https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLBrev2A/

15 years ago Hayley walked into her home and a nightmare. She’d lost most of her family in a brutal way. Her youngest brother is missing and her father…

Well her father admitted to the crimes, and was sent to prison. Only now with new evidence uncovered it looks like he may have lied in that confession.

Could the killer still be lurking in this small town? That’s the question Hayley and Detective Locke have to answer, and if so how far will they go to protect their secrets.

Overall I enjoyed this story the pacing was a little up and down and somewhat slower than most thrillers. I’d call it more of a slow burn mystery.

I’m a fan of multi-POV stories which made me enjoy the characters. You can tell that Locke’s backstory is being built a little more than the other characters.

I did have to activate a good bit of suspension of disbelief regarding basically no change in relationships after 15 years of no contact with the people of the town as well as her father’s motivations, but I’m honestly fine with that it’s kind of how thrillers are.

This is going to be a good fit if you’re into stories that make you unravel complex family secrets and unsolved crimes. It’s not going to blow your mind but think it’s a good starting point for DI Locke who appears to be intended for more books in the future.

This was my first time listening to the Narrator, Elizabeth Knowelden and I thought she delivered the story quite well.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this book early; I received this ALC in exchange for review, however this does not affect the outcome of my review in any way.

This is a procedural thriller that starts out slow (as we gather the evidence) but works our way into a fast paced turning the page before you’re done reading because you NEED answers (metaphorically, because I read this as an audiobook).

This one is for you if you’re a fan of the following tropes/traits:
Procedural thriller with a detective
Return to hometown
False confession
Possible corruption

One thing I loved about this book was the partnership between DC Lucy Quinn and DI Sebastian Locke (the series’ namesake). I love when two partners build off of each other’s theories and work toward the goal together versus a singular character discovering on their own.

I also loved the intricacies of the case, which does lead me into one thing that I don’t usually love but felt it worked out in this book: a slow start. Generally I am a faster paced thriller reader, but I can make an exception when the slow pace is reallllly setting the stage and mapping out the case so that the conclusion will make sense and won’t leave me scratching my head wondering how we got here.

I will definitely we on the lookout for the next in the series!

The Quiet Dead is a traditional police procedural which introduces Detective Sebastian Locke and his team. Detective Locke is responsible for reopening a cold case after it transpires that the killer has been imprisoned for 15 years on the basis of a false confession.

Leonard De Silva was convicted of the murder of his wife and three children. When it transpires Leonard is not responsible for the killings, his estranged daughter Hayley returns from overseas to assist with the police's inquiries.

Detective Locke re-interviews Leonard, Hayley, and several of the family's friends and neighbours, forcing them to recount the night of the murder. As a reader, your suspicions sway from person to person as the novel moves POV. You're also given snippets into Detective Locke's home life, setting up potential plot points for future books in the series. It's not a bad read by any means, and the audiobook narrator is very good. The reason that I've rated it fairly low is that I found the "whodunnit" element a little boring. I also tend find the first book in any crime series a little slow because world building takes precedence at the expense of plot.

With thanks to Dreamscape and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one, especially as an audiobook. The narration was fantastic. I'm also a sucker for a great police procedural book and this one also ticked that box.

When remains are found it reopens a cold case, 15 years after a family is brutally murdered, a crime the father confessed to. But was he really the murderer or was there another reason behind his confession. And if he wasn't really the killer, then who was, and were they still free all these years later?

The storyline is fast paced and told from the perspective of the detective reinvestigating the case and Hayley, the sole survivor of the horrendous crime that took away her whole family. As an audiobook it worked really well, I was kept guessing right up until the very end.

A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to The Quiet Dead.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for allowing me to review The Quiet Dead on NetGalley.

Narrator: Elizabeth Knowelden: Okay, not memorable.

Stars: 2.5

Long and repetitive.

This is the first book in a series. The author does set up her regular characters well. I am bored with the innocent prison lifer trope. Of course I was not surprised why he confessed. I've read fiction/mystery, etc for years.

