Wow. What a fantastic book. There is no way I'd have guessed this was a debut novel!

The characters work really well together as a team.

The plot was gruesome and fast paced with enough twists to keep you hooked right to the end.

I will definitely be watching out for DI Hunter and her team in the future.

Excellent crime novel with a twist I certainly didn't see coming! Well written and kept me hooked in there throughout the whole story!

This was a gritty no holds barred book. Quite graphic. Set in Aberdeen and good descriptions of areas of Aberdeen and Inverurie. As a first book this was very well written. Hope there will be more on DI Eve Hunter.

Cleverly woven thriller that kept me guessing all the way through. A 5* page turner. And despite the gory murder scenes, they were written in such a way that didn't over sensationalise the facts making them bearable for me to read. I am not a fan of overly graphic descriptions. Good stuff.

An interesting and quite enjoyable read unfortunately a little spoilt by the credibility of the (often quoted by reviewers) classification of the book as a 'Police procedural' story. Sorry, no. An unsolved murder case would not be given to a Detective Inspector (unless maybe already solved) and certainly as the number of related murders increased day by day a much more senior detective would have taken over. To just muddle along with the same 'junior' team would not happen. This may seem a pedantic criticism to some but affects the backbone of the story.
However, notwithstanding this is a pretty good effort for a first novel
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for this opportunity to give an unbiased review.

This book is engrossing read, tightly plotted and well paced. The main character Eve is returning to her crime team after a traumatic incident, causing injuries from which she is not yet fully recovered, physically or mentally. The atmosphere within her team is tense, with some hostility towards Eve as the full facts of the incident are gradually revealed.

Eve is pitched straight into a gruesome murder investigation, which develops into a serial killer investigation, and a race against the clock to try to halt the killer’s sick ‘game’.

The tension is ramped up throughout with still no clue to the murderer’s identity. The reveal, when it finally comes, is most unexpected.

This story is set in Aberdeen, which added to my reading enjoyment, as I lived there for ten years.

This is a well written police procedural, and an excellent read. I will look for more from this author.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

Absolute masterpiece.

I couldn't put this book down. The reign of terror didn't stop once throughout and although the twist was guessable, the identity wasn't.

I am praying for another Eve Hunter installment. If you like Thrillers, or are a fan of Chris Carter, you need to read this novel immediately.

Utterly terrifying and gripping in equal measure. So cleverly written, with a few false trails to keep the reader guessing till the very end. Well crafted characters with complex relationships. Loved it!

I think this is the very first novel set in Aberdeen that I read, which kind of surprises me, since I assume there are plenty of stories set in that city. Since I’ve never visited it either, I had absolutely no idea what it looks like, so I couldn’t rely on my own knowledge of it. We get a few streets’ names to place the action, but not so many that it becomes confusing, and what the city’s areas stand for (posh districts, less savoury places, and so on) is clear and presented concisely. It had a gritty side, and a sometimes stifling atmosphere that went well with the nature of the crime/murder mystery here. On the other hand, I have no idea if the real Aberdeen feels like this. I was under the impression that the setting here, while fitting, was perhaps more generic than anything else (it would’ve worked just as well in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham or Manchester).

“Hold Your Tongue” deals with DI Eve Hunter getting back to her job after a couple of harrowing events that left her and Sanders, a colleague, heavily wounded—and not only does she have to immediately investigate a series of gruesome murders, but a lot of people aren’t happy to see her back, including other police officers who hold her responsible for what happened to Sanders. While the novel is not entirely clear about the latter point in the first pages, it’s still obvious how much this is weighing on Eve, and her coming to terms with this (psychologically, emotionally and physically) is just as much part of the plot as the murders themselves.

The story comes with plenty of turns and red herrings. These included focusing on a suspect in spite of a lack of clues; gut feelings; and also chapters narrated from the point of view of the killer, spreading little clues here and there, but still vaguely enough as to not make the killer’s identity too obvious from the start—I got close to guessing who it was, but not too close either, which is good for me. At times, I found the characters perhaps too prone on jumping on certain clues or making certain mistakes because of how their own experiences influenced them (for instance, Eve and Ferguson’s strained relationship clearly doesn’t help them keep a straight head); this was partly understandable, and partly cast a shadow on them, in that it made them look less professional in such moments.

