A Silence of Mockingbirds

Investigative journalist and author Karen Spears Zacharias never anticipated that she would become one of the characters involved in a high-profile murder. But when she reconnects with a young woman named Sarah, who lived in the Zacharias' home at one time and was treated like family, Karen discovers that something unspeakable has happened to Sarah's daughter, Karly. Compelled to consider her own culpability in this tragic case, Karen pieces together what happened to Karly through court documents, investigators' interviews, and interviews with friends, family, law enforcement officials, and key witnesses. As the terrible story unfolds, the hard question emerges for everyone involved, indeed all of us: Why was no cry raised to protect Karly?


Author Karen Spears Zacharias has been featured on Huffington Post, Good Morning America, and CNN. Her commentary has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and on NPR. Karen blogs at Patheos.com and teaches journalism at Central Washington University. Karen wrote this book while serving as writer-in-residence at the Fairhope Center for the Writing Arts, Fairhope, Alabama. She divides her time between the Columbia River in Oregon and Mobile Bay in Alabama.


Once a mockingbird stakes out its territory, it will defend that territory against all intruders, including animals much larger than itself. The size or type of opponent does not seem to matter, but the bird is not always successful in driving away the intruder.