Respectfully, I looked to see if this was a debut novel, and it is not. The story could have used a good edit to fulfill my tastes. This would make a good airport/travel book -- skip a couple pages, no big deal.

I struggled through over half of The Quiet Dead , but I am calling it quits. I don't understand how the characters are connected. I also am totally lost on the plot.

A police procedural that delves deep into the heart of the characters.

I wouldn’t say the end was exceptionally shocking - it kind of landed a little flat for me as the book wore on. I found the characters to be interesting, the multiple POVs a great way to tell the story, and the mystery behind it all mostly well revealed.

There were a few things that bothered me - her American boyfriend using English slang that felt odd? But also the kind of thrown together part of the main woman’s life. Didn’t really serve a purpose aside from showing how she dealt with her trauma.

I liked the romance threads a lot, loved Sebs home front views and his relationship with his daughter! I think I would have just liked there to be more mystery and “shock” at the end which was kind of just passed over.

My rating: 3.5*
—-
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced listening copy. All opinions are my own!

The Quiet Dead (DI Sebastian Locke Mystery series #1) by NJ Mackay
Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers
Published: September 5, 2023

The Quiet Dead is the first book in the DI Sebastian Locke Mystery series by NJ Mackay. This book had me on the edge of my seat trying to put everything together! Once I knew the whodunit I was shocked! This was so well written and the story was beautifully woven. WOW!!!!

I loved how the team had to revisit a case that was closed 15 years prior, talk about asking for the impossible! The way they unraveled this was incredible! I am hooked!

The narration by Elizabeth Knowelden was incredible! I loved how she brought the story to life!

I can't wait to read the next book! I loved the team of detectives and I can't wait to see them solve their next case.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.5
In the start of a new series N.J. MacKay, when a man confessed to a murder turns out to be innocent:

Hayley DaSilva walks in on a scene that no one should, the murder of her mother, brother, her brother's friend and her youngest brother missing and who was never found. He farther admits to the murder and is convicted and sentenced to life in prison. 15 years later, when a new development is being put in, small bones are dug up from the ground. They belong to Ethan DaSilva, he has finally been found. Hayley now lives in America in a new life, one where no ones knows that her family has been murdered. When she receives the phone call that Ethan has been found, she goes back to England and is forced to face the truth about what happens. DI. Sebastian Locke is assigned to the case and right away, he can tell that the case was not handled well and they were too quick to convict a man and the really murderer is out there. But 15 years has past, can DI Locke finally get justice for the DeSilva family?

I liked that Mackay does not do flashbacks other that what the characters remember, which is not much due to drugs and alcohol consumed at the time. I think that this made it harder to put the evidence together, for both the reader and the investigators in the book, as people are being asked to remember things from 15 years ago. There is never really a clear suspect within the book as the investigators continue their investigation, I enjoyed this, as it kept me on my toes in trying to figure out what happened back then and who has gotten away with murder. I will say I did not have it all figured out, which does not happen very often.

There are dual POV in this book, one of our investigator DI. Sebastian Locke and the only survivor of her family Hayley DeSilva and I did not mind this, but at the same time, I found that Hayley's POV were repetitive at times. She was not able to add much to the investigation, so I found some of her chapters felt slightly like filler chapters. They do make you care for Hayley as a character as you feel really sorry for her for what she has suffered, but that is not the point of the book, the point of the book is to solve what is now a cold case.

You have to admire DI Locke in the book, he is determined and wants everything done right, no matter where the truth may take him. I also like that Mackay took time to make Locke seem like a real person with having some of his family life shown in the book.

This was a good book and a good start to a series, I really enjoyed the cold case aspect and to me it seemed the investigation was on point. I hope that Sebastian and Lucy work together again, I think they had a good dynamic with each other. I would check out another book in this series.

Enjoy!!!

The Quiet Dead surprised me with its compelling storyline that left me guessing from chapter to chapter who was responsible for a death years prior. I didn't see the twists coming at all, and would highly recommend for anyone looking for a great thriller this fall!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual Rating 2.5

Hayley’s family was brutally murdered when she was a teen and her father confessed to the killings, though the body of her young brother was never found. Years later, she receives a call from Detective Locke informing her that her brother’s body was found near their house and that there are holes in her father’s conviction. This means that the killer is still out there, hiding in plain sight. Will Detective Locke and Hayley be able to find the real identity of the murderer?