I liked that some of the tension gets resolved in this first volume in the series, but not other things (Eve’s origins and how they may colour her future take on life, or how the killer’s actions will weigh on her team in general). This was a good introduction to Eve and her partners, hinting at more depth—although I regret that one of those relationships just can’t be exploited anymore, or not directly, in the following novels.

Conclusion: 3.5 stars. As a first story in a series, it sets the scene and characters well, with a partial resolution only, and therefore more left to explore later on. It was a bit slow in places, though, and could do with just a smidge of plot tightening. I'll definitely be interested in book 2 no matter what.

A fantastic debut!

I found myself checking the blurb as I could not believe this was a first book by a new author! It is very well written, easy to read (but not so easy to put down!), the characters are well developed and their back-stories described perfectly.

DI Eve Hunter returns to work after a previous incident left her mentally and physically injured with her former partner permanently incapacitated. She returns on the same day a body is found and, despite his reservations, her boss, DCI Jim Hastings, hands Eve the case to prove herself. With a new DC on her team, another who is resentful and lacks respect for Eve plus the officer who has been covering the role in her absence, things are unlikely to run smoothly and it soon becomes clear that Eve will need to work extremely hard to prove she is still capable of getting a result. With relationships strained, solving what will become a serial killer case was never going to be easy but the story behind Eve’s absence also unfolds and brings its own twists and turns.

Not for the faint-hearted, there are graphic descriptions of the murders in this book. These are necessary in my opinion (after all we are dealing with a serial killer) but some readers unfamiliar with this style may be put off.

The outcome of the case is the most surprising and I certainly didn’t see it coming, testament to the quality of writing by this new author. There is plenty of scope for the character’s roles to develop in future books and for the team dynamic to be tested. I look forward to the next instalment and will be actively seeking it out.

Struggled with this one. I had high hopes because the reviews were so promising but I just couldn't feel anything for the characters. It seemed like the usual "detective returning to work after major trauma" set up and I find it unoriginal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book hopefully the first in a series. It was certainly one of the best I have read this year. Plenty of suspense. Great characters. Well written. I did not guess the perpetrator which I usually do hence the five star review. Look forward to her next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Deborah Masons debut novel - Hold your tongue certainly packs a punch and grabs you from the off.
Well done on writing a thriller thats dark and moody and intense and you don’t guess who did it!

I liked the characters all with their own problems, like-able and you definitely put yourself in their shoes.
I can imagine this being made into a movie or tv show.

Set in Aberdeen, DI Eve Hunter is returning to work after a six month break. With reference to a limp following a severe attack that also left her partner in a wheelchair paralyzed.
She must pick up the pieces and lead a team that no longer respect her or want her as their DI we are drip fed the information as the story unfolds as to what happened to the existing detectives at the station.

In a hotel room victim Melanie Ross’s body has been discovered, tied up with a puncture wound suggesting she was awake when the violence occurred oh and did I mention her tongue had been cut out.

Great crime drama unfolds as Eve and her team follow every lead they have, while resentment builds within the team.DC Mearns, and DC Ferguson seem to add to the tension and you almost feel like shouting “give her a break”
Flipping back to the killers thoughts and mental health battles this is told in the third persons view point - lots of twists and police perspectives.
There seems to be scope for a follow up as the team all seem to be gelling towards the end.

Will be looking out for Mason in the future.

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley In exchange for a review.

Set in Aberdeen a good story about an injured female detective Eve returning to work after a terrifying incident which led to her being injured and her partner being paralysed . Eve continues to blame herself but continues to visit her partner at home regularly . On her return to work she is again heading up a murder group and is thrust in to it when a badly mutilated body of a girl is found with a newspaper headline pinned to her . Other bodies continue to be found , again with the Newspaper Headlines attached . It transpires these headlines refer to a children's rhyme which our murderer has become fixated upon for reasons which become apparent as the story unfolds . We need to know if all Eve's team are on her side as a few seem to have problems with her authority after the incident , especially a girl who has just joined the group from Bolton . There are a good few twists and "red herrings" before this story reaches it's climax involving members of her team in an unexpected way .

