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Mute Witness

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3.84  ·  Rating details ·  160 ratings  ·  60 reviews
Sean and Austin have the perfect life. Their new relationship is only made more joyous by weekend visits from Sean’s eight-year-old son, Jason.

And then their perfect world shatters.

Jason is missing.

When the boy turns up days later, he has been abused and has lost the power to speak. Small town minds turn to the boy’s gay father and his lover as the likely culprits. Sean an
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Published November 9th 2020 by NineStar Press (first published 2009)
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Average rating 3.84  · 
Rating details
 ·  160 ratings  ·  60 reviews


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LenaRibka

3,5 stars. Rounded up to 4 stars.

It is not an easy book to read, and not an easy book to review. I knew when I picked it up that it deals with a heavy topic – just read the blurb!

Sean and Shelley, the parents of eight-year-old Jason, are divorced and each of them has a new life with a new partner. They both love their son above all things. When Jason suddenly disappears, their world falls apart. A few days later he turns up, but something really terrible happened to him: the kid is severely abus
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Sue
Jan 24, 2016 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: net-galley
Subject such as this in reading material take a certain kind of author to relate things in writing to they're audience, the reader. And I feel this author selected the right balance.

The is not just about a missing child.
This is also about a gay couple that live in the same village as the missing child and one of those partners is the child's Father.
Sean is his partner.

We all know how most villages are said to be, gossipy little places.
But then, most people gossip they just don't admit to it.

Whe
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Al
Jan 31, 2016 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Too much . Too much obvious. Reminded me of going to the school playground to collect my friends kid, and automatically standing aside from the parents. Now is that me or them ?
I realise that probably makes no sense.
Linda Strong
Mar 02, 2021 rated it really liked it
WARNING: This is an extremely hard book to read. The author has handled the issues here in a very responsible way ... but the emotional upheaval remains high from start to finish.

Eight-year-old Jason has gone missing. His father, along with his partner, only have weekend custody ... the rest of the time he spends with his mother and stepfather.

After a few heart-breaking painful days of not knowing where he was, the boy miraculously turns up. He's been abused and lost the ability to speak.

The pr
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Betryal
Nov 14, 2009 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Damn... I really am unsure how to review this book or what to say about it. Gut wrenching? Suspense to the max? Horrific? Appalling? Too many words and descripts come to mind at the moment. But all are said in good taste and respect for this book that Rick has produced. The story culminated a parents worst fears to the realities out there and the profound affect on all the surrounding parties involved.

The indepth points of views from the parents to the child to the police and the public involve
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Jeff Erno
Nov 17, 2009 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: gay-fiction
Being a big fan of horror author Rick Reed, I was a bit surprised when I read his book Mute Witness. It was quite different than anything I’d have expected. The story dealt with a topic which is most disturbing, and at times I found it difficult to even continue reading. Eight-year old Jason Dawes is the victim of child sexual abuse. He suddenly comes up missing and is later mysteriously dropped off at a hospital emergency room where it is discovered that he’s been raped. The boy is so traumatiz ...more
Ruth Sims
Nov 18, 2011 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
I dislike the star system of rating because it's so limiting. This book is an example of its shortcomings. It's definitely more than a "4" but a tad less than a "5" and they don't have a "4 1/2"

Rick Reed has written so many books I haven’t even scratched the considerable surface of his output, but I do know that he is one of the best and most prolific of mystery/suspense/horror writers. Many of his titles deal with bloody death and are appropriately hair-raising. I think Mute Witness, because it
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Heather
While the premise of this book was promising and the characters were pretty well developed, I didn’t like it as much as I had hoped I would. This is mainly because I felt the ending was far too abrupt and left me with quite a few unanswered questions. Like did Jason ever talk to his mother and father about what happened? Did Shelley finally stand up to Estelle and tell her to fuck off? Did custody arrangements between Sean and Shelley change so Sean could spend more time with his son? Did everyo ...more
Alex
Oct 30, 2010 rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: queer, fiction
Overall
I was under the impression that this book was a romance, which it really isn't as the romantic elements take a back seat to a lot of other dramas and the traditional story of a romance (two people struggling to be together) is lacking, although there is discord among the couples. That aside, I think some people may be able to (and obviously have) enjoy this book more than me. While the writing was good and the story itself was rather interesting, I never became attached to most of the cha
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Wende
Jun 06, 2020 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Hard

I didn't know how to rate this book. It was hard to read but so compelling I could not stop reading. I tried a few times but the book drew me back to it. The author handled a difficult content of this book very well. I cried and admit was sick to my stomach in places. Jason was a child that went through a horrendous crime against him and the author didn't sugar coat it. The pain ripped his family apart and the perpetrator made you want to vomit. I went from hating his mother to understanding
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Joyfully Jay
Feb 15, 2016 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: wendy
A Joyfully Jay review.

