archangel and made a deal to kill Hank. Patch reveals that Hank is tied up in a secret place. Nora meets him again, and shoots him after he burns one of Patch's feathers, which would send him to hell. Patch and Nora are now free to live together as immortals forever. However, Scott shows up with two Black Hand guards informing her that there is a war coming. Nora has to decide whether she is going to lead the nephil against the fallen angels or the archangels, and that is where the story ends.
In an interview with The Guardian, Fitzpatrick mentions that Silence was originally called Tempest. [2] Silence was also originally meant to be the final book of the series, but Fitzpatrick wanted to write a book set during Cheshvan, and wanted to please fans who were asking for a fourth book. [3]
Silence was a nominee for Reader's Favorite Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2011) on Goodreads [4] and a nominee for Reader's Favorite Goodreads author (2011). [5]