So the fact that this is based on a true story makes it all the more terrifying. I was late to the table in reading it but once I started, I could not put it down. Review to come on Goodreads. I will definitely be picking up more of this author's books.

I love a bit of Scottish crime and this one didn't disappoint. It had a very believable feel to it, and Oonagh is a very engaging character.

I dived into this book, just after finishing the first book in the series, as I so much enjoyed the first book, I just couldn't wait for this one. And, once again, I was not disappointed. Ms Talbot is still a new author for me, but one I will without any doubt keep on reading in future! Recommended!!

New author for me but pleasantly surprised. Thank you for the approval and look forward to a book relationship with other reads in the future,

I wanted to love this book. I'm a huge fan of Tartan Noir, and the blurb for this book had all the key ingredients for me. Unfortunately, something just didn't gel and I've been ruminating for a couple of days now, trying to work out what it was that made me like it, as opposed to love it. I found the threads of the investigation quite disparate. Contaminated blood from prisoners in the States, 3 blond young women killed by a religious fanatic and a devoted wife and mother suddenly murdering her husband and young son. It was all a bit overwhelming,
add to that polluted platelets from Russia, a miscarriage, alcoholism, drug dependency, corrupt police officers and a dismembered cat. There was too much. I got how the 3 main strands of the story came together in the end, but felt that there was enough material for 3 or 4 books and for each traumatic event to be looked at in more depth. The contaminated blood scandal that shamed the NHS, and other medical establishments, needed more focus. Whenever it looked like we were really getting our teeth into something, the narrative would veer off into Raphael's or Dorothy's killings, or some such thing. The overall concept was worthy, It just needed a more refined and nuanced execution.

I really enjoyed this story featuring Oonagh O’Neill, a feisty investigative journalist, who follows the trail of a medical scandal impacting several generations. She is a likeable but flawed character with a messy personal life, but she is determined to seek out the truth even if that involves endangering herself. We also meet the grumpy policeman, Di Alex Davies, who is Oonagh’s main police contact, again an engaging and well-drawn but complex character.
This is a tale of injustice and cover-ups. It is very well written and draws the reader in to its tragic storyline. It is very plausible and highlights a less well-known scandal in the NHS – the use of tainted blood. It mixes fact and fiction well.
I need to go back and read the first book, I think, while waiting for the third!

A great read, albeit one that tackles some controversial topics. I was riveted throughout and had to keep reading. There is corruption and cover ups at every turn, which adds to the suspense about what will ultimately happen.
Really enjoyed the dynamic between Oonagh and Alec and would love to see this develop. I'm not aware that this is the second in a series but I didn't feel I missed anything from not reading the first. Highly recommended!

This author tackles the real issues of today brilliantly.

This is the second novel by Ms Talbot. I was lucky enough to review the first one which I thought was amazing. Often the second novel can be a disappointment but, if anything, this book was better.

It follows on from the last book only because the main character, Oonagh O’Neil, a TV journalist, is desperately looking for a new story for her show and without really thinking anything through decides she will investigate women, killers.

She becomes involved in the heart-breaking story of Dorothy Malloy, a woman who has killed her husband and toddler son but instead of being brought to trial has been incarcerated in various hospitals and mental homes, and we learn about her terrible treatment by carers which despite her crimes should never have happened.

Meanwhile, her great friend, DI Alec Davis, has been told to re-investigate a cold crime that happened back in 1975 when three young women had been killed by an apparently religious killer known as Raphael.

Added to the mix is the discovery of how tainted blood had been used on haemophiliacs in the name of medical research, blood taken from criminals all over the world. Most of these were drug addicts who were happy to give their blood for money to feed their addiction and the unscrupulous surgeons who used this blood to experiment on people including young children. As we now know this subject is not a fiction made up by an author; it actually happened and is being investigated by the current government.

None of these events appears to be related, but Ms Talbot brilliantly brings it all together in an explosive story so full of twists and turns that are impossible to unravel but still finally make sense. I couldn’t stop reading this book, I so needed to know what had happened and how everything has come together.

As well as a fantastic plotline, two other areas stood out for me. The relationship between Oona and Alec appears to be developing and assuming there is a third book (I do hope so!) I can see this developing.

The other area that I found very interesting is that I feel Oona’s personality became more interesting. She is a complicated person, totally committed to her job but at the same time vulnerable with many faults. I didn’t relate to her so well in the first novel, but in this one, I really felt sympathy for her.

I would thoroughly recommend this book. It has everything; a brilliant story, interesting characters and most poignantly, it covers terrible events that have actually happened and probably are still happening.

If you get the chance to read this book, you won’t regret it.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

This book started off good, but then I realized it was part of a series and I got frustrated. I will take the time to read the first and then see joe well I like it. As for now it was a bit confusing.
Will be using in a daily challenge, as well as letting Chapter Chatter Pub know it's released.