This story is told from multiple POVs. The characters were fine but nothing too compelling. What worked the best was the relationships that were included, especially with Detective Locke and his daughter. While the relationships weren’t necessarily plot relevant, it added much to the character development and overall immersion of the read. I did want a bit more concerning Lucy as she seemed like an interesting character, so hopefully she’ll be included more in Book Two.

I didn’t find the motivation for the father’s actions particularly convincing, and as it was a major plot point, that was a disappointment. It came to a point sometime after the first quarter where it felt like we were going over the same facts and thoughts over and over again, until things began to move a bit more in the last quarter. This certainly made for a slower and somewhat boring read for much of the middle of the work.

This was a decent slow burn mystery and drama. There wasn’t much tension, suspense, or action until very end, but the rest of the story was still quite enjoyable. I do think it started off much stronger than it ended, though. While I did mostly enjoy this read, it felt like it was missing several things to give it some real oomph and to make it memorable. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

it took me awhile to get into this one, but i did wind up enjoying it. i was on the edge of my seat trying to figure everything out. Mackay's writing style was great. i will read more.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Interesting story with some good twist. It kept my attention throughout, and the narrator did a good job.

This was a lot of fun and just what I was in the mood for. I was able to listen to it all in one go while I worked

Audio books have become a new love for me, as long as the narrator holds up their end of the bargain!!

When Hayley was a teenager, she made a gruesome discovery in finding her family brutally murdered in her home and her younger brother missing.

Her father confessed-but ended up disappearing. She all but moves on with her life, when she receives a call from the police with the discovery of bones in a shallow grave.

Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I absolutely love Elizabeth Knowelden. I have purchased audiobooks from Audible from authors I have never heard of just because she is narrating them. Her voice is AMAZING and she truly brings books to life.

"The Quiet Dead" by NJ Mackay ⭐⭐⭐

In "The Quiet Dead," we delve into a family tragedy that captivates from the start. The narrative's pace is engaging, and the characters, including the husband, are relatable to varying degrees. This book would be a solid recommendation for fans of police drama, although it falls just short of earning a higher rating. While the story is intriguing, it lacks that extra something to truly make it stand out.

This was a decent listen but in all honesty I finished it a few days ago and I’m struggling to remember enough details to review this book. So while the narrator did well and the story was enough to interest me I can’t say it was more than okay. I didn’t fully understand who was who and I didn’t want to go back to find details in order to understand the story more.

The main character, Haley, is brought back to her home town when bones are found that might belong to her brother Ethan. Her father was in prison for multiple murders but Ethan’s body was never found.

Regardless thanks Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Quiet Dead by NJ Mackay - Talk about emotional trauma. This thriller was pretty crazy. Hey, my dad's a killer. Yeah, he Murdered my mother and brothers. Oh, wait, nevermind, maybe he didn't? Maybe I've been staying away from my dad for 15 years for no reason? Maybe I KILLED MY MOTHER AND BROTHERS? CHAOOOSSSSS.

This is a good mystery with a story that keeps the reader engaged. The characters are realistic and the plot intriguing.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.*

This is the first book by NJ Mackay that I have read, and by the Goodreads listing, it appears that it will be the first in a series about the the featured detective, Sebastian Locke.

I enjoyed this book-it had a solid foundation, believable and relatable characters and a murder/police angle that kept me invested.

The premise is that a young British woman, following the murder of her mother and brother (for which her father "confessed" and was convicted) runs away to America and starts anew. When, 15 years later, the remains of her second brother, who was missing and presumed dead, are found, it becomes clear that her father could not have been his killer, and it throws doubt on his guilt for the other murders. She returns to the UK, and embarks upon a journey to help DI Locke find those responsible for all of the murders.

I'm not sure I loved this enough to feel invested in an entire series about the detective...but time will tell.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for this honest review.