The Silence by Katerina Diamond is a psychological thriller. 

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Avon Books and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Gail Reynolds wakes up in the middle of the night, unable to move.  Someone has broken into her house, drugged her, and whatever they gave her has paralyzed her.  Something is over her face, and a man is raping her.  She can't even call for help.  Her worst nightmare, and it only gets worse when she reports the crime.   The police don't believe her, saying this isn't the first time she's reported an assault.  But that was different, and this is now.  It doesn't matter, they won't listen, and she is persuaded that since there is no evidence, nothing can be done.  She leaves the police station angry.

Gail can't move on.  A couple of years later, when she attends a self-help group, she hears a woman's story that is identical to her own.  She is no longer alone.  Between Gail and Martha, they determine that it was indeed, the same rapist, and he will soon rape again.....because both of their rapes occurred on June 12th.  It must mean something to the rapist, but what?  They are sure there are more victims out there.

Gail returns to the police officer who insisted they couldn't do anything about her rape.  Shona White is now a DI, and has always regretted being forced to shut down Gail's case.  She is determined to make things right.

But Gail no longer trusts the police, and decides to take things into her own hands.


My Opinions:
First, this was a rather depressing read.  So many victims that don't come forward, and so many perpetrators who never get caught.  The book shows the impact rape has on the victims at the time, and for years to come.  It is just sad.

But this book is about more than rapists that go unpunished.  It is about victims who can't move on, and it is about anger and revenge camouflaged as justice.  It is also about friendship and courage.

The book was told through different perspectives - Gail's, Shona's and that of the rapist.  This was done really well, but I think it would have been better if the chapters had names attached to the titles, because often I wasn't sure whose chapter it was until I was a few paragraphs in. At times the writing was repetitive.   As well, I sometimes found the characters rather unlikeable, although I understood the reasons for their thoughts and actions, so perhaps that was just me.

Overall, although it was a rather disturbing and dark topic, the author handled it very well.  It is a powerful and mesmerizing read, but it won't be for everyone.

He's got away with it...but now time is up...

I am a big fan of Katerina Diamond so was excited about the prospect of reading her latest book. But for the purposes of a clarity and awareness I feel a trigger warning is appropriate.

**TRIGGER WARNING**
It needs to be said that this book is about rape and features incels (involuntary celibates)

While rape features heavily throughout the story, it is sensitively done though the entire concept of it does come across with a sense of brutality and even violence, though to be fair this book is a lot less graphic than some of Diamond's other thrillers. I think out sensitivity it is less so. But some readers may find it confronting so if this is an issue for you then maybe pass on this one.

The story begins three years previously with Gail returning home after a tiring shift at work. She falls asleep after some mindless TV, awaking only to find a stranger on top of her raping her. She cannot move, she cannot see for something was draped across her face and she cannot do anything to stop what this monster is doing to her. Afterwards he makes her wash with bleach and takes everything he use from the scene, leaving no trace of evidence behind. It is like nothing ever happened. Except Gail knows that it did. She can feel it, she can remember every waking moment, she can taste it.

In the morning, she reports the assault to police where she is interviewed by DS Shona White. But when she takes it to her supervising officer, she is told that this is not the first time Gail has reported a rape that was deemed to be a false allegation. No one would believe her, the case was untenable and so Shona was told to bury it and let it go. And so Gail leaves feeling as though she has been raped all over again. Just like last time - they didn't believe her.

Three years on, Gail has tried moving on with her life but instead lives in the shadow of some semblance of what was once her life. She has been unable to hold down a job, becoming unreliable and unmanagable, even going as far as slapping a customer on one occasion. Now she has a night shift position at a hotel on the front desk and running room service because she only feels safe at home during the day when her neighbours are awake.

Gail frequents sexual assault support groups several times a week and it is there she meets Martha whose story of her own ordeal mirrors her own. As Martha tells her story Gail feels as if it is her own, reliving every horrifying moment. They decide to make a stand and not be victims any longer and so they try to draw out other survivors to his brutal assaults...because one thing they know - they were not the only ones. The police have washed their hands of it as there is no physical evidence not only linking a perpetrator to the assault but that that an assault even took place! Together they discover more consistencies that bring them closer to finding out who did this to them and the significance of the date on which they were raped two years apart.

THE SILENCE is a very dark read that can be quite uncomfortable to read at times. But it is compelling, addictive and held my attention throughout. Firstly, I must commend Diamond for tackling what is essentially a difficult topic to feature in plots. She did it with sensitivity, honesty and care. Her thrillers are known for being brutal and featuring graphic scenes but for the purpose of this one she reigned it in here.