I enjoyed the story. The whole tainted blood aspect was down right scary. There were so many names, I found myself getting confused and not really sure who was all involved.

How are the tainted blood cases, Raphael killings and a woman accused of killing her husband and drowning her son related? That's question Oonagh O'Neil is trying to find out.

This is the second book in the Oonagh O'Neil series and now I definitely need to read the first book. There were many twists and turns and was definitely a mystery. The book jumped between the past and present. The present being 2002. At times I was lost and wasn't sure where we were on the timeline. I found the book to be very jumpy. I loved the story, characters and writing style. I enjoyed the work relationship Davies and McVeigh had together. I found it humorous when McVeigh got stuck in the blood pressure cuff and no one knew how to get it off until Davies showed up and simply unplugged the machine. I foresee a possible romance with Oonagh and Davies and hopefully she doesn't hit him over the head with a statue. Poor Cat, despite the fact that he may have tried to eat Oonagh's face she loved him. The book turned out to be more than just about an old case involving a woman killing her husband and son. That story line was just a small part of the whole picture.

Definitely recommend the book and can't wait to read more by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Aria and the author, Theresa Talbot, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series so I was delighted to see that Keep Her Silent, the second book in the series was being released!

This is a well written, well planned out story that had me completely gripped. I loved the writing style and flow that the author achieved in the story. The characters are great, well developed, likeable and I genuinely warmed to them (well most of them!).

4.5 stars from me for this one, rounded up to 5 stars for Goodreads and Amazon- very highly recommended and thoroughly enjoyable!!

Read this in one sitting as could not put down, a must read and highly recommended for all fans old and new

Keep Her Silent is the follow up to The Lost Girls and we find Oonagh in 2002 and not yet wholly recovered from her ordeal as she investigated the brutal abuse in the Magdalen institutions run by the Catholic Church. Oonagh herself was savagely attacked and she has the scar to prove it – and her good friend Father Tom has now left the church. Physically she is now fine, but her nerves are on edge, her judgement is a wee bit shoogly and she is finding it hard to get by even on a maximum dose of tranquilisers.

None of this, of course, is going to stop her from pursuing her career as a T.V. journalist. Under pressure from her boss to share her programme development ideas and to give away some of her limelight, Oonagh claims to be quite a way down the road to developing a series on Women Who Kill. Now all she has to do is to make a start….

When she is given a tip off about a cold case and a previously uncovered scandal, she has no idea that it will lead her straight to Dorothy Malloy, a woman who has been in a mental institution for over 20 years for the savage murder of her husband and six year old son. Dorothy’s mental state is fragile and no-one reading this book could fail to be appalled and horrified at some of the heart-breaking treatment she had to endure at the hands of her jailers.

Neither does Oonagh realise that this cold case will lead her deep into the details of a medical scandal of huge proportions which, to this day, has left relatives grieving and seeking answers.

D.I. Alec Davies has also been told by his boss to investigate a cold case. In 1975 the ‘Raphael‘ killer murdered three young women, leaving biblical messages with their bodies, and then disappeared. Now a woman is insisting her dead father is the killer.

Though they do not know it, Oonagh and Alec are working on parallel lines of enquiry and it soon becomes clear that they are embroiled in a cover up of a scandal of massive proportions. The details of the contaminated blood scandal are factual and Talbot demonstrates just how terrible the impact was on families.

This is a chilling story, made more so for its basis in fact and Theresa Talbot has created a spine tingling story that is full of corruption, malfeasance and murder. This story twists and turns but as a balance to the darkness, there is a frequent spark of humour in some of Oonagh’s banter that helps to leaven the dread.

With a layered and complex plot, Talbot pulls all the strands together for a surprising and horrifying denouement .

Verdict: an utterly fascinating plot line, rooted in fact, that will keep you interested all through the book

I loved this even more than the first one in this series so the next one is going to be brilliant. There was a lot going on and a lot to take in but I found it very interesting as well as didn't really know about the blood scandal. For a investigative journal to delve into the history of this it shows how very good she is at her job, this was a very well written, intelligent story.

I would like to thank the Netgalley website and Aria Publishing for this partnership.

I was immediately attracted to the blanket: Ooonagh was seen running. A catchphrase immediately draws attention: "What did she see?"

She is investigating Raphael's murder, leaving a note on her body: "Do what is right and no evil will touch you". With murders already committed and the murderer still at large, OOOnagh will find himself in the middle of a complex and deadly cover-up. Is she going to be the killer's next target?

A book read almost in one go, I immediately hooked on the story, captivating and full of suspense and twists and turns. My first book by this author, looks forward to reading more.

I loved the start and was horrified by the details of the contaminated blood scandal and I loved the ending. Unfortunately it lost me a bit in the mid section of the book as it seemed to drag on somewhat.

Another episode of dangerous investigative journalism with Oonagh O'Neil that unfolds with the unpredictability of real life and grips the reader with its intensity and menace.

