Thank you Netgalley and the publisher’s for letting me read this book.
I enjoyed this book. It was very interesting and suspenseful. I’ve only recently got into the genre and was happy when I received this to continue to enjoy the genre. This was a fantastic book for a debut, it is dark and gritty and that’s why I loved this book so much, I love a good dark book. I really liked the characters and the plot. I loved the backstories in this book they really gave enough details without going overboard (like I’ve read in other books). The twist at the end was also amazing and I didn’t see it coming. I gave this book 4.5 stars.

This book got off to a cracking start with a Prologue that was not only absolutely gripping, but totally intense. My skin crawled as I realized what the man intended to do with the kitchen tongs and the bread knife (I’ll say no more). And all this before I’d even reached Chapter 1.

Quite simply put, this is a fantastic debut novel. It’s dark, gritty, slightly gruesome without being overly so, and it introduces us to DI Eve Hunter and her team for the first time. And I liked Eve, I really did. There was a specific scene where she was telling-off a colleague of hers for his stand-offish behavior, and I was loving it. The dialogue was spot on and Eve was just so likable. I could totally feel her frustrations and I was egging her on from the sidelines. And that’s another thing that I loved about this book – the dialogue. It was smooth, and it captured the characters perfectly. I never read a single interaction between any of the characters where I thought to myself, no, that didn’t work for me, adults just wouldn’t speak to each other like that (as I’ve done in lots of other novels). So ten points to the author for spot-on dialogue.

The other thing that I adored about this book were the backstories. I was so intrigued by them, and the author very cleverly gave us just the slightest tidbit here and there to keep us interested without divulging the entire story in one foul swoop. We only really start to learn exactly what happened from about the half way point.

Finally, let me say that there was a twist at the end of the book which I thought was great. Now the thing is, I had actually figured out the twist very early on in the story and I do think the author gives us a few clues along the way, but I still think it’s the type of twist that may hit some readers hard.

Overall, this is a great read, and I’m not generally the biggest fans of police procedurals and so that’s saying a lot coming from me. I can’t wait until the author releases the next one in the series.

This was a great start to what will hopefully become a series. A great cast of characters with a tense and thrilling plot. It was one of those books I just had to keep reading! Can't wait for more from the author.

A young woman’s body is discovered with horrific injuries, and it falls to DI Eve Hunter and her team to investigate. Hunter has much to prove on her return to work, and not all at the station are pleased to see her back. As another murder follows, it appears there is a serial killer on the loose. Can Hunter crack this case?
This is the first in the series of DI Eve Hunter crime thrillers by Masson, and I must say I was very impressed. I got wrapped up in the story quickly and grew to like and feel for all the characters. It really was a page turner that I struggled to put down. It was fast paced and dramatic, with a creepy and thrilling climax. I found myself gasping out loud at some points, and almost shedding a tear at others!
I did however think the police team came to some pretty random assumptions at times which did not always pay off, based on loose or non-existent evidence. This lead me to question their competence a little, although it did not affect my overall enjoyment of the story. There were also some massive coincidental ‘red herrings’ that were a little annoying.
Overall though I would defiantly recommend this to fans of creepy police procedural thrillers. I will certainly be keeping my eyes open for the next instalment in this series.

I have read a large number of police crime thrillers where the lead detective is a woman full of her own problems and often no social life.
So, I started to read Hold Your Tongue with some trepidation - would it simply be another ordinary book - ok but nothing special.
But.... I was proved to be very wrong in my initial feelings. Yes, this is a similar book to others I have read, small team, psychopath killer and you, as reader not sure who is the culprit. This is a brilliant book and I loved it. I have to admit I had no idea who it would be and it did come as a surprise for me as I had 'worked out' it was someone else.
Not sure if there was a book before this or if there will be a sequel but the storyline and characters are really strong and the book will more than stand on its own as a one-off if this happens.
Definitely not to be missed

A new writer to me and a cracking start to what I hope will be a long-running series. DI Eve Hunter is a fascinating creation, a cop returning to work after months of recuperation following an incident in which she was injured and her partner crippled. She has to cope with antagonism from colleagues as well as find a serial killer who is terrorising Aberdeen. Although the book is a bit too full of standard tropes and false moves, it is a thoroughly enjoyable read and I look forward to more from Deborah Masson.

Hold your tongue was a surprise read for me. I wasn't keen on it at the start but once I got into it, it got better and better. The characters were hard to get use to but as the story went on it all came together. When a young woman’s body is discovered with horrifying injuries, a recent newspaper cutting pinned to her clothing.
Detective Eve Hunter has everything to prove.
This is her only chance to redeem herself.
A serial killer with nothing to lose.
He’s waited years, and his reign of terror has only just begun. I guessed who it was 3/4 of the way in but there were so many possibilities right from the beginning. Loved it

Cynics would brand this as yet another serial killer story. However, the plot is well constructed and the characters carefully drawn with interesting back stories. So of it’s genre, I rate it highly and enjoyed the read.

