This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
15.10.19 / Crime / Legend Press / Paperback / 288pp / 978-1789550719
Target Audience: For readers looking for a burst of intense thrills, a gritty and methodical police procedural and a dose of raw emotion. And for those looking for a series to invest in.
About A Deathly Silence
When the mutilated body of a police officer is found in a derelict factory, Hamptonshire force are shocked to the core.
DCI Helen Lavery returns from injury leave and is immediately plunged into an investigation like no other. Is this a random attack or is someone targeting the force? Organised crime groups or a lone killer?
As the net draws in, Helen finds the truth lies closer than she could have imagined, and trusts no one.
But Helen is facing a twisted killer who will stop at nothing to ensure their secrets remain hidden. And time is running out…
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A Deathly Silence Review
DCI Helen Lavery returns to active duty after recovering from the traumatic conclusion of her last case at the hands of gangster, Chilli Frank. The detective’s respectful comeback is cut short when the tortured body of PC Sinead O’Donnell is found in an abandoned factory after two hooded youths are seen suspiciously fleeing the area. After recent events within the community the fear that the police are being targeted is spreading through the ranks and the media so the details of the case must be kept close to their chests.
Helen faces a difficult investigation with very few connections. Who would want to torture the young police woman and mother of two? How was Sinead taken from her car without a struggle? Why was she taken to the factory and left there? Where are the rest of her remains and belongings? What were the kids doing in the factory? From the outset the DCI is being pressured from all sides to resolve this case quickly and quietly. This includes Sinead’s husband Blane who is also a PO.
Blane waved his wife away earlier that morning as she departed for a yoga retreat and is now faced with telling his children that their mother is gone forever. Grief and despair begin to eat at him and when he is denied access to the investigation, Blane must go rogue to get the answers for himself. Helen is determined to piece everything together to prove to herself, her family and to colleagues that the past won’t affect her future. When possible connections to organised crime begin to surface around the case, Helen has to confront the horrors she faced at the hands of Frank and work furiously to apprehend those responsible for death of one of her own.
A Deathly Silence delivers a methodical and intense police procedural that offers up a chilling and mysterious investigation with blinding gut-punches of fear and emotion lying in wait that urges you all the way to a shocking finale. With a narrative containing a satisfying array of thrills, adrenaline spikes, psychological chills and puzzling scenarios that kept me speculating from cover to cover.
DCI Helen Lavery is a fantastic lead who’s analytical and intelligent approach to police work, even in the face of brutal trauma, was engaging and satisfying. I liked that Jane Isaac had Helen ruminating as much as the reader about how the many dots of the case connect instead of just having evidence just fall into her lap at every dead end. The detective is working through her own stuff whilst dealing with case and it was interesting to see Helen compartmentalise as she went along, until all her worlds bleed into one. Jane Isaac knows how to create complex characters who are certainly compelling in all sorts of ways.
Husband Blane’s narrative was tough to stomach as he is dealt the hardest hand anyone could face and his frustration and grief get the better of him. It is a sub-plot brimming with emotional pain and irrational actions which puts even more pressure on those investigating his wife’s death. I also liked young Connor’s plot which had the most dramatic developments over the course of the investigation as he faces the consequences of his decisions and the target that puts on his back. His role is smaller than the rest but it shows Jane Isaac’s ability to bring compelling narratives to fruition with few words and create atmospheres that upset, unsettle and encourage readers. Building up each character arc slowly and having them mesh into one another in a storm of fear, grief, confusion and speculation.
Jane Isaac is hard to beat when it comes to a clever and challenging police procedural and I couldn’t recommend her work enough. Jane’s passion, precision and delivery are all satisfying and my return to her latest novel thoroughly surprised me with its delivery, unsettled me by how dark this series can truly get and, at the same time, left me immediately wanting more. If you enjoy the thrill of the chase and a story that is unpredictable until the very last moments then A Deathly Silence is ready and waiting for you. (It can be read as a standalone novel).
About Jane Isaac
Jane Isaac lives with her husband, daughter and dog, Bollo, in rural Northamptonshire.
Her first novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, was published in the US in 2012 and was nominated as best mystery in the ‘eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook awards 2013’. Jane is also the author of The Truth Will Out, Before It’s Too Late and Beneath the Ashes, published in the UK by Legend Press. The Truth Will Out, was selected ‘Crime Thriller of the Month by EThriller.com and ‘Noveltunity Book Club Winning Selection’.
Always Trust In Books 
Fab review! I have the previous book in this series on my TBR but I’ll be rushing to get to it soon so that I can read this new one. 🙂
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Thanks Hayley. I hope you enjoy them both!
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