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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/48367
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

I'm proofreading a novel - the brief has instructed that I do not make any stylistic changes, and correct only the obvious errors that impede sense/clarity.

There are several places where I feel an exclamation mark is missing:

a) "Good God, I hope not," responded Sue.

b) Suddenly, one of the first violinists nudged her companion, and hissed: "Oh good grief, look over there."

My feeling is that these are classic examples of exclamatory sentences (Good God! Good grief!) and so it is a basic error to miss the exclamation mark. However, I don't want to interfere with the writer's style if they intend a more laconic tone of voice. I don't think this is the case in (b) at least, due to the use of the word 'hissed', but perhaps I should leave the first example alone, as I don't know for sure what tone of voice isn't intended?

Any advice from experienced proofreaders would be much appreciated - should I concern myself with punctuation to this extent, or leave it alone if the sentence can be understood clearly?

Original score: 1