The Quality of Silence

The gripping, moving story of a mother and daughter's quest to uncover a dark secret in the Alaskan wilderness, from the New York Times bestselling author of Sister and Afterwards.

Thrillingly suspenseful and atmospheric, The Quality of Silence is the story of Yasmin, a beautiful astrophysicist, and her precocious deaf daughter, Ruby, who arrive in a remote part of Alaska to be told that Ruby's father, Matt, has been the victim of a catastrophic accident. Unable to accept his death as truth, Yasmin and Ruby set out into the hostile winter of the Alaskan tundra in search of answers. But as a storm closes in, Yasmin realizes that a very human danger may be keeping pace with them. And with no one else on the road to help, they must keep moving, alone and terrified, through an endless Alaskan night.

Genre: Mystery

"Like a breath of icy air, this relentlessly tense thriller is also a child's-eye family drama like none other. Not since Smilla’s Sense of Snow have I shivered like this." - Emma Donoghue

"With The Quality of Silence, Rosamund Lupton brings her sophisticated brand of suspense to a setting that might have attracted Jack London: the remote frontier of northern Alaska. An elegant, chilling read from a writer who continues to stretch the bounds of suspense." - William Landay

"I loved The Quality of Silence. It was scary, suspenseful and so exquisitely, evocatively written I often found myself shivering as if I were there in Alaska with Ruby and her mother. It was everything you want in a wonderful novel." - Liane Moriarty

"A taut psychological thriller ... The Quality of Silence will have your heart thumping. Lupton’s masterful pacing, riveting plotting, and keen understanding of grief make her a winning rival of Tana French and Val McDermid. Absolutely gripping." - Louise Penny