This is a thought provoking book. Rape can be difficult to prove leading to he said, she said and the police have a difficult job investigating. It makes a gripping thriller, although I found the transition into vigilantism hard to believe. It plainly shows how the emotional trauma can be so long lasting that women’s lives are never the same. In this case the perpetrator is so forensically aware that there is never any evidence. It is exciting and suspenseful and I enjoyed it, although dark and difficult. Well written but probably not for everyone. There will be trigger warnings.

ARC REVIEW
Publication date:-8th June 2023

This book contains trigger warnings (Sexual Assault)

Gail reports an assault to the police, but they don't believe her, but a while later there's been another assault...
Gail and Marthas most traumatic night of their life, turns into a friendship..
The attacker strikes on June 12th. But why?
Will the police finally listen in order to prevent it happening again?
Or will Gail and Martha take matters into their own hands?
The clock is ticking, who and will anyone stop him in time before he strikes again?

Such a gripping tough read.
Heartbreaking at certain parts of the book as Gail was doing the right thing by reporting her assault, but with insufficient evidence the police couldn't do anything.

Its written in multiple POV. Gail, the attacker and the detective. Which I do enjoy reading from multiple POV

#TheSilence #NetGalley #HarperCollins

I have to say that I found the book disappointing. I have enjoyed all Katerina’s previous books. This story just wasn’t for me, probably because the story was entirely focused on rape. I persevered but found that I’d soon deduced the identity of the 12 June rapist. I did read the whole book but was relieved when it had reached its conclusion.

A stunner of a book. Please note the warning given of sexual assault could be a trigger for you. Told from multiple POV’s- those of Gail, Shona and the rapist, this is a hard hitting story and although you can’t condone the women’s actions you would have to be pretty hard not to feel for them and understand their motivation.

Briefly, Gail is raped but when she reports it to the police DS Shona White is told to disregard it as there is no proof one way or the other and Gail does not know her attacker. However, the attack has a profound effect on her life as she cannot get the rape or who the rapist is out of her head. 3 years later whilst attending a victim support meeting she meets another woman who declares herself a victim of rape and from the circumstances it appears the same person is responsible and with more rapes discovered, all on the 12th June, they have just a few days to stop another one.

This was a slow burner but the pace quickens all of a sudden building to a dramatic climax. An eye opener into the effects of rape both mentally and physically and the injustice of victims having to disprove the “they were up to it” attitude of the rapists. The chapters where Gail ‘talks’ to the rapists are distressing and heart rending. A brilliant revenge thriller that had me on the edge of my seat until the bitter end.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely brilliant nail biting stuff. I loved the different obsession of the victim. Its never something you hear about although I'm sure it does happen. Great page turner of a read.

I loved this book, I've never read much thriller before but I definitely want to read more! I read this over a couple of days with only sleep getting in the way!

What I've realised as I start to read more and more books is that I really enjoy a multi narrator style. In The Silence the chapters are told by either Gail Reynolds, who in the first chapter of the book is sexually assaulted, DS Shona White, who is advised to talk Gail out of taking her complaint further due to the low solve rates of these crimes and the affect they'd have on the station's rating. Finally the the assailant tells his story of what turned him from an innocent boy to a rapist.

His chapters were so interesting, if the book had been told in a linear way there is always the risk that you might have felt sorry for him but by starting with the assault first and then straight to Gail's experience as she tries to report it to the police, you already feel so much anger towards him and the system that you never feel any sympathy towards him at all.

Gail's chapters are unusual in that she spends a lot of time talking to her attacker, wondering if he's watching her, is he someone she's seen in the seaside town that she lives in, is it someone she knows, a customer at one of the many jobs she drifts to and from as she struggles to cope following the attack. And although Shona has her chapters that talk about what she's doing, after being riddled with guilt from not taking Gail's initial complaint further, Gail's chapters talk about the investigation more and give more depth to it.

Very early on in the book there is a time jump of three years as Gail finds - through a support group of sexual assault survivors - someone with a story the same as hers, showing they were attacked by the same man. They form a friendship from this shared experience, and dig deeper into what could be the connection between them, that ultimately leads to revenge.

I genuinely loved this book and found it very easy to read and a page turner.

I would 100% recommend it to everyone I know, but do seek out content warnings.

