Member Reviews

Legal executive Jen and her young son, Josh, have secrets which makes Jen work harder to keep them safe.

But someone has found them and now she has a choice to make. Stay and fight for her new life or disappear again.

This was a solid read and good characters. Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

Was this review helpful?

I started off really enjoying this book however, the more obvious and implausible the story became the more I just wanted to be done with it. So if you can go into the story knowing that you may be able to enjoy it more than I did.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book even though I did not finish this book.

Was this review helpful?

Jen's an attorney who looks like she's got everything well in hand. But she doesn't. Someone knows her secret and is coming after her- unless she can get to that person first. Well done!

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this book very much . I did finish it but found myself skimming through it to get to the end .

I will not be leaving review on Amazon or Goodreads .

Was this review helpful?

A very good modern thriller. There were plenty of twists and turns all the way through. Everything falls into place at the end and is different from normal thrillers. Worth reading.

Was this review helpful?

Tense and unsettling with a taught plot line. I really enjoyed this one and the ending!

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book to begin with but the story became hard to follow. Overall a good enough read, but not to my taste.

Was this review helpful?

RATING: 2 STARS
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
(Review Not on Blog)

I finished this book, but I did skim through some chapters as it felt like it would never end. There wasn't any suspense to keep you flying through the book.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for sending me a copy of "Don't Say a Word".
I have read several of this authors other books and enjoyed them but this one is definitely the best!
This book was gripping from the start and twisty to the finish.
I wouldn't recommend this book if you like to read a few chapters each night, as it is quite thought provoking and won't help you drift off to sleep! I ended up spending an afternoon reading the last third of the book as I had to know how it panned out, even though I thought I knew. So for me to spend an afternoon sitting and reading, just proves how much I enjoyed this book!

Was this review helpful?

This was a great book! I had me thinking about it even when I wasn’t reading it

Was this review helpful?

2.5 stars for a book that had a lot of promise but petered out eventually on its promise of suspense. Jen seems like an overprotective mother, but it is also clear that she has good reasons. But when her past seems to be catching up with her, you know that it is not good news for her and her 10-year-old son Josh.
The set-up is brilliant -- the books takes off at a terrific pace and Jen's unease is palpable. The use of the present tense also adds to the immediacy of possible danger. However, as the story unravels, the suspense falls off and you guess long before the reveal why Jen is the way she is and what her big secret is.
There are SPOILERS below. Please skip to *** if you don't want to read them.

First of all, the witness protection reveal doesn't come as a surprise. Second, the fact that the Rhea Stevens case is a sham is patently obvious quite early. Third, for someone who has only had relationships with violent, abusive men (father, boyfriend), Jen's blind trust of Dan and even falling in love after 5 minutes is a bit hard to digest. Finally, and this might be my inability to understand the technicalities, I didn't understand why such an elaborate ruse had to be worked out to get her to confess. In the end, the confession did come under duress, so it wouldn't have been admissable in court anyway, would it?

***

One thing that I didn't understand is how Jen is able to trust Dan so easily. That part didn't feel authentic to me, or the fact that she felt she could trust Josh's safety to him despite her past. Overall, the book wasn't a total letdown because the end was believable.
(Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.)

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley, and the publishers, for a free e-copy in return for my honest review.

This is of the genre where book starts near the end of the action, then flicks back to the lead up two weeks before. It’s been done before, but for this one it works well.

The narrator Jen also flits between her past and present. On the face of it Jen is a professional single mother to her 10 year old son Joshy. However, Jen is a hover mother, who will not let Joshy out of her sight. She lives an isolated life, and is definitely hiding from her past. She received odd texts and phone calls that disturb her, and sees faces in the crowd of people from her past that she knows can’t be there.

But Jen’s past catches up with her and Jen finds herself fighting for her own and Joshy’s life. At first I didn’t like Jen with her extreme hover mothering. But the tension builds up and you begin to understand why Jen is so paranoid she really is hiding from a terrible past. But, Jen is good at making decisions yet some of them are crazy. She trusts the wrong people, and after years of building up bridges and walls around her tiny family she throws it all away of a brand new romance. By mid-way I was reading at the same fast pace as the plot , and the tension really does build up.

No spoilers here. This is a great read, not without its flaws and head shaking of Oh You Stupid Woman! Really made me wonder would I have been any different if I was in her place.

Was this review helpful?

This book was creepy and chilling which scores points with me. As I try to review this book I am realizing I cant say enough good things about it. This book was a book that made me lose sleep and trust me I like my sleep. Highly recommend.

Was this review helpful?

