I enjoyed this book.
I am a fan of the thriller genre and this one did not disappoint.
I will definitely read any further books from this author.
It was different for me because the book revolves around being deaf and the difficulties/issues that can present. This is something I know very little about,so for me it was thought provoking.
Family and it's dynamics are at the centre of this book,how not only a disability,but broken relationships and the loss of parents can alter those dynamics and shatter your trust in one another.
There were several scenarios and possible outcomes being played out within the story,which kept me guessing or changing my mind about what had happened and who had 'done it'.
I would happily recomend this book to my family and friends as one to be read.

4.5 Stars

Shhhh…close your eyes and be absolutely still…

Hush…

No sound…no sound at all…

No ability to hear your worst nightmare happening in the room right next to you…

The murder of your child…

The silent screams…

The chilling discovery…

The horrifying truth…

Nell Pattison has created both a satisfying mystery in The Silent House as well as a thought provoking tale. With the integration of both the victim’s family and the suspects being part of the deaf community, the reader is told the story through an interpreter. Each suspect is hiding something, and while I thought I had all the clues linked together, the author ended up surprising me in the end. Well done! Highly recommend!


**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

The premise of this novel is interesting and also disturbing - the idea that someone could be in your house, murdering your own child, and you would not know because you are profoundly deaf. This is what happens to one couple who wake up to find their daughter murdered in her bed, while they slept.

The representation of the deaf community is very good in this novel and one that I have not encountered before. The story was also I triguing enough to keep me reading so that ultimately I wanted to know what had happened.

However, two huge flaws with this novel were the characterisations as well as the writing style. The characters lacked depth and emotion and sometimes behaved in ways which defied belief. The police are depicted as bumbling and ignorant in some cases, cardboard cutouts rather than real characters.

This novel does deal with such a terrifying and dark theme. Yet the writing style lessened the impact of this, the characters are not portrayed in the main the way characters would when faced with something so horrific, so traumatic. It leaves the reader feeling detached from something which they should feel emotionally invested in.

This novel is very readable though and like I say it was intriguing enough for me to keep reading, but it would have been a lot better with more depth, more emotion and more realistic characters.

This book’s premise is utterly terrifying and had quite the hook: a deaf family wakes up to discover a shocking crime. Did someone come into their home while they were sleeping and unable to hear the danger, or is one of them the culprit?

The story is told from the POV of Paige Norwood, who is a BSL interpreter hired by the police department to assist them in interviewing people involved with the case. She is hearing but grew up in a deaf household, so she has a unique perspective. I’ve always been interested in sign language and the Deaf community, and I think it’s pretty rare to have a book that delves into the subject, so I thought that was a wonderful aspect of this book. The author is obviously knowledgeable, and it shows.

I think things started out very promising, with lots of red herrings being thrown out there, but it felt like the characters could have had more depth, and for me the mystery kind of petered out at the end. Still, it was an enjoyable read, and I recommend it to people who like a mystery that isn’t too predictable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for an e-ARC of this book.

First the things I loved/liked: I absolutely loved the deaf representation in this book. Almost every character was deaf and it brought a lot of issues they face, especially when dealing with police and emergency situations to attention.
The writing was good, the dialogue in regards to the deaf characters signing, there was no indication who was signing or when they stopped signing and the other person started signing back. Assuming, that will be fixed up in the published copy though.
I really enjoyed each character and their flaws. It felt like everyone was fully fleshed out despite some not being on page long.

Now to what I disliked: I wasn't a fan of the ending, or of the misleading "hours up to the murder" segments. It was interesting until it all felt irrelevant. I also didn't necessarily enjoy the small romantic or "catching feelings" bits because it just felt shoved in and took away from the MC and the plot as a whole.

All together, this book was a decent and average thriller. Though I'm unsure if it's one I'll reread again, the basic plot and drag representation set it apart from some others I've read recently!

Paige is a sign language interpreter hired by police to assist in taking statements from a deaf family after one of their children is killed while everyone else slept. Since Paige is familiar with most of the local deaf community, she vaguely knows the family and of course gets too personally involved, which I never like. I also pretty much figured out the ending, but even so, I really enjoyed this. 4 stars.

The premise of this book was completely intriguing to me. A brutal murder of a young girl in her house, while her parents slept in the room next door. The girl's father, his girlfriend and her brother and (half) sister are all deaf and somehow an intruder had managed to get into their house and murder her in her bed without anybody hearing a thing....how?....why?...it was a real mystery. Paige Northwood is called in as an interpreter, working for the police to assist during interviews and quickly gets embroiled in the investigation, determined to assist the police in finding the killer.