If you haven't met Oonagh previously you've missed out, but this story reads well as a standalone, with enough backstory to illuminate Oonagh as a character and provide the pertinent details on her relationships, motivations and demons.

There are both historic and present timelines and several plot threads that are intricately woven to reveal a polished ending. The writing style draws you in until enthralled you have to know what happens next. The themes are shocking, more so because they highlight real-life conspiracy.

A unique combination of crime, conspiracy and killing seen through the eyes of a quirky, on the edge investigative journalist and a cynical, but thorough policeman makes this a memorable story and a series that I can't wait to continue.

I received a copy of this book from Aria via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Although this is the second in a series, it is not essential to have read the first as this is the first of this author’s books that I have read, and I did not struggle to understand events that had previously happened.

A number of years ago, three women were killed in Glasgow by someone known only as the Raphael Killer. Never caught, the case is now being reopened by an officer who wants it closed before his imminent retirement. Investigative journalist, Oonagh O’Neil, certainly remembers the case so when she is given a tip-off, she embarks on an investigation of a cover-up of unimaginable proportions. With other lives threatened, can she work out what is going on before she, herself, becomes a target?

Initially, I thought that this would be a straightforward serial killer book where the main protagonist finds themselves a target of some unknown figure. While there is definitely an element of this, Keep Her Silent is so much more. With several plots all converging, part of it based on a real-life scandal, I found myself, on more that one occasion, disgusted with how people who yield power abuse their position. My heart went out to one incarcerated character when I read about what she had to endure at the hands of those who are supposed to be upholding the law.

Oonagh O’Neil is a great character – not perfect, but with a desire to make sure that the truth is heard. I was fascinated by her relationship with Alec, which definitely seemed a bit one-sided, and will be interested to see how this progresses. Oonagh is definitely one of those characters who has you rooting for them from the start.

I found that, as the book progressed, I was desperate to know the outcome and could not put it down. The ending, I felt, was clever, and left me with a wry smile on my face.

Keep Her Silent by Theresa Talbot is the second in the Oonagh O’Neil series. O’Neil is an investigative journalist who has her own television show. The story bounces between two time frames and the writer does so with ease and manages to keep the readers attention while doing so. The words ‘Do that which is good and no evil shall touch you’ was written on each of the three women who were found dead in Glasgow by the infamous Raphael killer and to date the killer is still walking the streets. The police decide it is time to reopen the case and try to stop the killer from claiming his fourth victim. Oonagh has decided that she wants to put the killer behind bars for the unfortunate crimes committed against those women. Once Oonagh starts her investigation she gets a tip. One that she would never have expected. A cover up? Oonagh is a very talented, brave and tenacious detective who will not stop until she finds the truth. In this case one could only hope that the truth does not get he killed. Every aspect about this book is intriguing. There are parts of the story that actually happened in the 70’s and Talbot does an exquisite job of adding fiction with non-fiction. The ending is one that you will have to read to believe. I highly recommend this this novel as it is a ride of a lifetime.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

5+++ stars ⭐️ out of 5

I am very excited to join the blog tour for Keep Her Silent as I loved the first Oonagh O’Neil thriller and have been dying to see what Theresa Talbot had in store for us this time.

Housekeeping: Oonagh first appeared in The Lost Children which was originally entitled Penance. You can order a copy of The Lost Children by clicking on the title and I highly recommend that purchase. Reading the first novel is not essential to reading and enjoying Keep Her Silent but there are one or two references early in the book to past events so just remember that Oonagh had a life before the events in Keep Her Silent began.

Oonagh is an investigative reporter and as such there are a number of interesting and upsetting cases brought to her attention. Readers get some background detail on the two cases which will dominate the story – Theresa Talbot makes good use of flashback sequences to show crimes being committed then spins back to Oonagh and the investigations she is conducting. A very efficient and satisfying way of keeping events ticking along at a high pace.

Blood contamination and the impact upon innocent hospital patients is very much in the spotlight in Keep Her Silent. Oonagh is made aware of the corrupt nature in which blood was aquired and the lack of regard paid towards the risk of contamination. It makes for chilling reading and the lengths which officials and governments went to in covering up the practice will have your alarm bells ringing.

Closer to home and Oonagh is also looking into the conviction of a Glasgow wife and mother who was institutionalised years earlier for killing her husband and young son. The Glasgow police are also reviewing this double killing as it connects to a cold case which the Powers At Be want closed.

The underlying reasons and practices behind both these investigations are complex. As a reader I felt my perceptions of many incidents being challenged and Theresa Talbot does a fantastic job of showing how unfortunate victims continue to be undermined by those in positions of power or authority. Those they should have been able to trust or to rely upon for help.

Keep Her Silent is a brilliant read. Oonagh is a great lead character who really could do with cutting a break – her personal life also makes for tricky reading and you just want her to do well and confront some of her inner demons.

I have no hesitation in recommending Keep Her Silent – it is a five star read.