In The Cycle of Five, silent nights, author Ashika P skillfully portrays characters who endure incredible challenges in life. It is a story brimming with the essence of family, the vitality of relationships and the despair of betrayal. A seemingly idyllic setting, where family values are strong and where hard work is rewarded with success, money, the comforts of life and happiness. Where cigar smoking is de rigeur and where laughter and frivolity paint a picture of domestic bliss. But the trappings of wealth give rise to a dark undercurrent that soon threatens this family idyll. Before long the joy of life turns sinister, where a living hell replaces laughter and love, and where the sordid underbelly of life overwhelms and threatens to totally crush the loving home so carefully and conscientiously nurtured by Jody, the kindly matriarch This change of fortunes, accelerated by uncontrolled infatuation and infidelity, results in a gripping, suspenseful drama where endurance and sacrifice is the only way forward. The bouquets of false hopes, the cover-ups and the almost pathological denial of wrong doing is heartbreakingly tempered by Jody's undying hope and love. The Cycle of Five, silent nights pulls no punches, and despite the incredibly pain and challenges faced and endured, a slender thread of hope, fragile yet powerful, is what sustains the family and captivates the reader.