‘The hall was empty and dark. She felt for the switch on the wall, but another noise caused her to pause. Was it from upstairs? That’s when she heard the whoosh of sound. The flutter of material. Right before she felt the push between her shoulder blades.‘
– Silent Voices
[ About the Book ]
When twenty-five-year old Beth Mullen returns home, expecting to find her twin Rachel waiting for her, the silent house sends a shiver down her spine. She races upstairs to find her beloved sister rigid and cold in her childhood bed, the morning after attending a glittering party…
Detective Lottie Parker knows that Rachel has been murdered the minute she enters the bedroom. Rachel’s freckled face is bruised and broken; a shard of glass placed in her throat. Confronted with such a horrifying killing, Lottie wastes no time in pursuing every clue.
Many of Ragmullin’s most important people were at the party, and Lottie risks angering her boss if she doesn’t tread carefully. Then, a brilliant young doctor is found murdered with glass in her throat. The doctor was nowhere near the party and a horrified Lottie is forced to question everything. Two beautiful young women with the world at their feet have been brutally silenced. Why did the killer need them to die?
Desperate to find proof of what really happened to Rachel that night, Lottie’s search brings her to a vulnerable teenage girl, Maddy, who was waitressing at the party. But just as Lottie is close to uncovering a key piece of evidence, Maddy is seen disappearing into an unmarked car. Will Lottie be able to find the frightened fifteen-year-old or will she too be silenced forever?
[ My Review ]
Silent Voices by Irish bestselling author Patricia Gibney is published February 5th with Bookouture. This is the ninth book in the hugely successful DI Lottie Parker series and, to my shame, it is my first. It is described as ‘an unputdownable crime thriller with an ending that will blow your mind. If you like Lisa Regan, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine you’ll be totally hooked by Silent Voices‘
With a week before her wedding to police colleague Mark Boyd, DI Lottie Parker needs no more distractions in her life. Her daughter Chloe is organising the nuptials with gusto and her other daughter Katie is en-route back from London with Lottie’s grandson. Her sixteen year old son, Sean, is happy to see his mum marry Boyd, finally welcoming him into their family. A new beginning is just what the Parker family needs.
An urgent call for Lottie to attend a crime scene at the house of Rachel Mullen following the discovery of her body by her twin sister, Beth, diverts her attention somewhat. When she enters the bedroom room she immediately detects that this is evil she is witnessing. Rachel Mullen’s anguished death mask shakes Lottie and her team to the core. This is murder. This is no accident. Following all avenues, each leading to a dead-end, Lottie’s frustrations grow. With the wedding in the back of her mind, Lottie is anxious to expedite this investigation but she has to tread carefully. Following previous unorthodox handling of cases, Lottie is on shaky ground with her superiors. Everything has to follow the book. But within a few days, when a second body is discovered of a well known local therapist in similar circumstances, Lottie’s back is against the wall. Playing by the book will not provide the answers Lottie needs, answers she needs fast.
Ragmullin is a town that has had its fair share of trouble over the years but now with a potential serial killer on the loose, the police are very much aware that speed is of the essence. Rachel had been an entrepreneur with a vision for her future. Looking for an investor, she was last seen at a launch party for a new restaurant in town belonging to the soon-to-be ex-wife of local successful business man, Matthew Fleming. Annie Fleming and her husband have had marital difficulties for years. Now Annie plans to move out from under his shadow and step into the limelight herself hoping to achieve the notoriety she so wishes for. Her two daughters, Tara and Jessica, have strained relationships with their parents resulting in a dynamic in the family that makes for a very dysfunctional environment.
Maddie Daly is a young teenager caught up in her tragic life. No matter what she does, no matter how hard she tries, she just cannot escape the poverty trap that she is in. Maddie does not want this life for herself but is stuck in a rundown home with her sister Stella, Stella’s two small kids and Stella’s drug dealing and very sleazy boyfriend. Maddie unwittingly becomes embroiled in these horrific murders and soon fears for her own safety. A spunky individual, I would have loved a bit more to Maddie’s story when the cards finally did fall. I was really drawn to her as a person and had developed a lot of empathy for her situation.
With a collection of very suspicious characters, Patricia Gibney, creates a story that keeps the reader guessing by planting red-herrings in the mind, redirecting on every page. The past is never prepared to stay there and, as circumstances change, people get scared. Someone in Ragmullin does not want the skeletons in their cupboard to be revealed and will resort to the most extreme and malevolent measures to achieve their ultimate goal.
As the body count rises, Lottie is fighting an uphill battle all the way. When her own safety and that of Boyd comes into question, it gets personal for Lottie. Lottie is a tenacious individual not willing to step back from danger. Her character is very well depicted as she becomes deeply entangled in these murders. Her frustrations are palpable as she attempts to follow the evidence trail, however tenuous the lead. The politics of policing are also given a platform as Lottie’s boss is constantly breathing down her neck looking for answers, pushing Lottie to work harder, at times to the detriment of her own safety. Lottie is very likable as a main protagonist. Her appeal I think is her straight-forward characterisation as a struggling parent and mother, a concerned lover, a hard-worker and a friend. She expects respect and in return is loyal to those around her.
Silent Voices is a fast-paced page turner with some seriously nasty and frighteningly believable characters. Greed, despair, power, anguish, fear and murder all combine to provide the reader with a compelling and explosive read. A thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing police procedural, one that I’m sure will both satisfy and delight all fans of this bestselling and very popular series.
[ Bio ]
Patricia Gibney is the million-copy bestselling author of the DI Lottie Parker series. She yearned to be a writer after reading Enid Blyton and Carolyn Keene and even wanted to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. She has now grown up (she thinks) but the closest she’s come to Nancy Drew is writing crime!
In 2009, after her husband died, she retired from her job and started writing seriously. Fascinated by people and their quirky characteristics, she always carries a notebook to scribble down observations.
Patricia also loves to paint in watercolour and lives in the Irish midlands with her children.
Twitter – @trisha460
Website – Patricia Gibney
