This is a very well written book. It looks at domestic abuse including coercion. The pace lagged a little and I guessed all the twist. Overall an average book

This took me a while to get into but once I did it was very interesting, it explored some dark themes but did it very it well.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

I really enjoyed this. Very twisty and full of turns.

I’ve ready a few of Louise O’Neills books and I’ve always enjoyed them.

This was such a good read, can't believe it had to finish! I will definitely read some more by this author in future. Recommended.

Fantastic mystery with lots of distasteful characters that have lots of secrets. The inclusion of a documentary style narrative in some chapters makes the book more realistic.

Oh wow what a read!
This book was so good! I thoroughly enjoyed this.
I really liked how the mystery starts to unravel and the secrets start getting unpicked.
The characters and the setting is so good.
I might have to re read this book.

Keelin Kinsella escapes an abusive relationship with her son Alex, only to find herself under coercive control of her new husband, Henry Kinsella. The book is focussed on the mysterious death of Nessa Crowley- one of three Crowley girls. I had suspicions about each member of the family as the story progressed and I thought the author paced the reveal very well.

Several years after the murder, a team of Australians decide to film a documentary, so some of the narrative is written as interviews with various characters and I think this worked well.

Keelin was a strong character and I felt completely invested in her journey. The addition of Irish phrases was a nice touch also.

This was an engaging read and I will definitely look out for more work bu this author.

Thanks indeed to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

After the Silence is a dark, tense, atmospheric thriller that will keep readers guessing. Nessa Crowley was murdered the night of Henry and Keelin's big party when the island was cut off from the mainland because of the awful storm. The truth died with Nessa even though everyone knew the killer was on the island. Ten years later, a documentary is being made about the murder. The story alternates between a few months before the murder, the interviews the documentary is conducting, and present day from Keelin's perspective. There are plenty of twists, toxic characters, and an unpredictable ending. Highly recommended!!

I absolutely loved 'After The Silence' and couldn't wait to find out what happened. The story starts with the Crowley girls, three sisters on a remote Irish island, where they are renowned for their beauty. From the start you know that one sister, Nessa, has died, and the story jumps back and forward to reveal what happened on the night in question.

The main family in the story are a rich Anglo-Irish man Henry Kinsella, Keelin, his wife from the island and their two children. There's not a lot of love for Henry on the island, and he has been investigated for the death of Nessa Crowley, but released without charge. Ten years on and there are still mutterings in the town about what happened that night and lots of sideways suspicious glances at the whole family.

The relationship between Henry and Keelin is idyllic and luxurious from the outside but all is not what it seems, and when two investigative reporters come to the island to find out the true story of the Crowley girls, things become even more tense.

Impossible to put down, this is a fantastic book- many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers

CW: this book contains mentions of domestic abuse, violence and death.

After the Silence really surprised me. I went in expecting a murder mystery/thriller and was surprised to find that this was actually a rather minor element. Instead, this book focuses a lot more on interpersonal relations and, in particular, domestic abuse in all its forms.

In a sense, this book is a character study much more than a thriller, as Keelin and her controlling husband Henry take centre stage and their relationship is laid bare before our eyes. The characters are beautifully fleshed out, as their connections are slowly revealed and untangled. Keelin is a particularly fascinating and complex character. Throughout most of the book, I simultaneously sympathised with her and found her very irritating: that's how you know this was a character done right!

I loved how the author managed to peel off all the layers of appearance which cause Keelin to be resented and shunned by her fellow islanders: as the rumours go, her loyalties now lie with her "blow-in" husband who is clearly guilty of murdering young, beautiful Nessa Crowley, because he can give her money, clothes and a big house. Instead, we get to see underneath all that to the true nature of their relationship and all the nuance that is there. It would have been really easy to paint the usual, stereotypical victim of domestic abuse with no agency, but the author managed to show exactly how complex these situations and dynamics can be, and just how strong Keelin is despite (or maybe because of) everything she endured.

The island setting also worked perfectly. The island becomes at times almost a character in itself, as it heavily influences both the events and the characters themselves. I could almost see the setting it was so beautifully described, and at times I felt the deep limitations of life on this tiny island, almost to the point of it causing some sort of claustrophobia.

