My first book by Susie Steiner featuring DI Manon Bradshaw, in fact this book is third in the series but you can read it as a stand alone.
A slow start, Manon is out walking one day with her toddler, Teddy in Wisbech when she finds the body of a migrant worker hanging from a tree with a note pinned to it. A good story featuring the current migrant situation, and brilliant police procedurals. Manon is put on the case as SIO and the story builds up as Manon investigates. She finds it hard going as she deals with her personal problems and that of the migrants living in appalling conditions for low pay. Gripping and thought provoking. Recommended.

I was sent a link to this book by the Borough/Harper Fiction team as I had previously reviewed another of their publications, The Binding (if you have managed not to hear about this book, stop right now and go and get a copy; or the audio book which is narrated by Carl Prekopp – fantastic). I don’t often read police procedurals, tending rather to historical fiction, but when you’re given a book for free… Anyway, it sat there for a while until I had finished all my library books (coronavirus is good for something, after all). I saw then that it was the third in a series. But, fear not! I had a look on my poor neglected Kindle and there, among the books I download each month thanks to my Times newspaper subscription, were the first *and* second books in the series. Ta da!
I liked Susie Steiner’s writing immediately. The characters, especially the police team, each has his or her traits and foibles as in any ensemble cast but they still feel believable and the dialogue is realistic. Yes, Manon has a troubled past and chaotic present like so many before her but how else do you make a police officer lead protagonist interesting? I like that the references to real places, shops, newspapers and programmes seem to be written with a switched-on British audience in mind: some knowledge is assumed but description or explanation when it is required is done with a light touch. Likewise, references to the use of technology are realistic rather than clunky.
Having each chapter told from the point of view of a different character doesn’t come across as contrived, and it allows us to hear their inner monologues. It’s funny too. Manon in particular has some cracking one-liners, in dialogue and thought. Birdie in the second book is comedy gold.
Remain Silent focuses on deaths among illegal immigrant slave workers. It’s a grim reminder of the things that go on so close to us yet unobserved. It doesn’t feel preachy, though – the Lithuanian characters are as fully drawn as the others so I was interested in their fates.
You could easily read Remain Silent without having read the first two books, but I urge you to read them all because they’re so enjoyable. Like all good series, while the details of the current case are interesting, it’s wanting to know what’s going on in the recurring characters’ lives that keeps you coming back. That I read all three stories back to back without even considering something else in between tells you what page-turners these are.

I'd not read any of Susie Steiner's previous book, so didn't know what to expect with this. It was obvious that DI Manon Bradshaw was an established character, but it was easy to read and enjoy the book even without knowing any of the background story.

Set in a familiar world of anti-immigration movements, with a familiar politician type making appearances, the book goes between the "before" - telling the story of how two Lithuanian men came to the UK and what happened to them - and the "now". A man is found dead in a local park by Manon, but the death is suspicious and the local anti-immigration movement have been complaining about a house where Lithuanian migrants are living. Organised crime are involved with the men, who are being exploited. The scenario is recognisable, but Steiner manages to make (almost) everyone sympathetic and there's a level of dark humour throughout as well. Lots of issues to think about so would be a good book club book if you were looking for a crime novel, plus it's an enjoyable read.

This is the first novel I have read by Susie Steiner and I enjoyed it, so it is easily possible to read as a stand-alone even though it is part of a series. This is the third one.

DI Manon Bradshaw works for Cambridgeshire Constabulary and the back drop of the Fens is close to my heart so, I could easily imagine the landscape.

The body of a migrant worker is found hanging from a tree with no indication that it is anything other than suicide. The investigation takes her into the murky underworld of migrant workers and how poorly they are treated by everyone. The novel exposes the dreadful living conditions these imported agricultural workers are subjected to. They are no more than slaves and the author does not hold back.

As the investigation continues, I began to warm to Manon and her sense of humour. There are numerous twists and turns as the gang leaders are sought.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and Susie Steiner for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Recommended.