The story unfolds through three main perspectives - Gail, Shona and the perpetrator. Gail's narrative is unusual in the sense that it is written with an almost second person narrative...like a diary to her attacker. She keeps referring to "you" meaning her attacker throughout her narrative. Shona's focuses on the investigation from when Gail first presented to her three years ago to now when she is now a DI. The perpetrator's retells his story from that of a child, the unjustness and unfairness of his peers and pretty much everyone around him, leading up to the present.

Unfortunately I found Gail rather irritating and barely likeable at times. I did sympathise with her but I liked her less as the story progressed. I get how she doesn't want to be seen as a victim any longer but the transition into vigilante was a tad far fetched and I felt took away from the main purpose. I liked Shona but felt she was made to tow the line when really she wanted to pursue the investigation from the start. She believe Gail, but no one else would.

I story as a whole was dark but cleverly told throughout. There are sufficient twists to keep you guessing but I had it all figured out by about chapter 5...although admittedly I was only guessing but it was my theory at the time but the more I read the more I was convinced I was right.

The ending I thought was a little abrupt and while I was engaged throughout I did feel there was something lacking that is usually present in Diamond's thrillers. But that aside, it is quite a good read despite its subject matter. A tense and chilling read from start to finish.

I would like to thank #KaterinaDiamond, #Netgalley and #AvonBooksUK for an ARC of #TheSilence in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

I know I am in for an intense, gripping and gory read whenever I start one of Diamond's books and this is no different. This plot is chilling, terrifying and completely believable. It is also incredibly difficult to read and is definitely not for the faint hearted.
'The Silence' absolutely kept my interest and I was gripped and desperate to know what the resolution would be. I did, however, think the plot was obvious. I would have liked there to have been something different that would have surprised me. Having said this, I enjoyed getting it right.
'The Silence' is another stunning fast-paced crime read from Diamond. This is uncomfortable but exhilarating reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance copy.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book.
I found this a difficult subject to read about but I thought it was well written from each of the three perspectives. The internal monologue was hard to get used to but I actually managed to figure out who he was. I've only read one of this author's previous books in her series but I intend on reading more of them. ⭐⭐⭐

I have mixed feelings about this one. Apart from Shona, the characters really annoyed me at times, and although I had a lot of sympathy with Gail I feel she made a lot of bad decisions. I had sussed out the culprit early in the story, but I was hoping that I was wrong and that there would be further thrilling twists to come. Sadly there weren’t, and I was left feeling a bit disappointed in the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity - it was a decent and interesting read but not one that I could wholly recommend I’m afraid.

3.5 stars

I loved the idea of The Silence! Catching a serial rapist, the police need some help and in swoops Gail Reynolds, to reclaim back her life from the June 12th rapist. At first the police don’t believe her, but when Gail finds more victims, the police know they have to take action. However, Gail and her new friend Martha, want to take their own action, and will stop at nothing to punish those who committed these awful crimes.

I did feel that it got rather violent rather quick, however that didn’t put me off, but it could to others. I think that the trigger warns should be more visible, maybe it was the format of the kindle book, I’m not sure.

The rather large twist at the end was great, just shadowed by it being expected, but a great twist none the less. It was easy to guess from the start.

I would definitely read more books from this author as the plot and writing style was great.

This is the first book I’ve read from the author. Even with the heavy topic this book is based around, please read trigger warnings before reading, I would very much read another book from this author in the future. I feel that is it written powerfully and respectfully about the topic within the story. I believe the characters were well-developed and my opinions of them changed as I continued through the book. I was able to guess who the person was before the end but it didn’t take away from my reading. I’m very much going to look into others by the author and keep an eye out for future reads.

For once I did not really enjoy a book by Katerina Diamond.
I found the story repetitive, slow and rather boring.
It was quite easy to guess the ending before the big reveal.
I am sure this will appeal to some but sadly it was not for me.

This was a gripping book and although there were some very uncomfortable scenes describing rape and sexual assault, I felt this was written well and added to the urgency of the story. I also felt this book raised important social points for discussion and touched upon why convictions for rape are so low. The story then seemed to gain momentum and crescendos into a plot full or twists and questions. I would recommend this book as long as the reader is aware of the graphic content.

Difficult subject but it was a good read. Hard going at times. The internal monologue took a bit of getting used to but once I did, I got into the book better. I have read a few books by this author and have always enjoyed them.

It took me a while to get used to then writing style as a lot of the story was internal monologue aimed at a mysterious attacker. Its told from three perspectives, Gail, Shona and the mystery attacker. I felt this added to the story as we got three different perspectives. Overall a solid read.

