The Silent Dead

The Silent Dead by Claire McGowan

On 1 May 2006 the Troubles returned to a small village outside Ballyterrin, Northern Ireland, when a bomb tore through buildings and human beings, killing sixteen people, maiming others and destroying the lives of so many more. Five years on and the trial against the Mayday Five, the four men and one woman accused of the atrocity, has recently collapsed amid the wreckage of circumstantial and poorly-gathered evidence. As the day of commemoration nears, the police find one of the Mayday Five dead, hanging, and learn that the other four suspects are missing, each snatched on the same day. It’s not long before a second member of the gang turns up, murdered. The race is on to find the other missing suspects before time runs out for them, too, but this is not an easy case. As the police spend time questioning the survivors and relatives of those murdered by the bomb, the moral question arises of whether it really matters if these five people are eradicated from the Earth.

Paula Maguire is the forensic psychologist assigned to the case by the police. All well and good except at seven months’ pregnant she’s probably not best suited to looking at bodies in the local bog. And to say that there’s ‘history’ with her boss is the biggest understatement of the year. But Paula is determined to get to the bottom of the case, growing close to many of the bomb’s survivors and victims’ relatives. Paula, like so many others, has reason to mourn the Troubles in Northern Ireland for very personal reasons. With the birth of her baby approaching ever closer, Paula is increasingly distracted by thoughts of family.

The Silent Dead is a disturbing, powerful read that at times is almost overwhelming in its portrayal of sadness and frustration. Perhaps reading it over the last weekend while upset over events in Paris wasn’t the time to do it – I think it troubled me all the more. But I remember the Troubles all too well, at times too well, and it does no harm at all to be reminded of what it was like. Although the bomb in this novel explodes several years after peace was declared, it’s a strong reminder of Omagh and the Enniskillen Remembrance Day bombing. Painful memories. And Claire McGowan takes care to show that the fallout from such atrocities takes years to recover from, if ever. It’s impossible to read this novel without undergoing such a range of emotions and feelings, especially in those sections which remember the people that simply disappeared without trace.

The light relief, or just the distraction, comes from Paula and her complicated private life. It’s clear that she’s in no fit state to be so heavily involved in this case and she tests the patience of her police colleagues. But she cannot let it go. There’s a strong sense that the arrival of the baby is going to be accompanied by an enormous shock to Paula’s system. She will have to put another human being first, ahead of her endless curiosity and drive for answers and justice. But she’s the perfect person for people on all sides to talk to and she works wonders. I did get a little irritated by the constant reminders that Paula’s heavily pregnant, as if we could forget it for an instant, but it does us good to be taken out of the other world into which Paula and her colleagues must descend.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series (there are another two) and I suspect that my appreciation for Paula’s predicament would have been increased if I knew more about her history. There is so much tension here between characters and much of it remained a mystery to me. But, having said that, I was gripped by The Silent Dead and was fully immersed in the world created by Claire McGowan’s fine storytelling. It’s painful at times but it’s also rewarding, hugely difficult to put down, and left me with a great deal on my mind to think about. The themes of innocence and guilt overshadow the whole novel and are dealt with in such a memorable and effective way. I now have another author to follow and read and for that I’m grateful.

Five people, four men and a woman, have gone missing from the area around Ballyterrin, near the Northern Ireland/Eire border. All were members of a breakaway Republican group, all suspected, tried, but not convicted, of having planted a bomb which killed sixteen innocent by-standers. Perhaps they've decided to leave the area completely - though for all five of them to do so on the same day seems unlikely - but then bodies start to turn up..... and DI Guy Brooking and his missing persons unit realise they're looking at kidnapping and murder. Who could be behind this increasingly grisly series of deaths - another branch of the Republican movement, one that's now more interested in promoting the peace process and legitimate political careers? Loyalists looking for revenge? Or maybe someone with closer links to the bomb victims?