Aberdeen, an unusual venue for such a gruesome tale! Eve our damaged heroine, feeling responsible for her colleague’s life changing injury, returns to work after six months having sustained a leg injury herself during the same attack in which her colleague was almost fatally wounded. Her colleagues doubt she is up to coping with the unexpected barbaric murder investigation she is put in charge of on her first day back. There are those in her team who want her to fail and those who recognise her inner strength and determination to get the job done. Eve’s frustration is palpable, Mearns, the new inexperienced recruit, is torn between loyalty to the force and her team but can she work alongside this boss after all she has heard about her from a less than loyal work mate! The twists and turns, the secrets, the nursery rhyme that holds the key,, the brutality - this psychological thriller has you on the edge of your seat, holding your breath right to the bitter end!

This is promising - I enjoyed the setup here of a scottish female detective investigating a serial killer, with a team that’s very split in her views of her due to a previous incident. I did feel it lost it’s way a bit in the middle, and could have been tighter. I’d come back to read any more in the series as I liked the characters.

DI Eve Hunter hasn’t been the same since she and her colleague, Sanders were attacked, resulting in Sanders being paralysed and unable to work. Can Eve get over her guilt and get back to doing her job properly? When someone is murdering women and cutting out their tongues, Eve knows she has to dig deep and get on with the job.
I have really enjoyed this storyline, so much going on. This is a fast paced but incredibly tense story. Great characters throughout and I hope we get to know more about them if there are going to be more books as this could be a fabulous series.

I have never felt scared as I did reading this book, blimey it had me hooked from the beginning I love the character that is central to this story Eve Hunter a police officer with the weight of the world on her shoulder
The book starts with them finding a woman's body and then another a year later with both tongues missing
But Eve is hampered by injuries from her last case when her and her partner Saunders were beaten severely by a drug lords father after they had chased the drug lord and his car flipped meaning he ended up not dead but paralysed for life. His dad got his henchmen to beat Eve and Saunders up to the point Saunders was paralysed Eve suffered severe leg injuries
But Eve can't forgive herself for Saunders condition and she is blinded at times in this case as to who is killing these women and why ?
But she manages to save the final victim just in time but no one had any idea who the murderer was and when they do the shock is Massive

A gripping debut for DI Eve Hunter, coming back after 6 months sick leave, Hunter is faced with a murdered teenager with her tongue cut out and a newspaper article pinned to her. As the body count rises, Hunter is against the clock to discover the truth of the killer and his long awaited vengeance.

How nice to find a police procedural so full of human beings, with all their faults and foibles. In most positive sense, this book is an indicator of why the police do not solve their cases in 42 minutes like television series would like to have us believe.

What a tangled web with an all to believable serial theme that nearly turns into a ... (you will have to read the book to discover what fills the ...). All in all, this book is very well worth your time as it will almost certainly have you trying to turn the pages faster than you can read them.

An excellent debut novel that has me waiting, eagerly, for book two.

This debut has plenty of drama, twists and turns, with a good plot and intense ending.
I like the characters and how they develop and build their relationship during the investigation.
Definitely set up for a second instalment of DI Eve Hunter.

Thank you netgalley, Deborah Masson and Random House for allowing me to read and review this book

Absolutely fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the twists and turns. Such a well written book and would definitely recommend to anyone!

"Hold your tongue" is Deborah Masson debut novel and a good effort for a first one. An entertaining police procedural a bit more gruesome than your average one, so not recommended for the faint-hearted (some of the murder descriptions were pretty grisly).

While I enjoyed it there're several buts. First of all, aren't there police officers leading normal, happy lives??? Why have all the detectives happen to be battling some inner demons, alcoholism, dysfunctional families... It feels like all the same! Another aspect that was a bit of a let down, was that, after a great beginning, the story seemed to drag along for most of the book, with no significant developments in the investigation, and the fault of this is partly because of the less than understandable decisions taken by the MC during the investigation. There were also some red herrings thrown around, but maybe it's because this genre is one of my favorites, but I completely disregarded them as soon as they appeared.

I'm curious to see how the team will interact now that the past seems to be partly resolved, so probable will come back for book 2.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK Transworld Publishers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gritty police procedural set in Aberdeen. Fast paced and some big twists. The main female detective is fighting past as well as trying to solve some gruesome murders.

Deborah Masson’s debut novel was a real page turner. It had some great characters and interesting back stories. It was good enough to give a five star rating but sadly I couldn’t. The reason? Well, it’s as though there is an off the peg framework doing the rounds in a detective thriller writer’s guidebook. Let me explain. There are at least two plausible false leads, infighting amongst the investigators, italicised flashbacks to the offender’s distant childhood and the ‘hiding in plain sight’ trick. I must have read at least four thrillers with the same framework in the last year. So reluctantly I have deducted one star. I hope Deborah produces another novel with Eve as the lead detective because the chemistry between the investigators is such now that they could solve a more realistic plot.

I found this book so gripping, I really really struggled to put it down. The way this book is written just grips your attention and leaves you guessing what is going to happen next. This is a very well written and constructed book. The way that the story goes from "then" to "now" is very easy to follow. Sometimes in books this can be difficult, but this was incredibly well done.

As a fairly new member to NetGalley and crime fiction I found this book to be one of, if not 'the' best one I have read so far.