Gail's life has gone downhill, she's never really recovered from being raped at college and has been in a series of dead-end jobs when she wakes one night to find she has been immobilised and blindfolded and is being raped again. She reports it to the police, who brush her off - her past history of rape without a conviction puts them off looking into this one at all.. Three years later Gail attends a rape survivors meeting and a woman describes an attack that she realises must have been the same man. She meets the woman and they decide to try to find the man - who seems to attack a woman on the same date every year. As they get closer to him Gail will have to decide if she wants justice, or revenge.
Brilliant pacey thriller.

Gail goes through an horrific assault only to be let down by the police, who fail to even believe her, let alone investigate.
some years later and still struggling Gail meets someone at a support group who seems to have gone through exactly the same attack as her, on the same date.
Convinced it cannot be circumstance Gail sets out to wreak revenge on the man, or indeed on any abusive man.
The book is a commentary on the failure to prosecute the majority of sexual assaults and is interspersed with the voice of the perpetrator, which makes it even more spine chilling.

This book was so good! I will always read anything by this author so when I saw this on Netgalley I requested it without even reading the description. It was much different than most thrillers and I was hooked from the beginning. Although I was able to guess the twist it was still very good and I read it in a day.

When told Katerina Diamond's books are not for the faint-hearted I became more keen to read one and have now purchased them all having read this, my first of hers! This was an emotional roller-coaster ride of a book that started of at an already fast pace and just didn't let go until the last page!
The story is told from multiple viewpoints, Gail, our heroine who just wants to stop her attacker from striking again in a few days time. Shona, the detective who hears Gail's story and the rapist, we see what made him into the 'man' he became and how his views on relationships became so warped.
The story also touches on the issues around this horrible crime, the difficulty in persecution, the low reporting and conviction figures due to the difficulty of proof and also some of the horrible darker portions of the world wide web!
It felt a fairly balanced tale which although difficult to read in places left me feeling hopeful the some people pay attention to the issues raised in this book. It was an amazing story and even though I did suspect the twist that came in the closing chapters, it was still an incredible read and I'm looking forward to diving into my next book by this author already!

I devoured this novel in a couple of days, which for me is really good. I have read most of Katerina Diamond's novels and always thoroughly enjoyed them. Easy to read and follow, amazing storylines and gripping characters. The Silence is no different and is an immense read.

We meet Gail, she wakes up in the middle of the night and finds herself being raped by someone she can not see as he has covered her head, the person makes her wash any signs of evidence from her body by using bleach. When the awful attack is over, she goes to the police but she has a past record of her accusing someone of rape many years ago. Young policewoman Shona is told to tell her to leave it and get on with her life and so Gail tries to achieve this.

We then are fast-forwarded 3 years into the future and Gail is struggling with life, she goes to a help group and there she meets someone with the same experience as hers. They both join forces and realise that this evil man is going this to many women every year.

We are told the story through the eyes of Gail, police woman Shona and the evil perpetrator.

This is a compelling read which grips the reader and then thrust into the novel. The novel obviously deals with some very awful storylines so maybe a trigger warning for people.

Thanks to Katerina Diamond, Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Trigger warning - frequent mentions to graphic sexual assault.

I love Katerina Diamond's writing and have read everything she's published so far. Therefore, I had this on pre-order for months before receiving my Netgalley copy.

This was another fast-paced mystery, with multiple perspectives - so far, so good. However, I found myself really struggling with the main protagonist, Gail, from quite early on in the book. Although her attack was horrific and she had ever right to be as angry and disturbed as she was, I found her to be quite a problematic victim, and found myself questioning the reliability of her narration. I'm also ashamed to say that the other victim characterised in the book, Martha, was somewhat suspicious to me. I appreciate this makes me sound as bad as the dismissive and disbelieving DCI from the start of the book - I'm not, I promise!

Nevertheless, as a huge fan of Katerina, I persevered!

However, by 45% of the way through the book, I was certain I had worked out who the rapist was. By 80% I knew, pretty much, without a doubt. This is my main reason for the 3 stars.

Was I disappointed? A little, yes. Will it stop me reading any more Katerina Diamond? Absolutely not! Will I continue to recommend her books? Definitely! I really do look forward to the next one.