This third book of the Paula Maguire series sees her caught up in an unusually disturbing case, one which raises issues about punishment and retribution. Popular opinion considers the missing five as terrorists, holding them responsible for a dreadful crime, placing a bomb on a busy high street; should they be entitled to police protection? Wouldn't the world be safer without them? As the fifth anniversary of the bombing approaches, with the unveiling of a memorial planned, DI Guy Brooking and his team are working against the clock to find out who is responsible for these disappearances.
Despite being seven months pregnant, and absolutely everyone she knows advising her to take things easy, Paula is convinced that as a forensic psychologist she can play a helpful role in finding the kidnappers and, of course, it helps distract her from the problems of her private life - small things like having a baby in a few weeks time and not being able to name the father, and the ongoing search for her 'disappeared' mother. Set against the backdrop of modern Northern Ireland, Claire McGowan tells a story that will hook you with its twists and turns, but leave you wondering about the deeper issues behind it. It portrays a town still trying to come to terms with its past during the years of the Troubles but trying to build a lasting peace,despite having once been on opposing sides. This is seen through Paula's eyes, with her mother never having been officially accounted for, and through the long terms effects on the bomb victims' families, for whom nothing will ever be the same again.
This isn't a story that's easy to read or one for the squeamish - there are graphic descriptions of the injuries caused by a bomb blast that will upset anyone - but at its heart lies a interestingly knotty moral dilemma. The missing five haven't been found guilty of the crime they're accused of - is it right for others to take justice into their own hands? What do you think?

I've really enjoyed the Paula Maguire series so far by Claire McGowan and The Silent Dead is a great addition and personally my favourite so far. I would certainly recommend that you start at the beginning of the series as, although this is a standalone story, you will get so much more out of it by following Paula from the start.
Paula is now heavily pregnant but that isn't stopping her getting stuck in to gory crime scenes, like the hanging of Mickey Doyle. Doyle is one of 5 people who have gone missing on the same day but this group are no ordinary missing persons. They were all, controversially, found not guilty in court of being involved in a bombing that killed 16 people. So where are the other 4? Paula is determined not to let her condition get in the way of finding out!
The troubles in Northern Ireland are at the heart of this intelligent and well researched novel. Paula herself has spent years wondering if her mother's disappearance was related to the times. This story has a difficult moral dilemma at its heart and it is difficult to read at times, there is so much emotion there. Paula's relationships with the men in her life (Guy, Aiden and her father PJ) are also being clearer and I am keen to see where she goes from here.
I received a copy of the book via netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

I blogged about Claire McGowan’s first Paula Maguire novel The Lost some time ago. I liked the Paula Maguire character (strong and intelligent, if a little wayward!) and the Northern Ireland setting, where there’s a tension between the desire to just get on with a normal life and the ghosts of murder and violence that touched so many people’s lives, making them prisoners of their past.

In The Silent Dead, Paula is now heavily pregnant, still working and has not resolved the question of her baby’s paternity. In the opening scenes she goes to a crime scene where a suspected former terrorist has apparently committed suicide. The “victim” is a member of the Mayday Five, a group responsible for a horrific bombing atrocity. The other four members of the group have disappeared. Maguire and the team must track them down to protect them from people who want to deal out their own brand of justice. As if the case itself isn’t hard enough, Paula also finds clues to the reason for her mother’s disappearance during the Troubles, which lead her to think that her mother may have been an informer for the British Army. As the story progresses, more bodies turn up, their deaths echoing the excuses they gave for murder years ago.

So, my thoughts. The setting for the novel and the various back stories have been developed excellently. It’s a story that’s riddled with moral ambiguity, people’s need to find out not just what really happened in the past, but why and a red raw emotion that drives that desperate want for some sense of justice and atonement. Together, these make The Silent Dead an incredibly powerful and emotional novel – the best in the series so far.

Final verdict – highly recommended. If you want to find out more about Clare McGowan and her writing, look at her blog:

http://clairemcgowan.net/

The Silent Dead is the first of Claire McGowan’s, Paula Maguire series that I have had the pleasure of reading, I would like to go back and read the first two in the series for my own pleasure, but I don’t believe it’s necessary for the enjoyment of this novel.

Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire is among the first on the scene when a member of the so called May Day Five (those responsible for the devastating May Day bombing) is found hung.

The immediate and inevitable conclusion is suicide; however it soon becomes clear that this is anything but.

A mysterious handwritten note is found upon the body linking the killing to the ‘May Day Trial’ where the bombers were set free, the families and their victims left distraught, wanting answers and possibly revenge.

Clearly the families of the victims are among the first suspects, but something just doesn’t add up...

When a second body is discovered, fears grow for the other members of the organisation.

No matter what they did, they are still human beings and Maguire is determined to get to the bottom of the case before the others are declared missing or worse still found murdered.