The use of the Irish language throughout is the only thing that left me a bit uncertain. While I loved seeing it and I appreciate the effort to remain authentic to life in the region where the book is set, the use of Irish words and expressions seemed a bit uneven throughout the book. Initially, every little word is explained as requested by the documentary makers, but as the story progresses there are whole sentences that are just not translated or explained at all. There also seemed to be no clear reason for why a certain character would use an Irish word at any given moment, which contributed to the feeling that they were slightly randomly chosen. Nevertheless, this didn't take much away from the pleasure of reading the book for me, aside from the odd googling.

The structure also took a bit of adjusting, as the book alternates present and past events, interspersed with extracts from the interviews which would be included in the documentary on the case. I needed a bit of time to fully get into the swing of this, but once I did, I was completely absorbed in the story and couldn't put the book down. I particularly liked the introduction of the documentary interviews, which contributed to give this more of a true crime feel. Coincidentally, I finished this soon before Sophie: A Murder in West Cork was released on Netflix, so that it was almost impossible for me not to link the two in my mind.

As for the murder itself, that was probably the most underwhelming aspect of the whole book. Nessa Crowley was quite poorly characterised, coming across as a very stereotypical "other woman" so that, despite everything, it was very hard to care deeply about her tragic fate. The reveal was also not all that surprising, given how few the suspects actually were. This disappointment might be down to the fact that I was expecting more of a "whodunnit" and an active investigation by the documentary makers and this is definitely not this book.

After the Silence was still a very interesting and gripping read, even though it was not at all what I was expecting it to be. Best suited to those looking for a book focusing more on complex characters than a thriller, though it does contain some heavy content (mostly around domestic abuse), so maybe give it a miss if that might be triggering for you.

Nessa Crowley was murdered 10 years ago but the murderer has not been found; now a team of documentary film makers have come to the island, can they uncover the truth?

I really enjoyed the documentary style interviews which made it feel more 'real'. I was gripped not only by the story but by the writing. 'I loved Only Ever Yours' and wondered if I would love this as much but I definitely recommend; a truly gripping story that felt claustrophobic at times with the secrets being kept.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a coy of the book in exchange for an honest review

I don’t think this book fits easily into any one particular genre. At times it’s a thriller, mystery, domestic noir but certainly an atmospheric, dark and rather chilling read. I thought it was very good indeed.

The unsolved murder of a young woman, 10 years ago, on an Irish island is resurrected when a film crew arrive on the island to make a documentary about the case. What follows is an intriguing mixture of the complex psychology of Keelin Kinsella and a compelling mystery. The characters are well defined and the island setting adds to the feeling of claustrophobia and eeriness. I liked the inclusion of documentary transcripts and the Irish language.
This was the first book I’ve read from Louise O’Neill and I would definitely read more and recommend this author.

I would like to thank the publisher, Quercus Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great psychological thriller about the main characters Harry and Keelin following a murder that happened on the island of Inisrun when they host a wild party and a local girl called Nessa Crowley was found murdered.
The killer couldn't have escaped Inisrun, but no-one was charged with the murder. The mystery that surrounded the death of Nessa remained hidden. But the islanders knew who to blame for the crime that changed them forever.
Ten years later a documentary crew arrives, there to lift the lid off the Kinsella's carefully constructed lives, determined to find evidence that will prove Henry's guilt and Keelin's complicity in the murder of beautiful Nessa.
Lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing.

Ten years after the murder of a beautiful young local on the island of Inis Rúin off the coast of Cork, two documentary makers come to stay, to film their documentary and hopefully get to the bottom of the yet unsolved case. The affluent Kinsella family have been hated and shunned by the locals ever since the tragic night, with most people believing Henry Kinsella to be the murderer. His wife Keelin has spent the last ten years trying to come to terms with the tragedy and the echoing effects which it has had on her family. With the details of that fateful night being dragged back into the light of day again, will the truth behind what really happened finally be brought to light, or are some secrets best kept forever?

This book was an enjoyable read, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing right to the end.