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher’s for letting me read this book.
I enjoyed this book. It was very interesting and suspenseful. I’ve only recently got into the genre and was happy when I received this to continue to enjoy the genre. This was a fantastic book for a debut, it is dark and gritty and that’s why I loved this book so much, I love a good dark book. I really liked the characters and the plot. I loved the backstories in this book they really gave enough details without going overboard (like I’ve read in other books). The twist at the end was also amazing and I didn’t see it coming. I gave this book 4.5 stars.

This book got off to a cracking start with a Prologue that was not only absolutely gripping, but totally intense. My skin crawled as I realized what the man intended to do with the kitchen tongs and the bread knife (I’ll say no more). And all this before I’d even reached Chapter 1.

Quite simply put, this is a fantastic debut novel. It’s dark, gritty, slightly gruesome without being overly so, and it introduces us to DI Eve Hunter and her team for the first time. And I liked Eve, I really did. There was a specific scene where she was telling-off a colleague of hers for his stand-offish behavior, and I was loving it. The dialogue was spot on and Eve was just so likable. I could totally feel her frustrations and I was egging her on from the sidelines. And that’s another thing that I loved about this book – the dialogue. It was smooth, and it captured the characters perfectly. I never read a single interaction between any of the characters where I thought to myself, no, that didn’t work for me, adults just wouldn’t speak to each other like that (as I’ve done in lots of other novels). So ten points to the author for spot-on dialogue.

The other thing that I adored about this book were the backstories. I was so intrigued by them, and the author very cleverly gave us just the slightest tidbit here and there to keep us interested without divulging the entire story in one foul swoop. We only really start to learn exactly what happened from about the half way point.

Finally, let me say that there was a twist at the end of the book which I thought was great. Now the thing is, I had actually figured out the twist very early on in the story and I do think the author gives us a few clues along the way, but I still think it’s the type of twist that may hit some readers hard.

Overall, this is a great read, and I’m not generally the biggest fans of police procedurals and so that’s saying a lot coming from me. I can’t wait until the author releases the next one in the series.

This was a great start to what will hopefully become a series. A great cast of characters with a tense and thrilling plot. It was one of those books I just had to keep reading! Can't wait for more from the author.

A young woman’s body is discovered with horrific injuries, and it falls to DI Eve Hunter and her team to investigate. Hunter has much to prove on her return to work, and not all at the station are pleased to see her back. As another murder follows, it appears there is a serial killer on the loose. Can Hunter crack this case?
This is the first in the series of DI Eve Hunter crime thrillers by Masson, and I must say I was very impressed. I got wrapped up in the story quickly and grew to like and feel for all the characters. It really was a page turner that I struggled to put down. It was fast paced and dramatic, with a creepy and thrilling climax. I found myself gasping out loud at some points, and almost shedding a tear at others!
I did however think the police team came to some pretty random assumptions at times which did not always pay off, based on loose or non-existent evidence. This lead me to question their competence a little, although it did not affect my overall enjoyment of the story. There were also some massive coincidental ‘red herrings’ that were a little annoying.
Overall though I would defiantly recommend this to fans of creepy police procedural thrillers. I will certainly be keeping my eyes open for the next instalment in this series.

A new writer to me and a cracking start to what I hope will be a long-running series. DI Eve Hunter is a fascinating creation, a cop returning to work after months of recuperation following an incident in which she was injured and her partner crippled. She has to cope with antagonism from colleagues as well as find a serial killer who is terrorising Aberdeen. Although the book is a bit too full of standard tropes and false moves, it is a thoroughly enjoyable read and I look forward to more from Deborah Masson.

Hold your tongue was a surprise read for me. I wasn't keen on it at the start but once I got into it, it got better and better. The characters were hard to get use to but as the story went on it all came together. When a young woman’s body is discovered with horrifying injuries, a recent newspaper cutting pinned to her clothing.
Detective Eve Hunter has everything to prove.
This is her only chance to redeem herself.
A serial killer with nothing to lose.
He’s waited years, and his reign of terror has only just begun. I guessed who it was 3/4 of the way in but there were so many possibilities right from the beginning. Loved it