Synopsis "Strangled Silence"
Are you being watched? Before she turns twenty-one, Amina Mir intends to have one of her stories published on the front page of the Chronicle. So when she gets an internship there, she's thrilled, even if it means a summer making coffee and writing human-interest stories. Then she interviews Ivor McMorris. A veteran of the war in Sinnostan, Ivor is convinced that someone interfered with his memories while he was there-but if he does anything about it, the watchers will make him disappear. At first, Amina is skeptical. As the daughter of a major in the Royal Marines, she knows that veterans often suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. But when she meets Chi Sandwith, a conspiracy investigator who has spoken to dozens of soldiers like Ivor, Amina realizes that she may have stumbled upon the biggest and most terrifying government cover-up ever. Now if only she can break the story before disappearing herself. "Direct and energetic, and it might also wake up the political sensibilities we're always bemoaning twenty-first century adolescents have forgotten all about. Recommended." -The Bookbag "A sinister, shadowy world of conspiracy theorists, political double-dealing and media distortion. McGann, in his most accomplished young adult novel to date, handles all of these (and more) with an excellent pace and occasional flashes of ironic humour. The result is an impressive and highly intelligent political thriller." -The Irish Times "From page one it fires off the starting line and races along at an exciting pace, while the unusual and complex plot will keep readers intrigued . . . A slick and well-paced thriller that older readers should engage with and enjoy." -Inis magazine "Now and again you read a book that makes you sit back and seriously consider the world we live in. Strangled Silence, by Irish author Oisín McGann, is such a book. . . . He is to be commended for this exciting, worldly read. I look forward to seeing what he does next." -The Independent "Fans of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother (2008) will appreciate the Orwellian themes and lightning-swift pacing. . . . Readers will be swept into the story." -Booklist Oisín McGann was born and raised in Dublin and Drogheda, County Louth, in Ireland. He studied art at Senior College Ballyfermot and Dún Laoghaire School of Art, Design & Technology. Before becoming an author, he worked as a freelance illustrator, serving time along the way as a pizza chef, security guard, background artist for an animation company, and art director and copywriter in an advertising agency. In 2003 McGann published his first two books in the Mad Grandad series for young readers, followed by his first young adult novel, The Gods and Their Machines. Since then, he has written several more novels for young adults, including the Wildenstern Saga, a steampunk series set in nineteenth-century Ireland, and the thrillers Strangled Silence and Rat Runners. A full-time writer and illustrator, McGann is married, has three children, and lives somewhere in the Irish countryside.
