A great story showing a huge amount of research into the world of the deaf. Loved the way that the sign language parts were in Italic so that it felt real. I cannot think of anything worse than waking up to find someone in your home but being deaf added so much more to this horrific thought. The twists and turns abounded throughout the story and although I fairly quickly thought I knew who committed the murder I kept getting my doubts as more actions were revealed. A beautifully paced book with the police investigation so realistically portrayed..
a book full of action, incriminations, twists and contradictory accusations throughout. A great book written by a great author and one which I highly recommend. Thank you Net galley for the Arc copy to give my unbiased review.

Being an interpreter for the deaf, I jumped at the chance to read this book. I really enjoyed it and felt it was portrayed the deaf community well.. It was a page turner and kept my attention! I will be buying this book for the library and will recommend it to my patrons.

I really enjoyed this book so much. It has a really great plot, superb main characters and I read it in one sitting. I would highly recommend this book.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* This book was like no other mystery novel I have read (and there have certainly been a few). It focuses on the shocking murder of a baby girl, Lexi in her own home, an act made even more horrifying by the fact that her family were asleep in the house with her. However, as they are all deaf, no one heard the horrendous deed occur. Enter Paige Northwood, a BSL interpreter who ends up being a little too closely tied to the case, as her sister Anna is Godmother to the murdered child. I thoroughly enjoyed the book for the intrigue and mystery it presented, its exploration of relationships and human frailty and also its insight into the Deaf community.

Thank you Netgalley, Avon Books UK and Nell Pattison for allowing me to read this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I can't even imagine a world without sound. To not know when someone knocks on your door, your phone rings or most importantly be able to hear if your child cries out for help.

This book made me think about things that I have taken too much for granted and helped me understand the obstacles and ways the deaf community navigate life.

As far as the story goes, I got through almost the whole book trying to figure out who the suspect is. I kept bouncing back and forth and then back again. Loved this book and will look for more books from this author again.

What a unique book it about an Interpret who signs for the Deaf community who becomes employed by the Police she ends up getting tangled in the investigate. The writer kept you guessing all the way through to who had killed the child to the very end and why it happen. I’m glad I chose this book as soon as I read the outline of the story I had to request this to be sent for me it is a very unique story.

I couldn't put this book down......I loved it! It kept me guessing all the time, and just when I thought I had it figured out another twist happened.
5/5 stars for sure!

While I did enjoy this book, I found some of the scenes maybe too 'convenient', but I guess necessary to move the plot along; and others rather unnecessary as in the end, it didn't really contribute to character development or outcome.

The book does provide an interesting insight to the deaf community and how different life is between the deaf and the hearing and the challenges each faces with miscommunication and misunderstanding.

It provides a refreshing perspective into the whodunit genre and makes you wonder what precautions you would take to make yourself feel safe in your own home if you weren't able to hear an intruder.

**Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing access to this book for an honest review.

Firstly a huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me this arc

The Silent House is the story of the murder of an 18 month old girl Lexi Hunter, whilst her older brother and half sister of the same age are in the same room

Lexi was spending the night at her father and his girlfriends house, both are deaf and did not hear the intruder enter the property or the murder take place

Paige Northwood is a respected member of the deaf community having grown up as the only hearing person in a deaf family, she works as a BSL interpreter and is brought in to assist with the questioning regarding the murder and what happened the night the child was killed. She has an invested interest in the case as her sister is the child’s godmother and as the deaf community where the story takes place is tight knit so they all know one another. It’s a classic case of who done it and the reader is left to work out the murderer.

I read A LOT of mystery/crime/thriller books so I worked out the killer towards the end although it did have me guessing for a while so this book might be better for the occasional thriller reader

Something I picked up on that was a bit annoying was the emphasis on setting. Scunthorpe was mentioned around 4 times in the first few pages. Not sure of the relevance to the overall story but it’s mentioned a lot.

I thought the writing was gone and it flowed well. There are a few dry sections where the writer is trying to divert the readers attention to a different possible suspect but all in all a decent read

I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought the characters were interesting and the mystery had me guessing all of the way through.

Because Paige is an interpreter, she is only privy to parts of the investigation and only takes part in some of the interviews. She only has part of the story, which really does add to the tension. And, because of how tight knit the Deaf community is, she quickly finds herself too closely involved in the investigation. The crime itself is particularly harrowing. A murder of a child, in a house where no one can hear it happen. I definitely recommend giving this book a read if you enjoy crime fiction!