The story started so well and I really enjoyed how the author built the picture of the background to the family and the various people involved in the story. Unfortunately, this was where the positives ended for me. I found the book somewhat tedious and felt like it was being dragged out. Paige's behaviour throughout the book was downright outrageous and unprofessional and that made the book less 'believable'. The 'reasons' given for some of her actions and some other events in the book just didn't ring true or me. And while the author did a good job of building the intrigue, I managed to guess almost halfway through who the murderer was....just not why. Maybe this was the intention, maybe not. Either way, it made me less inclined to want to finish the book and the only reason I continued to read was to find out if I was right.

An easy, quick read but too drawn out and fell short of the mark for me.

The Hunter family are profoundly deaf. So when a terrible crime takes place in their house in the middle of the night, they sleep soundly through it, not realising until the morning that their infant daughter has been brutally murdered. Paige Northwood, an interpreter fluent in sign language, is called by the police to help them communicate with the family and discover the truth about what happened. Who would kill an innocent toddler? And is the truth close to home than it seems...

Given the unique and original premise for this novel (which I found chilling), and the fact that the brutal murder of a child takes place within the first few pages, the last word you'd think I'd be using to describe this book would be boring. But I found it so dull, I almost gave up on it several times (if I'd have bought it rather than receiving a free ARC copy, I would have returned it). The plot is sluggish (other than the odd spurt of scurrilous activity), and the pace is glacial, but my real problem was with the characters. They were across-the-board vanilla, with nothing to distinguish one from another excepting whether they were deaf or not, and which kid(s) they were parent to. They didn't have a personality between them.

I genuinely found this one a real trawl to get to the finish, and by the time you get to the truth, I really didn't care any more. There's just nothing exciting or thrilling about this book at all, and I was so disappointed as I think the premise is great - this one ultimately just did nothing for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. The unfolding story as well as the characters kept me interested until the end.
Thank you to netgalley, Avon publishing UK and the author Nell Pattison for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Wow! I could not put this book down. It was a brilliantly written book with many twists and turns. It was interesting to read about the deaf community and a brilliant idea for a book. Who could fail to be horrified about being so vulnerable in your own home; unable to hear as a child was murdered in the same room as your own. I cannot wait for Nell Pattison’s next book

WOW. This is a totally awesome book. Thank you Net Galley, Nell Pattison and Avon Books for the opportunity to read this wonderful book. This is the first novel by this writer and I can’t wait to read another. This author has the ability to pull you in to the story quickly and you won’t want to put the book down. The plot centres around the murder of a toddler, who may have killed her and the BSL interpreter who is brought in to help the police. . All of the characters are well thought out and many are deaf. The author has really opened my eyes on how difficult some things we take for granted can be for a deaf person. There are a lot of twists in who you think is responsible for the murder and the suspense kept me flipping through the pages quickly, not wanting to stop. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I will just say you need to read this book as it will keep you on the edge of your seat.

A murder mystery set in a Deaf community in England. The protagonist was fairly well-developed, as we secondary characters. i liked the information given on interpreting from BSL to English and vice versa. A quick read for folks who enjoy thrillers and mysteries.

As soon as I read the blurb, my fingers automatically click the request button and the next day I saw it on my bookshelf. So I got out urgently for ordering a tremendous, vivid flower bouquet to send the Netgalley office but unfortunately there is a new winery recently opened at the street (it takes 25 miles to drive but it is still in the vicinity according to LA rules.) and you may guess the end of the story. I ordered cases of new wines and came back home to read my book, writing a post it not to forget to order online bouquet after my next ARC COPY deliverance!

Here is the intriguing, mysterious, captivating plot: Our heroine is self-employed sign language interpreter usually works at schools or hospitals. But now her assistance is needed for the crime scene because 18 months old baby has been killed. And the parents of the baby are deaf so they have no clue about the killer of their child.

Paige’s moral dilemma creates a big conflict because her sister Anna is connected with the family and if she shares this information with the officers, they can take her out of the case immediately. But SHE WANTS TO HELP! She wants to know what kind of monster could do such a thing to an innocent, harmless baby!

As you can see, I was so excited to read finally different kind of thriller. Because lately I was really sick of reading about manipulative husbands, cheater wives, psychopathic, dysfunctional couples. So this book seemed like having a fresh, creative, brand new subject.

BUTTTT… I hate this word because something ominous and dislikeable comes after that…

The book is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo slow and boring!

I haven’t felt so much pain since I’d read Virginia Woolf’s “Waves” or Karl Max’s “Das Capital”( my major was political science so this book was my obligation!!!!)

I haven’t felt an agitating stomach ache since I’d watched “Aloha” and Mark Wahlberg’s “Transformer” movie (Actually I cried hysterically after I’d seen some scenes. How can a person push himself so hard to be the worst actor like Fifty Shades’ Jamie Dornan. At least Jamie Dornan was naked and gave us something- too many things actually- to focus on!)

