Broken Silence

In my opinion...

Today I'm enjoying a break away from psychological thrillers to police procedural- & even better once I saw that the author lived in Bradford, where I spent my school years, I was really looking forward to this novel, hoping for Northern grit and telling it how it is!

I was not disappointed, and raced through it- the locations are accurate, although sometimes the descriptions, particularly of my beloved Salts' Mill, were verging on being a bit of a guided tour- I guess the author just loves there as much as I do, and couldn't resist adding a bit of extra colour. In fact maybe the author knows me, as all the major ( gruesome) locations had personal connections!

The story hooked me from the start, though I was surprised by the changed point of view from starting the story with Felicity to Nikki, who is then the DS in charge of the case. Having said that, Nikki is a character that I liked a great deal, along with her sidekick Saj. They made a good team, and I think a lot of the humour would work well in a tv series. The language used was not too 'West Yorkshired' just the occasional 'summat' and 'owt' - for which I was grateful!

The novel moves at great pace, with build up and twists, the themes being covered are ones I feel very strongly about, but they were dealt with sympathetically. At times the cross over between Nikki & Stefan's stories is confusing, and the lack of chapters although keeping it at a breathless speed, meant I had to keep revisiting the previous page to check who I was now with- but that may also be due to formatting on the kindle.

The main reason I haven't given it 5 glasses is because the end just seems to rush and try and rapidly tie up too many loose ends whilst making many final points- but overall this was a novel I did enjoy.

Want to know more?

When DS Felicity Springer is reported missing after a police training conference, the countdown to find her begins…

On her way home after an exhausting weekend, with colleagues she can’t wait to escape, Felicity notices something odd about the white van in front of her. A hand has punched through the car’s rear light and is frantically waving, trying to catch her attention.

Desperate to help, Felicity dials 999 and calls it in. But whilst on the phone, she loses control of the car on the icy road, crashing straight into the vehicle ahead.

Pinned in the seat and unable to move, Felicity feels a sudden whoosh of cold air across her face. Someone has opened the passenger door… and they have a gun.

With Felicity missing and no knowledge of whether she is dead or alive, DS Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malik race to find their friend and colleague.

But Felicity was harbouring a terrible secret, and with her life now hanging in the balance, Nikki can only hope that someone will come forward and break the silence…

My rating...

A great big bubbly four glasses.

Thank you NetGalley & HQDigit al for my ARC