4.5 stars


This is not a romance…repeat, this is NOT a romance. This story may feature a gay couple, but it is not a romance story. It contains subject matter that some readers may have issues with. These include child molestation, child abuse, and kidnapping.

Sean and Austin are the perfect couple. Though Sean is older than Austin, Austin is his perfect mate. They share the same interests, the same sense of humor, and a satisfying sex life. When they both take the day off of
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Jen Pinto
Apr 06, 2011 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
KimberlyRose
Oct 30, 2013 rated it did not like it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: abandoned
Damn. I really wanted this to be a solid, emotional, thought-provoking book... but it wasn't.

The story had a lot of important messages and several well-written scenes... But...

First, it was bogged down in too many POVs, losing my interest in all of them and making it impossible to be transported into the story's world. And second--oh my god--way too many annoyingly small-minded, hateful people. Homophobia? Check. Perpetuation of negative stereotypes? Check. Prejudice against mental disorders an
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FantasyLiving
4.5 Hearts

This story was intense, dark, and horribly confronting. There is nothing fluffy or dismissive about it.

Sean and Austin live in a small town of 12,000 or so people, and have weekend visitation with Sean’s son, Jason. A frightened midnight call from Shelley, Sean’s ex-wife, reveals that Jason has gone missing, and Sean’s life starts to crumble around him.

When Jason is found, suspicions and suggested whispers start to stir around town, starting with Shelley’s Homophobic mother. Jason has
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Cindi
Nov 09, 2011 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
This is one of the most difficult books I've ever read. If you've read the blurb, you are aware of what the book is about. Rick R. Reed has never been one to shy away from real issues in his stories and Mute Witness is no exception. This is one of those books where you want to walk away because of fear of what will happen next but you know you can't. You have to keep reading to see how everything is resolved.

Another outstanding book by Rick R. Reed.



Full review can be found at On Top Down Under
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CrabbyPatty
Wow. Every page of this book, my stomach was in knots. There is an unbelievable tension throughout as the story progresses, as each POV is brought into the narrative, as the story builds and finally comes to its conclusion.

It's an indication of Rick Reed's stellar writing skills that as I read the POV of the person who abused Jason, I felt sorrow for the perpetrator because of what happened when the perpetrator was a child. And Sean ..... god, that man suffered. A stunning book.

I received a rev
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Shirley
Nov 11, 2020 rated it really liked it
4-4.5 stars

I’ve mentioned before that this author’s mystery, suspense, horror offerings are my preference when it comes to his writing. I’m still not sure what that says about either him or me… The fact that I love the way that he gets into the minds of these truly sick individuals or the fact that he does such a good job of it. Regardless, I’ve added Mute Witness to a list of my favorites by Rick R. Reed.

Mute Witness was originally published in 2009, like a lot of his other 2020 re-releases.
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Stacey Jo
This was a very powerful book that evoked a lot of emotion. It's worthy of way more than the 5 stars allowed and gets placed squarely on my favorites shelf. I found it hard to not pace while I was reading because so often I was so angry at the characters. But this is a good thing. There is nothing better than a book that gets you so engaged that you feel that you need to get up and move around.

Sean and Austin are in a fairly new relationship together. They are fixing up their home and enjoying
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Eed99
Jan 24, 2013 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
This book is a pretty intense and at times disturbing suspense story. I found it an enjoyable, but emotionally difficult read.

One major warning-there are some fairly graphic descriptions of child sexual abuse-the story goes out of its way to show just how devastating sexual abuse is, but the book does not shy away from the subject.

