This is a tense thriller introducing us to Acting Detective Inspector Anna Gwynne. I liked Anna right from the beginning. She is a strong character with a brilliant mind. I hope there is plenty more to come from her! I can't wait for Dylan Young to write the next one.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy!

Thanks a million Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book. Absolutely brilliant!!! Such twists and turns!!! I was on the edge of my seat and just couldn't put it down!!! No way will you see the final twist!! Would definitely recommend and I'd give it more than five stars if I could!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publisher, Bookouture, for this review copy given in exchange for an honest review.

This book was originally titled Come Out to Play. It is the first book in the Detective Anna Gwynne series. For information, the book is set in Gloucestershire and the surrounding areas in the UK.

Following a young girl’s disappearance, Gloucestershire police are convinced that she has been taken by the same man who killed young Emily Risman 18 years earlier. Detective Anna Gwynne isn’t so sure and doesn’t think they have their man. She calls on the help of convicted murderer, Hector Shaw to solve the case.

This is my first Dylan Young book. The story doesn’t begin as a fast paced story but slowly builds up the suspense as the book moves on to a faster paced level. The characters are well developed and interesting enough to hold my attention throughout the whole book. Anna is a strong female lead who will follow through what she believes in. Her relationship with prisoner Hector Shaw was, to be honest, fantastic! It had so many similarities to ‘Silence of the Lambs’ (and not in a plagiaristic type of way, just to be clear!!!). This helped my imaginations of Anna and Hector and made this book that extra bit ‘creepy’! The ending wasn’t expected and there were plenty of twists and turns leading up to it.

The story was well written, leading nicely into the next book of the series. For me, there could have been a bit more energy into the beginning of the story, but by the end it well redeemed itself! A worthy police procedural crime story, and I can’t wait to meet Anna again in the next book!

This novel, although fantastically written, is a little wordy for me. There is lyrical and poetic then there is wordy, and I feel this was wordy and then some.

I really enjoyed reading The Silent Girls and felt as though it hooked me from the very beginning. This is a detective mystery novel, which I often read, and enjoy - and it focused around a serial killer, with a thrilling plot-line! Detective Anna Gwynne has a gut feeling that the convicted killer she is investigating is innocent, when his name comes up in an investigation 18 years later. But can she convince anyone?

In terms of the writing, I think Dylan Young really knows how to write a suspenseful mystery/thriller, and although it isn't a fast thriller, it is well-paced and the suspense builds throughout the read, toward a satisfying and not very predictable wrap-up. That being said, there are scenes which I think are a bit over-the-top, and seem fairly un-realistic.

Characterisation is strong in this book also, Anna's character has a lot of depth, and I feel as though Young gives the reader a clear understanding of who she is. Anna is a strong female lead, intuitive, desperate and dedicated. Shaw's character is also extremely well done, especially with the manipulative aspect of him. Whether you like these characters or not, I think you'd have to agree that they are well-written and interesting enough to warrant a reappearance in the sequel.

Overall, I would definitely recommend The Silent Girls, which is a well-paced novel of suspense, which isn't wholly predictable and has interesting characters to keep you interested. I will be sure to pick up the sequel and see where these characters go next!

Full Review: https://thereadingruby.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-silent-girls-by-dylan-young.html

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Silent Girls, the first novel in a new series of police procedurals featuring acting DI Anna Gwynne of the Southwest Regional Major Crimes Review Task Force.

17 years ago Neville Cooper was convicted of the murder of teenager Emily Risman and now less than a year after his conviction was overturned another teenager with links to Cooper has gone missing. Anna and the team are asked to re-investigate the Emily Risman murder with a watching brief on the new case to establish the identity of the killer nicknamed The Woodsman. In a separate investigation Anna has been interviewing convicted serial murderer, Hector Shaw. Scarily he takes a liking to her and provides unexpected help in the Risman case.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Silent Girls which was originally titled Come Out to Play. It is an excellent police procedural with a bit of everything in it - police corruption, psychopathic and manipulative serial killer (and that's just Hector Shaw), a likeable protagonist and a great plot which unfolds at a steady pace with a gradual build up of evidence and discoveries. Surprisingly I found The Woodsman and his motivations the least convincing part of the novel.

Anna is an interesting character. She is introverted, uninterested in socialising although she has learned to do so to make her job easier and is fiercely analytical. She is smart, intuitive and dedicated to the truth. She inspires loyalty in her team and admiration from her superiors. I like her relentless approach and loved her altercations with some of the older guard of detectives which demonstrate that the old ways aren't always best. Hector Shaw casts a long shadow over the novel and I think Mr Young has his character just right with the veiled malevolence and violence vying with his need to manipulate. It is a scary mixture of Hannibal Lecter and Ted Bundy who actually consulted with serial killer task forces. I'm looking forward to meeting both characters again.

The Silent Girls is a great read which I devoured in one sitting and have no hesitation in recommending.

I loved this book. It had a brilliant storyline and strong characters. I couldn’t put it down, I was hooked from the first page. Five star recommendation. I can’t wait to read the next in this series.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Dylan Young for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

This is a dark thriller with a well-developed plot. Until the end it was unclear who would be the killer.
Great story!

I also loved the (creepy) dynamics between DI Anna Gwynne and Hector Shaw; a whole life sentence prisoner at Witmarsh. He`s a bit like Hannibal Lector in the Silence Of The Lambs, but without the quid pro quo. Also he sees Anna more as a `daughter`... So I wouldn`t say they`ve a `healthy friendship`...

The Silent Girls by Dylan Young is the first book in the Detective Anna Gwynne police procedural series introducing Anna as an upcoming detective charged with finding a killer. The book stars with a gripping scene where a father goes to check his teen daughter who had been having a sleepover in their barn only to find her friend drugged and a lot of blood with his daughter missing.