I have been a fan of Katerina Diamond for ages now, and think I have read all of her previous books and they are always a highlight of my summer. I have such good memories of sitting in the sun with the latest Diamond book.
This book was certainly no exception - I was hooked right from the beginning.
As others have said in their reviews, there are BIG trigger warnings here, and the themes are very serious and very dark.
I wasn't a huge fan of this books ending, and it didn't really tie up all the loose ends. I also have to say that I knew who the 'baddy' was from the very beginning when they were introduced (I will say no more as I don't want to spoil it!!)
I was gripped, and it's a real page turner - even if the second half of the book goes a bit OTT!
Bring on Katerina Diamond's next one!!

Thanks to Katerina and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Silence before the publication date.

Katerina has again written a book about very topical and sensitive issues which, in my opinion, would make it a good candidate for a book club. ( e.g. Increased numbers of rape reports, low convictions rates, the contentious victim anonymity ).
There are some parts which are not for the feint hearted.
She has given each of the victims a voice to narrate their own experiences and their wide-ranging emotions.

DI Shona White, has a depth of understanding of the victims. In her early career, she had been raped by a senior officer. This left her with an impossible choice, to report the rape which would have almost certainly been an end to her career, or carry on as though nothing had happened. Yet the rumours surrounding Shona continue to circulate and her rapist continues to use his position to engage with young officers.
It highlights the conflicted emotions which Shona continues to experience and those of a victim who felt forced to withdraw her complaint.

A further thread runs through the book. It is narrated by an unidentified male. Starting with his childhood in an abusive household, it reveals his development after his father left the family to a life of poverty.
This raises the question of nature vs nurture.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this psychological thriller.

I love Katerina Diamonds work and this was no exception. A really tough theme with trigger warnings for sexual assault but I thought the subject was dealt with really well. I really admired Gail and Martha’s resilience in finding their attacker and was shocked when their identify was revealed. A really fast paced read which had me in the edge of my seat.

The Silence is a gritty book that delves into the subject of sexual assault and how this is dealt with personally and by the people who are meant to help these victims. It’s raw, detailed, and traumatic.
Having the trigger warning is good for people who maybe affected by the topics within.
Highly recommend Katerina Diamond. I am a big fan and have read all her books, this new release is not my favourite but it is still a good intense revenge story.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This revengeful crime thriller follows Gail Reynolds, who one night finds herself drugged and being assaulted by an unknown man in her own home.

When she goes to report the crime she speaks to DS Shona White, who after a conversation with a colleague persuades Gail not to take the report any further.

Three years later, Gail is still struggling to come to terms with her horrific ordeal. When at a support group she comes across a woman with a similar story, it gives her the fight to push for more justice and track him down.

Will she find her attacker? How far will Gail go?

This crime thriller is both brutal, shocking, and dark. With the crimes against the women and other events throughout I didn’t know whether to support the women or think they may have gone too far.

Right from the start and throughout it speaks of sexual assault, so if this is a trigger for you then this would probably not be a suitable read. I felt that it displayed the anger from the women, and it shocked me how they were all treated by the authorities. It also showed how strong the women could become when they try to work through what they have been through.

You do get to hear from the attacker too, with chapters in between disclosing what lead him to the actions he takes, not that this made me feel sorry for him in any way.

Overall, a revengeful crime thriller where a victim gains the determination to find her attacker and bring herself justice.

BEWARE OF TRIGGERS!
What can I say? I'm so disappointed. I really liked Katarina 's other books but this one ......! It started off well but I soon lost patience with and any sympathy I had for the main character Gail. It is also blatantly obvious very early on who the rapist is. This may be intentional but if so it's not something I enjoyed. If it hadn't been an ARC I probably wouldn't have finished it as I could feel myself getting more and more annoyed and frustrated as the book progressed. A brave attempt at a very difficult topic that needs highlighting but not for me.
Thank you Netgalley, Avon Books UK and Katerina Diamond for giving me the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

An interesting read and a worry perspective on the reporting of rape. Strong female characters though no redeeming qualities in any of the males ! Just became too violent and far fetched for me during the last third.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! I’ve read all of Katerina Diamond books and this one was no different she is the queen of thrillers. This book was so captivating and dealt with the themes of rape and sexual assault in a sensitive manner.
The book was fast paced and kept me guessing throughout a perfect book for psychological thrillers fans alike, from the very first page I drawn and couldn’t put the book down it was so good I read it in a day! The characters were likeable also- Martha to name one.

Overall, I throughly enjoyed this book and all the plot twists that it presented! Another cracking book by Katerina Diamond.