Abigail Padgett

This is one of the strangest books I've ever read. I'm not even sure I liked it but it sure was intriguing. Blue McCarron is a social psychologist. She's also a mess. She's isolated herself in the desert and is dragged into a 5 year old murder. The writing of this story is complicated and often gets in the way but nearly as often is really interesting.

Bo Bradley works for Child Protective Services in San Diego, she also is manic-depressive and with medication and psychotherapy she is able to lead an almost normal life. A Mayan baby is poisoned and he becomes one of Bo’s cases. She searches for the mother and hopes to reunite them, but before she can the mother is murdered.

Interesting characters all well-defined and interconnected each contributing to solving the overall mystery. Enjoyable and informative read.

What is mental illness? What is manic-depressive or bi-polar is it an inescapable death sentence to living, working, having friends? These are questions explored in this story of the death of a child by rape.
Social worker Bo Bradley is trying to do the best for the child left behind, living in fear and grief, while satisfying a bureaucracy with its rules and preconceptions.

First in the Bo Bradley mystery series, CHILD OF SILENCE introduces a sleuth whose big heart and quirky wit help her deal with both an impossible job and a psychiatric disorder.

Abigail Padgett introduces the reader to schizophrenia and how it can be treated and managed. She spins her tale so skillfully that you realize that there are many more dangerous things in the world than a managed psychiatric condition.