The Silence

** spoiler alert ** I raced through the first quarter of this book in one sitting.
The pacing was spot on,the story well done,I was wanting to slap Stella and tell her to wake up to this man.
There was an interesting reveal on exactly who Stella was as a child,and how she became quite so famous,and how toxic she was.
I think that's where it peaked. From there it followed a familiar route, though still engaging.
The last bit though,was a bit too ott for me.
Enjoyable.

There’s something really irritating about a book where the antagonist is obvious and the protagonist just doesn’t see it. Honestly that’s the only sentence you need to know about The Silence.

Something extra needs to be added to this story, an interesting twist. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed reading it but it’s lacking.

I rate this as a 2.5 / 5.

I felt this book was a bit slow paced for me, especially given the storyline. It’s not an original story, and I did find it a bit predictable. However, it was well written and I would read others by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. Parts of this book were predictable..the pills, the secrets, the man Marco really was. But other parts were not. While overall I thought it was slow going and ended up skimming more than reading, the end was not totally what I expected.

Rating: 3.5

Author: Daisy Pearce

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (1 Mar. 2020)

Release: 1st March 2020



Synopsis:-

She’s broken. She’s vulnerable. She’s just what Marco was looking for.

Stella Wiseman was a child TV star, but there’s nothing glamorous about her life now. Alone in her thirties, she’s lost her parents and her friends and she’s stuck in a dead-end job. But just as she hits rock bottom she meets Marco, a charismatic older man who offers to get her back on her feet. He seems too good to be true.

Is he?

She appreciates the money he lavishes on her. And the pills. But are the pills just helping her sleep, or helping her avoid her problems?

With Stella’s life still in freefall, Marco whisks her away to a secluded cottage where she is isolated from everyone except him. But the closer he pulls her, the worse she gets. He tells her it’s all in her head, and she just needs time away from the world.

No longer sure what’s real and what’s not, Stella begins to question whether she was wrong to trust Marco. Was she wrong to trust herself? Is the one person she thought was fighting for her survival actually her biggest threat?



About the Author

Daisy Pearce was born in Cornwall and grew up on a smallholding surrounded by hippies. She read Stephen King’s Cujo and The Hamlyn Book of Horror far too young and has been fascinated with the macabre ever since.

She began writing short stories as a teenager and dropped out of a fashion journalism course at university when she realised it wasn’t anywhere near as fun as making stuff up. After spells living in London and Brighton, Daisy had her short story ‘The Black Prince’ published in One Eye Grey magazine. Another short story, ‘The Brook Witch’, was performed on stage at the Small Story Cabaret in Lewes in 2016. She has also written articles about mental health online. In 2015, The Silence won a bursary with The Literary Consultancy, and later that year Daisy also won the Chindi Authors Competition with her short story ‘Worm Food’. Her second novel was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Award.

Daisy currently works in the library at the University of Sussex, where she shelves books and listens to podcasts on true crime and folklore. She lives in Lewes with a one-eyed Siamese cat and a nine-year-old daughter who occasionally needs reminding that ghosts and monsters aren’t real.

Sometimes she almost believes it herself.



My Thoughts:-

My oh, my! Where to begin with this one? Well, I was offered an early copy of this book as part of my Amazon Prime subscription. They do a thing called 'Kindle First Reads' and you get to choose an early eBook a month before it's released and also get them cheaper or something to buy print. But anyway, this month I chose The Silence because the synopsis sounds twisty and gripping.

I have to say Daisy Pearce has seriously good talent. Throughout the book I felt like I was being led on a merry dance, being teased with potential plotlines and twists. After every chapter I thought I'd figured out what was going on, only to find those theories shattered or contradicted in the next chapter. It is gripping, on the edge of your seat reading at it's most annoying, to be honest. Not to say I didn't like the book, I really did, but there was SO MUCH going on that was shady and mysterious and it had me in the mind of "to many chefs spoil the stew", or in this case... "to many suspects spoil the book". There really was just too much going on and it left me completely unsure what way the book was even going. I loved the writing style, it seemed very personal and I felt a deep connection with the main character, which is always nice. The characters were well developed and I couldn't fault it in any way besides the tangle of events and suspects. I'm going to try and untangle my thoughts for you...

Basically, I feel that Pearce has excelled at writing a good psychological thriller. The way the story twists and turns and hints and confuses the readers seems to me intentional, like Pearce means for the reader to feel as confused and unsure of things as the main character, Stella does. If this is the case then it's a truly wonderful book and Pearce is going to be an author to keep an eye on, but if this wasn't the intention then that makes it much less so. As I felt that this was in fact the intention, I did enjoy the book a lot. While the confusion of events annoyed me at times I felt like I was supposed to feeling that way and it drew me in further, needing to know what was ACTUALLY going on. So, as I said, I did enjoy the book. I can't though say for certain that this was intentionally confusing, therefore I can't in good conscience praise it as so.

I think overall the book is going to prove a bit marmite, you'll either love it or you'll hate it. It certainly isn't a 5 star storyline, but it's enjoyable if you get past the confusion of the narrative. I'd say read it, see what you think if the synopsis grabs you, but be prepared for a very twisty and confusing ride because nothing becomes clear until the very end.

This book was a surprise in a good way. The storyline was gripping. It definitely kept me wanting to read to figure out what happens to our main character.