I think this book's focus if very much centered on how the parents react to their son's disappearance and rape. I think Reed really nails the parents reactions-especia
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Curtis
Sean Dawes is grateful for everything he has in his life. He has a loving partner, Austin, and an incredible son, Jason. Even though things are still a bit fraught at times between Sean and his ex-wife, it's nothing that stands in the way of his relationship with Jason. But when Jason goes missing, the tensions are quickly raised by his wife's family. And when Jason is later found, what has happened to him throws everyone's world off course. Suspicions run high in a small town of people who are ...more
Kathy
Oct 24, 2009 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Mute Witness was an amazing book that I could not put down: intense is a very mild way to put it!
This is very much a character-driven story; in many ways I felt as though this is Sean's story. While Jason is very much a focus of the book, it's Sean whose life we get really tied up into. There were so many times that I was on the verge of tears, then full-out crying. The title, Mute Witness, has more than one meaning. There are definitely underlying currents, but mostly this is a story that will
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Diverse
Feb 18, 2016 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
This was a very hard read for me. Not because it was bad but the subject matter was something out my nightmares. As a mother one of my biggest fears is someone taking my child and having what happened to Jason, happen to them. Rick really tore into my heart with this story and not only did the characters not come out unscathed, the readers don't either.

This topic isn't an easy task to take on yet Rick did. He did it amazingly well. It's written in multiple POV's one being the actually kidnapper
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Chloe
Jan 26, 2016 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Let me start by saying this is not an easy book to read . It deals with the tough subject of pedephile and it's a parent's worst nightmare come true . This was my first time reading a book by this author and couldn't put the book down. You want to get to the end to see if the there is a happy ending but are left to guess as it's not an easy road ahead . Rick makes you feel the parents pain and misery .

It's very rare that you find books that actually have a fathers view point presented so emotio
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jules0623
Well written, roller-coaster of a ride. Suspenseful (even though the reader knows who the villain is from very early on) and a bit draining. The characters are believably flawed.

It's a little bit too crammed full of trauma, though, and that made it feel a little like bashing my head against the wall (it felt so good when I stopped). I couldn't put it down because the writing was fantastic and I really needed to know how it ended, but, even as a parent who has nightmares about some of these very
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Bookbee
A horrifyingly good book that was utterly disturbing and yet I couldn't put it down. This book deals with such a hot-button theme - child sexual abuse - which was extremely difficult to read. The perpetrator is identified to the reader early on and, IMHO, that just makes what happens even more horrible...because WE know things the characters don't.

The saving grace, and what made this book readable for me, was the all-consuming and deep love that Sean and Shelley have for their child.
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Teresa
Jan 16, 2010 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
I just finished this book. It was incredible; love, suspense, drama, and family. What more could you want. It has the ultimate parents nightmare- Their child is missing. What do you do? Where d you look? Even after you find them, it is not over yet! This is one thriller you don't want to miss.

Teresa
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Marsha Spence
For me, I couldn't finish it. I read the first 7 chapters and then had to stop. Went on to something else. Then decided I need to find out at least how it ended so I read the last 5 chapters backwards. I'm glad I did so I know how it ended. What I did read (Ch 1-7) was heart wrenching, appalling, terrifying. ...more
Craig Allen
Jan 01, 2010 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
I loved it....4.5 stars. Some of it was very graphic and disturbing, but, for me, that just added to the story and made the villain that much more devilish. There's a scene in the book I loved that I can't talk about without spoiling it, but it involved bugs is all I'll say :)
Great book!
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Amy Dufera - Amy's MM Romance Reviews
4.5 Stars

Rick R Reed once again takes the reader on one hell of a journey, this time in Mute Witness.

This is not for the faint of heart. It's a horrific tale of Sean's eight year old son Jason being beaten and raped, and the complex aftermath. Once you've come to terms with what Jason endured, then you have to deal with the rampant homophobia and accusations towards Sean. All while the abuser still is close by, still a threat.

This is one of those books where I just wanted to cry, then scream,
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Linda
Nov 08, 2020 rated it really liked it
Page-turner suspense as evil haunts small-town Pennsylvania👍👍

4-4.5🌟.
I really enjoyed this story despite its difficult child molestation, homophobia and violence against women subject matter. It's suspenseful and fast-moving, and based in reality with an exception or two. I am a real fan of author Rick R. Reed who can combine the horror of true evil with a really good plot.

I was a bit confused by Sean and partner Austin's whereabouts on the night Sean's eight year-old son Jason disappears. Their
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Real Men. True Love.

Rick R. Reed draws inspiration from the lives of gay men to craft stories that quicken the heartbeat, engage emotions, and keep the pages turning. Although he dabbles in horror, dark suspense, and comedy, his attention always returns to the power of love. He’s the award-winning and bestselling author of more than fifty works of published fiction and is forever at work on yet an
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