I've never read a crime novel from the perspective of an interpreter before. Crime novels can be pretty formulaic, so it's always fun to read one that takes a different perspective. Sign language is used throughout the book as it is many of the characters' first language. I don't think I've ever read a book before celebrates the use of BSL in this way. I've read several where one or two characters sign, but usually they are deaf/hoh children in a hearing world. This book is about Deaf culture, and d/Deaf/hoh characters. It's fascinating. I feel inspired to seek out more literature that features Deaf culture.

It was a very insightful novel, with a strong cast of characters. I enjoyed the story line very much and would definitely recommend this book.

The premise of The Silent House is quite an interesting one. A murder inside the home of a hearing impaired family.

Although this read sounds fast paced and eventful, in actuality I found it to be very slow moving with a long list of underdeveloped characters.

Personally, the one character I loved was DC Singh and feel the story would have been so much more interesting if told by his perspective.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I read over 100 books a year and it isn't often that I encounter one with such a unique perspective that I can't think of another book that compares. The premise of Silent House, the narrator is a BSL translator helping the police investigate a brutal murder in a tight knit deaf community, gave this book an amazingly different perspective. Not only is it a great murder mystery that kept me guessing to the very end, but it also provides the reader with insight into some of the day to day challenges within the deaf community. Absolutely kept me reading late into the night and I hope it is the start of a series.. So strongly recommended that I'd give it more than 5 stars if I could.

Thank you as always to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advance reading copy of this book.
I don't think I've read a book before where most of the main characters were deaf. Paige is a freelance British Sign Language interpreter brought in by the police when a young child is murdered at home. I found the storyline interesting and gripping and although I correctly worked out what happened, and by whom, I enjoyed the book. I thought it was a well written plot but I don't know if Paige would have had quite so much access to police procedures and information as she did. For me the author did her best to portray the frustration and isolation that must have surrounded the parents and other suspects.
This book certainly made me more aware of difficulties that may surround incidents that involve the police and the deaf/non hearing community.

This was an excellent read and different from the norm involving sign language interpreter Paige Northwood in assisting the police in the death of a young deaf child whose parents are also profoundly deaf. This is a unique plot as if someone has broken into the house how would anyone hear and what would be the reason for killing an innocent child.
The story is set at a slow pace gradually building the tension as Paige finds herself becoming more and more involved in the case despite the fact that she is only the interpreter leading to putting herself in quite some danger.
I did have a idea who the perpetrator may be but this in no way spoiled my enjoyment of the read and I found it an impossible book to put down. The characters were all well crafted and the writing was very good and I look forward to reading more books from Nell Pattison in the future.
So for me a gripping and chilling read given the subject and a story with a difference that I can recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

When I finished this book, I admit I felt a huge scare to be alone in my home. More, my dog kept barking so I wasn't at peace at all. If it was what Nell Pattison intended, then, she achieved her goal, especially knowing it's rare that I feel so strongly a scare so deep. The end of this novel leaves, for me, the door open to a sequel. The case is closed but I really think there's a big potential for Paige and Anna. Well, I'd love to find them in another adventure.

I was instantly drawn into the premise of this novel. I liked the perspective of Paige, and tidbits about Deaf culture and elements to characters that I have not come across before, which I think is important to normalize all types of characters in books. I did not however think this book was very suspenseful, and had figured it out within the first quarter of the book. Enjoyable regardless of my sleuthing, a police mystery more so than a suspense thriller.

The Silent House is an enjoyable thriller! Filled with twists and turns, you need to pay attention to the details to figure this one out!

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars

The Silent House, by Nell Pattison is an interesting Mystery/Thriller that revolves around the murder of an infant child. This is a chilling novel about the horror of losing a child to an intruder you cannot hear.

Synopsis: The Hunter family are deaf, so when a horrifying crime takes place in their home in the middle of the night they are unaware until the morning. During the night their infant daughter has been murder in the room where their other two young children slept.

The police call Paige Northwood, a BSL Interpreter, to aid with the investigation. She is there only to translate for the officers but Paige is closer to this then she first realises. She believes the Hunters are hiding something but she is not allowed to get involved.

As the community Paige knows so well falls under suspicion, she can only question who would kill a little girl?