Once upon a time, Stella was a big deal, a child star, but now, in her thirties, she’s a washed up nobody. And she’s a perfect mark for Marco, a man who tells her he can reinstate her into show business. He lavished attention and drugs on her, and then moves her into a secluded cottage in the middle of nowhere. He tells her the time on her own is all she needs to get back on her feet. Readers will be able to see what’s coming, but that doesn’t lessen the excitement and thrills in store.

One of the best thrillers I’ve read this year! Pearce keeps building the suspense and weaving a web. Stella can’t see clearly and as a reader, at times neither can we. A real page turner and not to be missed!

Wow I ended up really enjoying this book! This book is creepy- I found myself putting it down late at night as it left me feeling unnerved, anxious (but like in a good, thriller way), and frightened. I will say that the first half of the book went a little slower for me, but I powered through the last half as that's when more of the "thriller" aspects take place.

The Silence is a story about childhood TV star Stella, who is struggling through her life. She meets Marco, their love blossoms, but she finds herself struggling to remember what happened and has psychotic episodes. The author has captured the dark emotions and chills that Stella goes through in this book. Sometimes the story flow feels confused, but I think it is because Stella feels confused too. Its creepy in a way, to know something is happening, but not sure if its true or if its all happening in your head. The suspense is maintained till the last. It was a bit difficult to get into the story at first, but once captured, it was a page-turner. I wanted to know what happened to Stella! Daisy Pearce has written well. Will lookout for more of her books.
Thank you, NetGalley, Daisy Pearce and Amazon publishing for the reader's copy of this book. This review is my own opinion and is not influenced in any way.

Holy crazy psychologically twisted book! This book is definitely a 5 star book for me! I love when I cannot guess what is going to happen. I had no idea if Stella Wiseman was insane, crazy, a drunk or just drugged up by herself or by her fiancé.

This book is about a childhood TV star name Stella Wiseman who is now struggling to get her life in order. Her parents are no longer alive and she only has a few close friends. One night she meets Marco at a bar and soon is swept up in his life. Before she knows it, she has no idea why she is having psychotic episodes where she has no idea what has happened to her or the person she attacked.

This book definitely made me feel bad for Stella. I really felt her struggle trying to understand what was happening. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC for my honest review!

It was okay.
As a person who reads a lot of this type of stories, unfortunately this book didn't stand out of the crowd but it was an enjoyable fast read.

Eh, not so sure about this one. I'm usually not one for the genre but the description did draw me in so I decided to give The Silence a chance. Though the characters were pretty authentic and their motivations somewhat plausible, this thriller just didn't stick with me.
I did like the writing style though and will probably pick up another book by this author because even though I couldn't get into the plot, the writing was good!

This is a really good book. It left me feeling really unsettled and gave me a real book hangover as I dwelled on the storyline for several days afterwards. The characters are well drawn and, while there are a lot of different threads, the plot and ending leaves nothing not addressed. Strongly recommended. I can't wait to read more of Daisy Pearce's books.

Interesting thriller. It could totally be a movie or limited series. An easy read during hard times in the world.

The Silence is about a woman named Stella who was a child-star growing up. She is trying her best to live a regular life in adulthood. One day she meets an older man named Marco who seems to be the solution to all her problems. He is a shoulder to lean on after her father has died and really seems like he wants to be around to take care of her. Stella has problems sleeping and Marco has a doctor friend who helps get her pills to help with that and her depression. As it turns out, Marco is not the man he seems he is. Stella begins misplacing things and forgetting entire situations that Marco tells her happened. She looses all her close friends at his insistence. Stella begins to question herself and what is real and not real around her. Soon Marco moves her into a secluded home owned by his deceased parents under the guise of helping her. She is told she will get better by having time away from the pressures of the real world. The longer Stella lives there, the more she feels she is going insane. She also believes that the house is haunted. Stella begins to receive clues that make her realize Marco is not who he says he is. As she digs deeper into his past she realizes she is on the ride of her life. This novel has so many twists and turns and also an interlaying ghost story. I found it very intriguing and interesting. It is worth the read in my opinion.

Really enjoyed the storyline in this book. Have had a reading slump recently and this got me going again. Look forward to reading more from this author

This book was eerie, engaging and a little bit creepy—signs of a good thriller! Many twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed it!

The silence by Daisy Pearce.
Stella Wiseman was a child TV star, but there’s nothing glamorous about her life now. Alone in her thirties, she’s lost her parents and her friends and she’s stuck in a dead-end job. But just as she hits rock bottom she meets Marco, a charismatic older man who offers to get her back on her feet. He seems too good to be true.
Good read. Good story. Dark but slow. I didn't trust Marco. I liked Stella. I liked the ending. Predictable. 3*.

Daisy Pearce's The Silence is an interesting read. It definitely lives up to the genre of psychological suspense but is very uncomfortable. Overall, Pearce's writing is strong but is inconsistent at times - almost as if there are two separate writers. The plot is a bit predictable but it's dark and manipulative nature makes it a page-turner.

* received for free from netgalley for honest review* 4.5, really interesting and for the most part a change from the norm of thrillers with similar storylines!

This was not for me. I just could not get into this book. The characters irritated me, even though I though the book was well written. It just didn't hit the spot for me.

This book put me in mind of Misery really good thriller and i couldn't put this book down and will read more by this Author

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The storyline was blatantly obvious almost immediately. It was so easy to tell what was going to happen after the first few chapters honestly. And it got pretty irritating how naive and dumb the main character was being to the 'man.'

Overall, I can't say I'd recommend this book to many others. It was just okay.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

Unfortunately I didn’t much enjoy this book. The plot was predictable and the characters were unengaging. Nothing stood out as making this anything new or different. .