I’m not one for murder/crime novels, but Remain Silent has a very realistic storyline, and describes very much what could be happening or even does happen within modern day slavery rings, now.

Set mainly in a small town, Wisbech, two men, Lukas and Matis, leave their home town of Klaipeda in Lithuania on a life changing journey to the UK in the hopes
of starting a new life, earning money and living well. Little do Lukas and Matis know, they have actually been recruited by a Lithuanian gangmaster who enslaves them, with many other men, in one house and their lives become even worse then before.

The story interweaves the lives of a few characters, giving their perspective of the story, but is mainly told from the side of Manon, a detective, whom loves her work, but is at risk of losing her career, and juggling her life with a her sick husband, an older teenage son, and a toddler.

Slavery, misery, deprivation, scheming, racism, pregnancy, and death are themes within this crime story.

I did enjoy this book, just not quite enough to keep me hooked from start to finish. (not in one sitting anyway)

It was well written and most certainly keeps you guessing, but I found it was lacking in suspense and wasn't particularly creepy. Excellent writing style and clearly well researched. I'd definitely read more from this author

I hadn't read the first two books in the series but it didn't make a difference. The plot of Eastern European workers and their harsh treatment in England, both by their employers and the general public, was heartbreaking, not in the least because it's based on reality. This background, along with the very human depiction of Manon, made this book a fantastic read. I'll be looking for the first two books in the series, along with any future novels.

"The sense of good overcoming evil, the thread she tries to grasp at in every case, is well and truly buried in this one...Perhaps cold cases and being home by five isn't such a bad gig."

Working for Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Detective Inspector Manon Bradshaw is pulled off reliable cold cases and more time at home with toddler, Teddy, for a murder investigation. Manon encounters the body of Lithuanian migrant worker, Lukas, hanged in a tree in the park she and Teddy visit. It doesn't look like suicide. This takes her into the murky world of indebted migrant workers and to right-wing extremists in the form of Wisbech One. Along with long-term, loyal colleague Detective Sergeant Davy Walker they investigate to find out who is responsible for Lukas's death.

A cut above other police procedurals, Steiner writes with confidence and humour. Manon is a protagonist to enjoy, as good as any classic detective, struggling yet determined and witty. The miserable lives of the migrant workers are fully described in what must be horrifying reality. Numerous twists and turns in this pacy and riveting plot lead to an unexpected conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this superb police procedural. Literary crime fiction at its best with a glorious and engaging protagonist.

Just after submitting the original manuscript for this book, Susie Steiner was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumour. Following surgery twelve months ago, she is back entertaining us on Twitter and I wish her well, send her love.

3.,5 stars

Despite having loved the previous two Manon Bradshaw books, I was initially unsure that I'd make it to the end of Remain Silent.

Slow start, but galloped to a nerve wracking ending! Fascinating themes of exploitation, racism, dysfunctional family and middle age crises.

The writing was a bit frenetic at times, and I don't think I'd have continued if I wasn't already familiar with the protagonist.

You know when you decide to read the 2nd or 3rd in a series and wish you had read the ones before? Yep this is one of them!

Maybe it's because I hadn't read the first two in the series but I just didnt 'get' the lead character Manon Bradshaw at all and in all honesty I didnt click with any of the characters. I didn't dislike them but I didn't like them either. Having no emotional attachment to a story is a major downer for me.

The story was slow going and dragged on and there just wasn't the tension or suspense I've come to expect from this genre.

There was also so much going on and too much switching between narrators for me to actually enjoy this book.

I don't want to rate unfairly as I do think if I'd read the previous 2 I might feel more connected to the characters so for that I'm giving 2.5*

Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

I’m a big fan of the Detective Inspector Manon Bradshaw novels.
In this book she finds the body of a Lithuanian migrant hanging from a tree in the local park, and leads the investigation into the events surrounding his untimely death.
The plot is interesting and centres around the local group of immigrant-hating white supremacists, but it’s really Manon’s irreverent and down to earth style that wins me over.
Steiner writes her with so much humour and reality.
You can read this as a stand-alone novel but I’d definitely recommend reading all the Manon Bradshaw novels.
Thoroughly recommended.