CW: Abuse, murder, psychological/emotional/physical abuse, drunks, adultery, violence, controlling parents, very slight ableist attitudes by some characters NOT BY THE AUTHOR, referenced/conversation about child abuse. I apologise if I have missed any, most are ones commonly found in police procedurals or murder mysterys/thrillers.

— Immersive And Easy To Connect With —
The Writing Style And Narrative. Nell Pattison’s writing style is relatively simple, but well done. Her writing is very immersive and easy to connect with, I was immediately drawn in and wanted to know what happened.

Interestingly enough, the story starts from the perspective of one of the children, seemingly right at the time of the murder. This was very interesting, and allows you to start creating theories right from the start. I’ll admit I felt a little deceived here, but it had the intended effect and added a tense and mysterious element to the story.

The narrative then switches to Paige, and primarily stays like that. We watch the case evolve from her perspective which allows us too know enough that we can draw our own conclusions of the event, but does not allow us insight into what the police know so we cannot be sure. This worked very well as it kept up the mystery element of the story as we didn’t know for sure what evidence the police had or what they knew, other than what was disclosed during the interviews. Moreover, this perspective allowed us insight into Paige, her past, her thoughts, her emotions and her motives for involving herself in the case.

The story also has a dual narrative, primarily following Paige but it also flicks back to the build up to the murder, the hours beforehand. This efficiently creates suspense and adds to the confusion of who would kill a child. However, the story also flicks back to a time in Paige’s past where another event took place. This is revealed slowly too, and appears to be a great source of distress to Paige. This particular narrative, I feel, could have been developed further, it felt underwhelming and, even by the end, It still seemed a little disjointed or disconnected. The actual mystery of this event is interesting but I would have liked more information as it would have then made more of an impact later on.

Despite the multiple stories going on, the different narratives and perspectives, it isn’t confusing. They worked very well together and allowed more suspense and tension to build up throughout the story.

— Interesting And Unique —
The Plot. The Silent House manages to be rather interesting and unique. Firstly, the police procedural type book is done very well, I liked that it wasn’t from the perspective of an officer or detective but rather from that of an Interpreter who is both so close and yet so far from being involved in the case, it added a very interesting depth and dynamic to the story.

Moreover, the book is focused aorund the Deaf community, this was very interesting as it gave me insight into what boundaries and hurdles people face when they cannot hear the world around them. There is diversity among the characters within the community with some being completely deaf, others using hearing aides, adults and children, hearing people born into deaf families and vice versa. The portrayal, as far as I am aware with my partial experience with people who use hearing aides, is very well done (I am sure the author is an ownvoice writer to). Moreover, this also added a sense of horror and despair to the novel because it leads you to think who would be cruel enough to murder a child in their home with their parents because they know they won’t be heard.

While there are elements of the story that are predictable or a little under-developed, overall it is an interesting, terrifying and mysterious story. The pacing is also relatively decent, with some slow parts but it is expected in these types of novels.

The ending is a little predictable, but is still relatively shocking as some other things are revealed, it would be interesting to see more from this author as this was a good novel with a unique perspective.

— Diverse And Interesting —
The Characters. The characters are diverse and interesting in this book. With the representation of the Deaf community, as well as other forms of diversity, this book has a good cast of characters however, some feel a little under-developed, primarily some of the police force. However, most of the main characters portrayed are complex and interesting, the relationships are messy, realistic and unique.

A lot of the relationships in this novel revolve around abuse, distress, broken families and controlling family members making it quite hard-hitting and relatively dark to read. There is a lot of adultery, love triangles, and poor relationships that are portrayed which adds to the tension of the story but there are a few that are more positive.

I won’t detail all the characters as there are a lot, but each suspect or person connected with the child who was killed have something to hide, or as people are questionable allowing suspense to build up. The characters are relatively interesting to read about and make for good suspects in general.

Overall. I genuinely enjoyed this story and the unique perspective it provides, this is definitely one I would recommend as it is incredibly interesting and I do hope to see more from this author in the future.

This book is perfect for mystery/thriller lovers who like a procedural vibe.

*I received and eARC of #TheSilentHouse by Nell Pattison from #Netgalley @AvonBooksUK in exchange for an honest review.*

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This was a fabulous premise but the execution was a little lacking. More a police procedural than a thriller, the author needed to flesh out the characters more and have at least one or two to root for - the protagonist Paige didn’t do it for me. A murder in a deaf household gave me some insight into the deaf community which I really appreciated. I hope she writes another one.