Unfortunately the author doesn’t give us something concrete to hold on (a proper character development, background stories, motives, anything please!!!) and I got lost in too many cliché balloons, yada yada, bla bla voices on my head! I wanted to yell at the author “Cut to the chase please!”, but here we go again, another foreseeable, uninteresting twist is coming soon!

I was finally with the ending that made me so happy! I even let my husband steal my chocolates (thanks to him I lost 10 pounds because for six months he has been consuming my chocolate intake!)! No you got it wrong! I didn’t like the ending of the book, on contrary I was happy because finally there was no page left and so I didn’t need to read it anymore!!!

My only stars come for the promising plot of the book. But slow pacing, undeveloped characters and not so witty and full of repeating sequences disappointed me. My final result is THREE STARS for this book.

I wish I could like it and write good words about this book because it gave me so much hope with its original plot. Well, let’s stay “next time!”

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for sharing this ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review!

Very enjoyable to read the suspense was there until the end Was a little difficult to follow the characters at times but would definitely recommend to anyone who liked a good suspense novel

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The Silent House.

I was intrigued by the premise and excited when my request was approved.

When a deaf child is brutally murdered in the middle of the night, an interpreter named Paige is called to the scene of the crime and insinuates herself into the investigation.

The premise was interesting but unfortunately, I disliked Paige, her sister, and the entire cast of characters.

Nearly everyone was an adulterer, or abusive (psychologically, physical and verbal) and there was a lack of character development, especially with Paige and her sister.

I knew it was a bad sign when Paige described one character as someone who 'didn't look like someone who would get involved with a married man on purpose.'

This was an extremely facetious comment to make, implying that homewreckers look 'a certain way.'

I did enjoy insight into the Deaf community, their culture and how they coped and learned to live and survive in a Hearing world.

But, I wasn't invested in the characters or the plot, and I guessed whodunit before the end, so it wasn't a surprise.

I really wanted to like this but it failed to hold my interest.

4.5 Stars. Paige Northwood is a sign language interpretor and is called on by the police to help with suspect interviews. A child has been murdered at home and the parents are deaf. How this could happen without the parents knowing makes the murder more unnerving.

This is the first book I have read which is related to sign language and deaf characters and I thought it was brilliant! It was very well told describing the scenes where there was interviews with the deaf characters. The story was thrilling and kept me reading faster and faster. I thought I had figured it out but I was wrong. So many twists and turns!
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy to review.

I will be looking out for more from this author. This is quite scary and opens up a multitude of questions.

A baby is found murdered in a home where all the occupants are deaf. The fact that nobody could have heard an intruder makes the murder seem all the more sinister and unnerving. The Police need an interpreter for the interviews and call Paige Norwood.

The deaf community is close knit and protective but it soon becomes apparent that some people are hiding facts to protect themselves or maybe others. Paige is part of this community and this makes her job difficult and duplicitous. The relationships are complex and the families do not necessarily like each other. All this adds to the intrigue.

I found myself learning about a community, which I knew very little about as well as becoming engrossed in the complexity and hatred which the murder brought to such a small group of people.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books and Nell Pattison for my ARC in return for my honest review.

A great read, highly recommended.

I received an ARC in return for an honest review. Overall, I enjoyed this book, however, I couldn’t get past the personalities of the main character and her sister. For me, they were not very like able. They were both way too involved in the case and seemed almost pretentious. There also seemed to be a lot of repetition in the book and I felt it could have been a little shorter.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

A really interesting thriller that had the added bonus of introducing me to the deaf community, language and struggles. The murder of a child in the middle of the night when the parents are physically incapable of hearing the attack is an interesting premise and I felt Pattison delivered well on it. Unlike several other reviewers, I didn't clock onto the real killer until the bitter end, although whether that says more about me than the delivery is up for debate.

I generally felt the characters were well developed, although one copper was a little too caricatured for my liking and I'd have enjoyed reading more about the children than was present. There is also some limited background on another child death some years previous which was interesting, but perhaps underutilised in the grand scheme of things. That said, the relationships between characters are carefully built and I certainly enjoyed reading about them. There is a wide net of potential suspects and they are all fleshed out well, with multiple red herrings and twists and turns.

There could perhaps be more depth here but I flew through this and found myself thinking of it when I should probably have been doing something more productive. I appreciated the depth that Pattison had put into the deaf community and the various different aspects and forms presented. It was a window into something I have never personally experienced and a kick in the backside to realise how little I know. With a near blind young sister, I am far more aware of braille and the struggles of finding affordable resources in large print than with hearing disabilities. Along with that depth, there is a definite sense of threat and danger here, which means that there is always an underlying tension to keep you reading.

Neil Pattison is an author I shall certainly keep an eye out for in the future and look forward to reading more of his works.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my free advance copy of this title.