This is the third book in the Manon Bradshaw series and now we find her married with a twp year old son and her adopted son. She is now working for the Cambridge Police Force in the cold case department. This is a much easier, part-time role which suits her domestic situation. Bliss! But is it? Manon is struggling with the reality of her situation; it isn’t easy to manage work, domestic chores, caring for a young child and she is struggling with her relationship. Mark just doesn’t seem committed.

Manon is in the park with her baby son when she discovers a man hanging from a tree. He was a Lithuanian immigrant but the note pinned to his trousers clearly indicates that this was not a suicide but a murder and Manon soon finds herself involved in the investigation.

I love the character Manon, but I am somewhat uncomfortable about the changes in her personality in this plot. She seems to be much less confident, full of doubts and I suspect what is bothering me is that it is perhaps an indication of many women in her situation – juggling with life-work balance – added to which her husband is ill – and she must be all things to all people, particularly in relationship to her job.

The issues surrounding the exploitation of the immigrants working in the UK were well handled and interesting, leaving me with a simmering anger and bewilderment of how people can treat each other this way.

All in all a very satisfying book.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

I remember thoroughly enjoying the 1st book in this series so I was delighted to find a 3rd had been written. Manon is still a wonderful character. The Lithuanian storyline is truly well written and it breaks my heart to think that this really goes on. I only wish Manon were real.

DI Manon Bradshaw is a brilliantly created character: middle-aged, carrying extra pounds, knackered and horribly self-critical. Readers of her generation will certainly relate to her daily niggles and concerns. However, with the aging process comes the confidence to speak out more at work, to highlight crazy bureaucracy and hypocrisies – and she’s very funny too! At home Manon’s going through another sort of mid-life crisis. Does she still love her partner, Mark; is this all there is til death us do part? And then the possibility of death arises and Manon has never felt more desperate to be with him.
Whilst Manon is very much at the centre of this novel, Susie Steiner’s latest police procedural deals with important topical issues. ‘Remain Silent’ exposes the dreadful living conditions of imported agricultural workers who are no more than slaves. The police are keen to arrest their gang masters but the latter are so ruthless that the labourers are terrified into silence. Set in the Fens, it is easy to imagine that the descriptions Steiner gives us are very close to reality. And the rise of nationalism, hand in hand with outright racism, produces some very ugly scenes on the streets of Wisbech. Steiner’s epigraph is a quotation from The Times of 1853 which hails the UK as ‘the asylum of nations and it will defend that asylum to the last ounce of its treasure and last drop of its blood.’ How very sad that not everyone thinks like this anymore.
This novel should appeal to a wide audience. Steiner’s assured plotting ensures that those keen to be hooked by a ‘whodunnit’ are led down a variety of paths before the final reveal. Those who enjoy strong, realistic female characters need look no further than Manon and anyone who has wondered who takes on all the back-breaking jobs that no one else wants, and at what cost, will learn much from this story. And then there’s the Acknowledgements. It’s unnerving to see that the theme of loss that runs through the novel continues into the author’s life. Rather like Manon, Steiner is currently in a position where the future looks uncertain. Heart-breaking.
My thanks to NetGalley and The Borough Press for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

DibManon Bradshaw is back third in the series. Another fantastic book in the series a book that kept me up way too late couldn’t put down.Already looking. forward to next in the series.#netgalley#harpericollinsuk

Sadly I really wanted to like this book but I struggled to actually finish it. I liked Manon and Davy but the rest were almost surplus. A very topical subject.

Absolutely brilliant, the best book so far in this wonderful series! If you haven't discovered DI Manon Bradshaw, you are missing out!

Given the recent news re immigrants this book rings true

Going back to work part time in a cold case department Manon Bradshaw is not quite prepared for what she is theown into after discovering a body hanging from a tree

Quite hard to get into at first but preserve and your in for a gripping read

I have loved both of the previous books in this series, and this did not disappoint one iota. An excellent who dun it, together with Mason Bradshaws uniqueness throughout

I just hope that Susie regains her health and is able to delight us with another instalment

I struggled with this one and it took me days longer than usual to get through it. I’m not quite sure why , the story was well enough written, but it just didn’t grab my attention. I found the pace too slow. It did have an interesting storyline re the exploitation of immigrant workers.

This is the third book in the excellent DI Manon Bradshaw series and it doesn't disappoint. If you have followed the series from the start, this is as cleverly plotted and engaging as you would hope.

The story opens with the death of a Lithuanian man in the town of Wisbech. DI Manon Bradshaw and her team are called in to investigate, but start to uncover something even more chilling. As they start to look deeper into the people trafficking among the town's Lithuanian community, they encounter the racism and intolerance of a divided nation.

The reason this is 4 stars for me rather than 5 is that it is so depressingly current. Everything wrong with modern Britain is here (I rather suspect I am in tune with the author's thoughts on matters here): the Nigel Farage-a-like whipping up anti-immigration feeling, the media bias, the divisions caused by Brexit, the rise of UKIP and the like... It's all just too raw. Add in the idea of people trafficking after the recent terrible deaths of the Vietnamese people in the news and it's all too much. Current and relevant but uncomfortable.

However, it's well written as usual and Manon is a very engaging and likeable character. The plot unfolds beautifully and there are lots of supporting characters who bring variety and interest to the novel. The story is bleak, but it will also keep you reading long into the night.

If you haven't read any of these books before, I'd really recommend that you start at the beginning of the series as there is a lot of back story that you do really need to fully appreciate this. Read and enjoy!

Another decent instalment in this well established series. Whilst it's unique and funny to have insight into Manon' s thought processes I would prefer slightly more focus on the case and characters involved.
Best of luck and best wishes to the author

A dark and gritty crime drama. As always well written and suspenseful. Very good and great insight into the police world

SAdly a novel for our times. An immigrant found hanging off a tree in Cambridgeshire sets off a dark investigation. There's some very poignant moments here and a lot to think about. A different slant for a police procedural which is good.

Two things to watch out for - some sharp writing and scene setting and the character of Manon. Gripping and poignant drama.

And this is largely set in Wisbech - a small Cambridgeshire village which makes it all the more poignant somehow. As if crime and major crime doesn't normally happen here and when it does, it's more shocking in some ways.