Oh dear, I'm in a complete minority here. Although the writing is good the story is just too harrowing and probably realistic for me and. along with a very annoying police detective, I only managed half way and that was a struggle.. Appalling treatment of migrants brought to England to work in desperate conditions, minuscule pay, horrible jobs anyway (not that the obscene, racist English in there would have done the work in any case - perhaps we should be more willing to pay the real cost of producing vegetables and chickens for a change - all terrified for their lives and one of them murdered. DI Manon Bradshaw heads the team investigating this - forever grumbling about her partner, weight, appearance, the awful Tweeting boss (there I do agree with her) but with small bursts of humour and an awful lot of me me me even when her partner is diagnosed with cancer. She's generally unpleasant, angry and unsympathetic. What finished it for me was her approach to a man who didn't stop for her at a level crossing and another who shouted that she could have said thanks when he did. It's the law and he should have stopped, yes, but equally a bit of courtesy never hurt anyone. She was having another bad day, perhaps the drivers were too. Final straw. Having now read the reviews I do wonder whether we're talking about the same book. I understand that the author herself is seriously ill and perhaps some of the anger in the book stems from that - understandable. I hope very much that she recovers and that other reviewers get their wish of more Manon. No thanks. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had read the first Manon book but not the second so there was a bit of catching up on family relationships.
I felt there was too much going on. The before and after with the Lithuanian workers and the switching between narrators. It all got a bit much and made the story drag.
The ending is all tided up too neatly at the end, very rushed.
Some character seemed superfluous, what was with lazy Nigel and even Edikas.
And a real bugbear, people are hanged and not hung, grrr.
It was OK but I won't be rushing to read any more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the third book featuring down-to-earth but stressed out detective Manon Bradshaw, and it is another cracker. The case features the plight of East European economic migrants, who come to England for a better life but end up trapped and exploited into what amounts to slavery. The story begins with one such found hanged in a tree in a local park-was he murdered, and why? The mystery is gripping, thought-provoking and sympathetically handled, but what makes this series stand out for me is following Manon’s progress, especially as I have read all three books. She is totally believable, a woman struggling to get through life as a professional, a partner and a mother, with all the joys and anguish involved. She is a bit of a mess in many ways, but warm and engaging whilst totally unsentimental. Recommended especially for fans of Susan Hill’s Simon Serrailler and Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie. I can’t wait for Manon’s next outing.

This is my first book by this author and I didn't realise it was part of a series but it can be read as a standalone.

It was such a good story and it kept me turning the pages well written book. while out walking with her son. Manon they find a man handing from a tree. but is it murder? I enjoyed the characters and I love Manon banter such a good character.
Its a really good escape read to whats happening in real life right now and worth the read. I will be checking out her other books in this series now. I enjoyed this one so much.

A really relevant read due to current migrant and Brexit situation. I like this author. She writes well and creates believable characters.
I gave this 4/5 and I’d recommend it to stave off and boredom whilst self-distancing!

An utterly engrossing and poignant book made all the more sad by the Acknowledgments at the end.
I have loved both of Susie Steiner’s Manon Bradshaw books; they have made me laugh out loud on many occasions. This one feels darker and more complex somewhat. Manon is battling middle-age, overworked and struggling with her home life. A bombshell rocks her and Mark’s relationship and the way this is handled brilliantly.
This book works on so many levels. It is a great police procedural book, a gripping and realistic story about immigrants and racism and a wonderful character analysis of what it is to be a woman and human.
It felt like an ending of sort but I hope and pray that Manon and Susie come back to us soon.
Thanks to NetGalley and The Borough Press for letting me read it.