This is a thriller centred around a very difficult subject but I thought she’d done it well. I couldn’t get in with her inner monologue though, I found it very jarring and confusing at times. Other than that it was a good read!

I have read a couple of books by this author so was excited to read her latest novel, out on 8th June. Thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for my copy to review.

The Silence follows Gail Reynolds, a woman who was raped in her home. She reports the crime, but there isn’t enough evidence and nothing comes of her report, especially as she had previously reported someone else for a sexual assault and it wasn’t proven. Years on, Gail is still annoyed and takes matters into her own hands. She reveals a pattern to the rapist’s attacks and finds other victims.
DS Shona White is involved with the case. She has experienced an assault herself, from a more superior police officer. She is keen to bring the attacker to justice.

Unfortunately for me, the only character I really liked was Shona and she doesn’t feature a huge amount. I wanted to empathise with Gail but she was so bitter and entitled she ended up being very unlikeable. Her instant obsession with Martha was very creepy and it felt like she was almost in competition with the other victims. No one could be more affected than Gail.

Each chapter is from the point of view of either Gail, Shona, or a mystery person, who turns out to be the attacker. The chapters aren’t very long, but I felt the book was badly paced as it dragged a lot for me. It very briefly picked up for a few chapters towards the end, but the ending itself was very meh and anticlimactic. Generally I found the book to be a bleak and depressing read. I wasn’t expecting it to be a light read but it felt like there was no let up as the majority of the book is centred around Gail.

I worked out who the attacker was a few chapters into the book but I hoped I would be proved wrong and there would be a big twist. This didn’t happen, and the person I thought was very obviously the attacker, was the attacker. This was a real let down for me as I had really hoped it wasn’t that obvious.

Overall, I was disappointed with this book and didn’t enjoy it. It was too bleak and there was no thrill or tension to drive the story forward. I couldn’t relate to or empathise with the main character at all. This one wasn’t for me and I wouldn’t recommend it.

Gail is raped at home in a most brutal way. He has drugged her and she is unable to move. When she reports it to the police, she is sent away because there is no proof.
The policewoman who told her this, had in turn been told by her superior to do this to keep crime figures down. She herself had been attacked, by another policeman, but wasn't believed.
This is a tale of how hard it is for the victims and how easily someone can penetrate the fragile bubble we all surround ourselves with.
It's not an easy read due to the subject, but worthwhile.

Received this advanced copy from netgalley.
I've read lots of books by this author and have enjoyed them all.
This book kept me reading and guessing right to the end. Hard content if been in a similar situation.

What a good story! A young woman reports a very unusual rape to the police but is persuaded to let the case drop because she’d previously made an unsubstantiated rape claim. Much of the story is told from her viewpoint and her desire for revenge interspersed with the story of the rapist. I did identify him about half way through the story, but that did not spoil the book in any way. It made for uncomfortable reading at times but reflected statistics of women not being believed and receiving justice very well.

3.5 stars
This is a good read but for awareness, this book is about women who have been raped.
It’s sensitively done but I think this story could be a trigger for some people.
Gail goes to the Police after being raped in her home but is told there will be no evidence as the rapist made her wash with bleach afterwards and carried out the deed on a plastic sheet which he took away.
Gail is left feeling bereft and very annoyed with the Police.
She goes to a support group and hears a woman recount the same details that happened to her and after speaking, they realise it was the same man.
Gail is determined that this man is caught and sets out to find him.
A good read but a tricky subject to write about.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I approached reading this knowing rape is a difficult subject matter. Unfortunately it was harder to read than I expected and I couldn't get comfortable with it, therefore affecting my reading.

**TRIGGER WARNING** This story is about rape. It's also quite violent.

Gail wakes in the middle of the night to everyone's worst nightmare. She can't move, can't speak and a stranger standing over her. Then everything goes black. Gail knows she didn't dream it. Or him. But the police don't believe her. That was two years ago. She has tried to move on, forget what happened. Until she meets his next victim. The woman's story is identical to hers. And the attack happened exactly one year later. There is one weel left before he will strike again.

This is quite a dark read and definitely won't be for everyone, especially the fainthearted. As I'm a fan of Katerina Diamond's books, I requested this book without reading the premise. when I realised what the book was about, I did hesitate over reading it. I never feel comfortable reading about the subject matter. After saying all that, it was quite a good read. The story follows detectives who ignore reports and the victims who struggle after they've been attacked, cases are not believed or taken seriously. This is a tense and chilling read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AvonBooksUK and the author #KaterinaDiamond for my ARC of #TheSilence in exchange for an honest review.

Good story. Lots of twists and turns. Well worth reading

Looking forward to more from Katerina Diamond
Many thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC and opportunity to enjoy this wonderful book