Don't say a word by AL Bird.
Every parent knows the world can be scary. Lawyer Jen Sutton knows it better than most. And she’ll go to any length to protect her son from what – and who – lies outside their front door.A loving mother.Some might say she’s being over-protective. But isn’t it a mother’s duty to protect her child from harm?A family built on a lie.Jen has kept her secrets safe. Until the postcard arrives, signed by the one person she hoped would never catch up with her… and her new case begins to feel a little too close to home.One thing is clear: Jen has been found.Now, she faces a choice. Run, and lose everything? Or fight – and risk her son discovering the truth.
A really enjoyable read with great characters. I was shocked with what she did. But she would do anything to protect her child. Full of twists and plots. Bit slow to begin with then bam couldn't put it down. Highly recommended. 5*. Netgalley and harper Collins UK.

Was this review helpful?

Don't say a word will keep you on the edge of your seat, I read this in less than 24 hours as I could not put this down.
We start off with Jen who is the main character in this suspenseful thriller, it is told from the first person so you don't get to know what the other characters are thinking which made it more life like throughout for me. Jen is in witness protection for standing up against someone and helping to get them out away but the story runs a lot deeper than that but I won't spoil it and let you find out the ins and outs yourself. Even though Jen is in some kind of protection this doesn't stop her from being on her guard 24 hours a day keeping her son, josh, safe. Josh is ten years old and Jen will do anything for him, her paranoia is high all the time causing extra problems because of this. The story moves along a little slowly at first but this is just setting the scene really. Jen is asked to work on a secret case with another colleague at her place of work where she is a legal secretary/helper. From here the story moves fast and as secrets are revealed it leaves you putting everything you'd learnt before swept to the side to start afresh with the reality.
This was a fab read and can't wait to read more by A L Bird.
I would like to thank netgalley and HQ Digital, Harper Collins publishers for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to HQ Digital (HarperCollinsUK) and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jen Sutton is a lawyer with a secret. She tries to protect her son at all costs. When they receive a postcard in the mail, she realises that D-Day has arrived. She has to decide to face the past or run.

This was an exciting read. It was suspenseful and kept one guessing. The author cleverly throws some red herrings and I was not at all sure where the story would go next. There were also some major twists which left me absolutely flabbergasted.

I highly recommend this book, it was very entertaining!

Was this review helpful?

How far will a mother go to protect her child? Jen Sutton is a lawyer at a local legal firm and single mother to young Josh. All mothers are protective of their children but Jen seems more fearful than most. Jen’s past holds the key to explain why she is so protective and fearful for her little boy.
Who is Chloe Brown, how is she connected to Jen and what threat if any, does she pose?
The authorities seemed quite patronising towards Jen and I wonder if they are like that in real life. I really admired how she managed to protect her son under very hard circumstances.
I think this author should be crowned Queen of psychological thrillers and her star blazes for this book with its emotionally charged atmosphere. All I can say is wow. What a ripper story and well worth every minute it took to read. The ending was absolutely stunning and top marks to A L Bird for making it that way.

Was this review helpful?

4.5☆ A Gripping read that kept me hooked!

Don't say a word is full of suspense, intrigue, secrets, kept me guessing, it's gripping, an exciting chilling physiological thriller that kept me turning pages and made my hair stand on end!

Jen and her son Josh are living a lie! A secret life.
They appear to be hiding from someone but for what ever reason... it has got Jen very scared and unnerved her!
But when all that threatens to come crashing down around them... what is Jen to do?

Does she keep running or does she decide enough is enough and stays put?
All Jen has ever wanted to do is protect her Son no matter what the cost!

Jen is extremely protective of Josh. So much so she ends up in trouble a few times at work.

But Who is Jen hiding From?
Why is she terrified?
Is she really being too over protective or has she every reason to be?
Who can Jen really trust?

Don't say a word literally chilled me to the bone.
Although I thought I knew what was coming... I was in for plenty of shocks and twists!

I did find the flip flopping between Present day and Jens past memories a little confusing at times as they came randomly throughout the story.
Although I can completely see why they was written in this way as it gave the reader snippets of Jens past and why she acts the way she does.
Not giving the reader too much away. Keeping them guessing!

I did find the first several chapters to be a little confusing almost disjointed.
But once I got into the story it became clear it was about to get a whole lot better!

It's the little things that gave me goosebumps. The texts, the shop window. It was all building up a chilling atmospheric portrayal that something very bad was coming.

Don't say a word really is spine tingling good!
It packs a physiological punch that tormented my emotions and made me second guess my thoughts.
Be prepared to read long into the night as once you pick this book up you won't want to put it down!

The perfect read for those who love gripping physiological thrillers.

Was this review helpful?