Irish crime novels are in vogue at the moment and this one is definitely part of this genre. The setting is always important in these sorts of books and “After the Silence” takes place on an Irish island within a small close knit community.
It is set in two time frames and is quite a slow burner which meant that I found it rather difficult to get into, particularly as the narrative was constantly interrupted by moving backwards and forwards in time.
Islander, Keelin is married to wealthy mainlander, Henry Killeen and it is her 2nd relationship after experiencing an abusive first marriage. Alex, her son of 27 lives with them and they have a teenage daughter together. It is implied that both Keelin and Alex suffer from mental health issues stemming from something that happened several years previously.
There are obviously secrets involved in their relationship. Henry controls everything Keelin does and despite this seeming another type of abuse, she does not want to leave him. What is binding them together?
Jake and Noah are two young documentary makers who are making a film about the murder of a young girl on the island, something which happened 10 years previously- Nessa Crowley was found dead in Henry and Keelin’s garden after a party and Henry was the main suspect.
There are many on the island who still suspect him including Nessa’s family and this is despite the fact that he has not been prosecuted. They hope the film will reveal the murderer and indeed a large part of the story consists of interviews with various witnesses. It seems that Henry and Keelin are trying to keep the filmmakers onside and Keelin befriends Jake early on at Henry’s suggestion which is obviously very suspicious.
Gradually the book reveals the true story about what happened on that fateful night and what secrets Keelin and Henry are keeping.
I’m afraid that the story did not grip me enough in that there were only three main suspects and really, by the end of the novel I did not feel sufficiently invested in any of them to really care who had committed the act. The constant documentary interviews really slowed down the pace of the novel, particularly as they were with characters who hardly appeared in the main narrative.
The novel was more of a character study and an examination of coercive control looking at how Keelin has ended up in two different but in fact very similar abusive relationships, albeit for different reasons.
To sum up I would say that I found it a rather bleak and depressing although atmospheric read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Although i found the start extremely slow and hard to get into, once i was about half way through it started to pick up and i really enjoyed it after that. I would certainly recommend it and just tell people to stick with it.

So I thought that this book was interesting but it was a little too slow for me at times. I really liked the idea of a documentary being made 10 years after the murder of a local girl especially since I knew all of the juicy secrets would be exposed.

I really liked how the family dynamics were explored and as the story progressed the relationship problems definitely started to make sense. At first I felt really sorry for Keelin especially because of everything that she went through but after a while she just became really annoying. Jake and Noah were the best characters in this book in my opinion because they wanted to find out the truth about what happened. Also they were kind, funny and very interesting.

I definitely didn’t guess who the killer was but it totally makes sense that it was that person.

Dark, frightening and twisty story that you won't be able to put down. I’d like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley UK, for my copy of this engaging story which I recommend to anyone looking for a fulfilling, page-turning read.

This is the first novel that I have read by this author and i went into this expecting a murder mystery.
What I found was something very different. There was a murder. There was a mystery about who had committed the murder. However the story was about so much more.

The premise is that at a party held by Henry and Keelin Kinsella, a young girl, Nessa, was murdered. The killer was never found although the islanders knew who they blamed. Ten years later two young Australian documentary makes arrive at the island to examine the case again and the islanders hope that finally Henry will be found guilty.

The novel jumps from past to present and is interspersed with the interviews conducted by the two documentary makers which can make it difficult at times to keep track but works really well. Al though Keelin is a native islander, the attitude of the islanders changes towards her after her marriage to Henry, a 'blow-in', a man whose family had a chain of hotels and who builds a complex on the island. The fact that Keelin now has money and a big house makes her an outcast who is mistrusted as much as her husband. In to this environment, enter Nessa Crowley - one of the Crowley girls - whose arrival changes everything.

This is a novel that examines marriage, relationships. It is not so much about the murder - as about the abuse that exists within relationships and it is this that makes the story compelling. This is a story about women.

The reveal might - or might not - be what you are expecting, but what you take away from this read is the character story and the human interest.

Dark, Dark, Suspense…
A slow burn dark, dark, suspense.with a disturbing and unsettling theme. So well done, cleverly constructed and driven by a well crafted and credible cast of characters and a compelling yet extremely troubling storyline.