5 Stars from me

Jane Isaac has a lovely writing style, she is among the group of authors whose books I pick up without hesitation for I know that I am guaranteed an exciting tale with comfortable and well rounded characters.

DCI Helen Lavery is fast becoming a favourite of mine and I might just adopt her mantra for myself:

“Assume nothing. Believe nobody. Challenge everything.”

In A Deathly Silence Helen is just returning from an absence – I loved the opening scenes with her in the hotel ordering a bottle of wine, SO real and total sucked me straight into her life – and finds herself plunged deep into a major investigation as a fellow officer has been found murdered.

Not only has one of their own been murdered but also quite brutally tortured and yet the victim seemed to live quite a blameless life – liked by fellow officers and respected by criminals for her fairness – and she leaves behind two young children and a grieving partner for whom Helen is determined to find justice.

There are many lines of enquiry and we follow Helen has she determinedly set off to work through them all. The book has a great pace and I could easily have devoured it in one rainy day into evening sitting, however I made sure to spread it over a couple of days! Having looked forward to reading A Deathly Silence for so long I made sure to do it justice.

Characterisation throughout is spot (as I would totally expect) and all characters – from our two young scallwags, through all ranks of the police and a variety of members of the public – are all beautifully well defined.

This is police procedural at its best and I can easily visualise it becoming a TV series, much like Tennison.

I would heartily recommend #ADeathlySilence and indeed any of Jane’s books to any fans of crime thrillers and police procedurals and I look forward to reading more.

#ADeathlySilence @JaneIsaacAuthor @Legend_Press

Synopsis: 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…