I'd read and enjoyed the first 2 books in the Manon Bradshaw series and really enjoyed them - so when I saw Marian Keyes mentioned on Twitter that a third was coming out in May, I immediately saw if it was available for request on NetGalley - and it was!
Here is the blurb.
"The body of a young migrant is found hanging from a tree.
No signs of struggle. No indication that it is anything other than a tragic suicide.
Except for a note, pinned to his trousers, that reads ‘The dead cannot speak’.
A murder investigation begins with DI Manon Bradshaw at the helm. But with the other migrants unwilling to speak, and protests on the streets, hatred is starting to drown out the facts.
Can Manon uncover the truth before it happens again?"
I think this might just be my favourite of all of the Manon Bradshaw books - it is great!
As usual it twists and turns with a police investigation - along with the private lives of the police too. Manon's homelife is also undergoing turmoil as her partner has a cancer diagnosis and she has a teenager and toddler to cope with too. I loved this side of it - and my favourite quote has to be 'I'd rather boil my head in oil than home school' - a statement with which I completely concur and is particularly relevant in the current climate! (It also reminds me of when I was taking our son to hospital in an ambulance when he was about 3 and had a nasty head injury, and the paramedic asked if I worked or was a stay at home Mum - and I replied 'I couldn't be a stay at home Mum, I'd kill one of them'. Whoops.)
Anyway - back to the book.
Essentially it's an investigation of a death which looks like a suicide - except for a note on the body which makes it look more like murder.
However, it's not just a murder investigation - it looks at the treatment of Eastern European migrants in Wisbech and their interaction with the 'locals' and how they are treated by their gangmasters. It feels worryingly relevant and there are definite similarities between some of the people in the book and famous people in the media (mentioning no names!) .
It is clever, and twists and turns - and I think is my favourite of the Manon books. I would thoroughly recommend it when it comes out in May.
I don't always read the acknowledgements at the end of the book - but I am so glad I did in this instance. Just after submitting the original manuscript for this book, Susie Steiner was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumour. Sadly I know more than I would like to about GBMs - as our friends' son died from one when he was just 11 years old - 17 months after diagnosis. The acknowledgements are really moving - and whilst it is clear Susie has a fabulous support network - her fear of the b*stard brain tumour is also evident. When she said that she didn't know if she'd still be here for the publication of the book it was just so very very sad. I was pleased that a quick Twitter search shows Susie is still here and normal life (ranting at TfL, toilet paper purchasing) is still ongoing. And the fight goes on to find a cure for this horrific disease that kills more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer - and yet has historically only received 1% of the national spend on cancer research.

A thought provoking story involving immigrants and how they are often exploited. DI Manon returns to work to uncover the circumstances surrounding the death of Lucas-a Lithuanian.

Manor Bradshaw is so real you feel as if she has stepped out of the room when you finish the novel. She is gritty, earthy, all those things, so flawed she is like someone you know, maybe even your own internal monologue. I recommend Susie Steiner to people for this reason, Manson is struggling to raise a family, work full time and hold onto a marriage like so many people. She is driven when it comes to cracking her cases but she is also worrying about who will pick up the toddler from nursery. It’s a welcome departure from the perfect women of much fiction;.
The crime stories hang together and the narrative normally runs along side by side with her stress but in this novel I found the pace maybe a little too frenetic? The present tense makes me rush from sentence to sentence like a thing possessed and I found at times that the plot jumped in when I was least expecting it. Then I had to read back a couple of paragraphs and check I hadn’t missed any foreshadowing.
I also felt Manson herself was a little bit manic, her wise cracking thought processes on fast forward all the time. It leant a rather flippant air to the crime story if I am honest. Dead bodies and exploited immigrants nestled uneasily for me with a sort of black humour disrespect that raced along behind it all. I just felt like Steiner was racing towards something, and I found it slightly exhausting, read the whole thing in less than 48 hours. Maybe it’s me, but I didn’t get this from the two previous novels.
Reading the acknowledgment moved me and made me wonder if this was at play whilst she wrote out edited the novel. I can imagine that diagnosis having a bomb blast effect on just about everything, writing style and pace included. I wish her the very best, she can teach others a thing or two about realism. A good read just slightly weird compared to its predecessors.