Detective Anna Gwynne and her team are tasked with the case which they believe may be linked to another killing years prior. When Anna’s boss and mentor gets ill she is put in charge of the team and the investigation. Anna also finds herself looking for help from another serial killer when she makes an unexpected connection with him.

The genre of police procedurals is one that is really a hit or miss for me, sometimes I absolutely love them and other times they aren’t quite as gripping as I would like them to be. With The Silent Girls it unfortunately fell into the latter category even after starting off with what was an extremely compelling beginning. What I find that slows down the pace and gives me a bit of a disconnect is usually the style in which previous cases and/or evidence is given in a book. In this case it felt a bit dry like I was actually reading police files myself.

Also, there is a scene at the end of this book that I didn’t quite like in how it’s done. Without giving any spoilers though this was just a personal preference in feeling that was something a bit overdone and didn’t fit this character in my mind. The final wrap up of the perpetrator though in the story was one that I don’t think too many will see coming so that was good. For me though when finished I thought this one to be an OK read but would hope the next could be a bit more intense.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Enjoyable book. Like the main characters although some were less developed than others but I would hope this would continue through other books. Intriguing story with some good twists. A to be continued author/series I think.

What a great debut novel, Dylan Young is my first great find of 2018. I am excited for the next installment of the great detective Anne Gwynne.

The first in a new police series featuring Detective Anna Gwynne, the Silent Girls is a great read. When a young girl is found murdered in a stable in a similar manner to an 18 year old murder, Anna is on the trail to find the real killer. Her gut tells her that the wrong man was accused 18 years ago but struggles to get her colleagues to believe her.

I read this book in less than 24 hours, I was hooked and needed to keep reading. I received an advance copy of this book from Bookature via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

I liked this book. The lead character was quick, smart and felt realistic. The plot didn't fool around and no character felt safe. Anna does not rush into danger, and follows her instincts to get help.
The main draw for readers who like Silence of the Lambs is Anna's beneficial relationship with an incarcerated murderer, Hector Shaw. All through the book, my brain kept correcting Hector to (H) Lector. Hector is no where near as creepy as Hannibal, but provides the same insight into how the killer Anna is hunting thinks. However, Hector is not the central plot, and Anna ends up solving the case on mostly her own conclusions, so it feels like Hector may be a bigger part of coming books.
The prologue is well written and suspenseful, and I wish we had more time with the victim's family in modern times, as the investigation frequently focuses on beginning of the murderer's attacks 17 years earlier. The cases are connected and this investigation is important, it just felt like we learned too little of the modern day victims and how their families reacted.
Anna is a strong character, and not missing a dead spouse or dead child, and doesn't have an addiction or bitterness because of her job, downplaying all of these tired cliches of police stories.I would gladly continue her story whenever the sequel is released.

This was an excellent read, i’m so glad I picked this up! I really loved Anna’s personality. So many strong female characters are ridiculously contrived in books like this, but I really liked that she was written as human and not this unbelievable force. The story was so well written and is perfectly set up for a great series! I was afraid that the Shaw/Anna relationship was going to get a little too Hannibal/Clarice but it stayed just different enough, although, I wouldn’t be surprised if future books in the series got a bit too similar. Still, this was a great read and I’m looking forward to the next installment!

I received an ARC from NetGalley. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Dylan Young, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to read an early copy.

When a young girl’s body is found on the edge of the local forest, the Gloucestershire police are convinced it’s the same killer who stabbed to death beautiful, young Emily Risman eighteen years ago. They’re desperate to finally have the evidence to put him away. To save another girl before it’s too late.

Only Detective Anna Gwynne thinks he isn’t the real killer.

Anna can’t find proof and as the body count rises, she realises she needs to get inside the killer’s twisted mind. And she knows just who to ask. Hector Shaw, in prison for killing the six men who caused his own daughter’s death.

Can Anna get what she needs from Hector before another life is lost, or could he lead her down a path that puts her own life in grave danger?

Come Out to Play is a good police procedural. It's creepy, eerie, gritty, and suspenseful. I enjoyed the twist ending and that there were loads of suspects, making it harder to figure out what actually happened until the writer was ready to tell us. A must read!

An impressive, addictive and compelling read from a master storyteller. Once I started this book, I could not bear to be parted from it - the characters becoming more real than the people around me, the mark of an book. The story rockets at an incredible pace sweeping you along with it and you dare not take a breath as the suspenseful story unfolds right up until the cinematic end. Brilliant and very highly recommended.

Thank you to netgalley and Bookouture for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

DS Anna Gwynne is working within a small cold case unit asked to help with closure of cases. She has struck up the unlikely affection of a serial killer in prison who she is interviewing for closure for families and he is able to shed light on a current missing person case and it’s links to an aged case where the accused has been acquitted.

Can Anna save herself and solve the case before her own life is in danger? This was quite a slow starter in setting the scene and reflected the current police methods against the old boys from decades ago. Soon I was really enjoying it and flying through it. Can’t wait to read the sequel

A very creepy procedural with tons of suspects and red herrings and a twist ending that I didn't see coming. Detective Anna Gwynne always seems to be smiling, but her face belies her determination. She is tough as nails. This is the first book in a series, so we are introduced to her full team. There are several cases that may or may not be related, including a cold one from eighteen years earlier. Some suspects are so perfect that they seem all but guilty. And yet... Anna is not convinced. The culprit really surprised me, as well as other characters who may not be as evil as they seem. Or are they? Some parts were actually very disturbing and others were unbearably suspenseful. This is a promising start.

An absorbing new crime series with a cleverly written, complicated plot.
The only reason for 4* instead of 5 is the current trend towards the lead detective becoming a victim; practically every author in the genre is following this route and it's becoming tedious.