Her issue is, she is not an official member of the investigation team, and is heavily pregnant, neither of which endear her to the officer in charge of the investigation. But Maguire doesn't much care; neither for protocol, or for what others think of her. She is determined only to do her job.

The Silent Dead is a novel that highlights some of the troubles in Northern Ireland without being too brutal. It is gripping and in parts disturbing, but always enjoyable. I very much look forward to McGowan's next one...

Firstly I have to admit that I haven't read the first two books in this series, so this means that I can say that it works as a stand alone. That is, at least as far as the main story is concerned, there is however a whole host of backstory and character development that I have missed (although the important bits were explained satisfactory) and, as I enjoyed this book, I will be playing catch-up as soon as I get chance.

I do like the spin of this Police Procedural book being written from the POV of a forensic psychologist rather than a detective and I did warm to the character of Paula very early on. Yeah, her personal life is in a mess playing "who's the daddy" but she really does throw herself into her work - given the closeness to her due date probably a little too much!

So, the story follows the abduction of five people who were suspected (but never convicted) of a bomb attack several years ago. It is told in the present day with backstory from one of the characters and supplemented by excerpts from a book written about the incident. Sounds a little complicated but I found it very easy to follow. As one by one, the 5 missing persons turn up dead, we follow Paula and her colleagues in a race against time to discover what is happening before all are killed. Obviously this case is very politically sensitive, there are those who say that justice is being served especially those who suffered in the bombing.

I found this book very easy to read, the writing style suited me and I fell into step with the characters right from the off. There is enough description contained within the book to complement the story but it never got overpowering. The characterisation is very well done and I found them easy to emote with. Yes, at times I wanted to slap Paula cos she did do several rather daft things, especially in her condition! I also liked the interaction between the characters.
I found the story itself to be very well crafted. The troubles were sensitively explained and not glorified for effect, although, at times quite hard to read about. Being my age, I have an small understanding of what was going on at that time and, although I am no expert, what is depicted in the book matches what I remember.

So, all in all a good solid read, and I am going to go back to the first two books as well as look out for the next in series.

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

I blogged about Claire McGowan’s first Paula Maguire novel The Lost some time ago. I liked the Paula Maguire character (strong and intelligent, if a little wayward!) and the Northern Ireland setting, where there’s a tension between the desire to just get on with a normal life and the ghosts of murder and violence that touched so many people’s lives, making them prisoners of their past.

In The Silent Dead, Paula is now heavily pregnant, still working and has not resolved the question of her baby’s paternity. In the opening scenes she goes to a crime scene where a suspected former terrorist has apparently committed suicide. The “victim” is a member of the Mayday Five, a group responsible for a horrific bombing atrocity. The other four members of the group have disappeared. Maguire and the team must track them down to protect them from people who want to deal out their own brand of justice. As if the case itself isn’t hard enough, Paula also finds clues to the reason for her mother’s disappearance during the Troubles, which lead her to think that her mother may have been an informer for the British Army. As the story progresses, more bodies turn up, their deaths echoing the excuses they gave for murder years ago.

So, my thoughts. The setting for the novel and the various back stories have been developed excellently. It’s a story that’s riddled with moral ambiguity, people’s need to find out not just what really happened in the past, but why and a red raw emotion that drives that desperate want for some sense of justice and atonement. Together, these make The Silent Dead an incredibly powerful and emotional novel – the best in the series so far.

Final verdict – highly recommended. If you want to find out more about Clare McGowan and her writing, look at her blog:

http://clairemcgowan.net/
bt roman crime blogger

This series is excellent on post-Troubles Ireland and there are some interesting relationships being played out - but gosh Paula is irritating! Everytime she insinuated herself into a boggy crime scene despite being 8 months pregnant I wanted to reach into the book and slap her. The book works despite the main character rather than because of her. Recommended with reservations.

I have not read any of the previous books in this series featuring forensic psychologist Paula Maguire however it is possible to read this book as a standalone without being confused. The body count starts piling up within the first few chapters leaving the main characters several different avenues of inquiry without it being cut and dried as to who the killer is. I liked the characters, they were well crafted and i think i will read the earlier books to see how they have grown, in more ways than one with Paula. I also liked the plot itself, the history behind the murders, the troubles in Ireland ... it all led to a compelling read.