Thank you for allowing me to review this book. It is the first in a series about DI Jack Kent. The story investigates a murder, but along the way we find out a little about Jack herself. She is a mountaineer who recently lost her partner in a climbing accident. This still haunts her. Equally her team have their own background issues, some of which we begin to learn about. I suspect that in the following books we may learn more about them as the story lacks some background. I found the book very easy to read and enjoyed finishing it in a couple of days.
I look forward to reading the next book and would recommend it to lovers of police dramas. Perhaps in the future it will be a new Vera?

It is a police procedural thriller with a climbing theme and a complex female detective. As the first book in the Detective Jack Kent series, there are the necessary links to the main protagonist's backstory, which defines her. The relationship between Jack and her team is a work in progress. However, there is an original storyline and well-researched climbing details. The urban setting is atmospheric, and the cast of characters is interesting. With insight into the antagonist's past and motive, this thriller draws the reader into its dark world—an engaging mix of poignancy and suspense. I like the originality, the female detective and the clever mystery.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

first-in-series, new-series, recreational-climbing, survivor's-guilt, suspense, snow-season, grieving, England, procedural, no-gratuitous-erotica, urban-climbers, mountaineering, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, theft, office-politics, teamwork, family-dynamics, intense, ptsd, crime-fiction, criminal-acts, LGBT*****

Every detective has to get through that first murder investigation and budget cut really make it even harder. The characters are real people with real backstories and real personal problems which are often aggravated by the kind of work they do. The story is irregularly paced in order to make important transitions ad give more impact to the plot twists and sneaky red herrings. I can see good things for this series as it (and the characters) progress.
I requested and received an EARC from Storm Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you

GREAT thriller, I couldn’t stop reading it, it’s full of twists, and you’ll never be able to understand where it’ll go.

Silent Fall by Nicky Downes.
Detective Jack Kent Book 1.
When the body of a beautiful and wealthy doctor is discovered in her high-rise apartment – all alone with the doors locked from the inside – nobody can understand how or why her life has been cut short.
I really did enjoy this book. I loved Jack. Gripping and twisty. I'm looking forward to the next book. 4*.

Jack has certainly had her ups and downs in life but Nicky Downes did give us a strong women to keep the spirts of the book alive.

I was certainly a cat and mouse game in getting the killer. The story was something different compared to a lot of other crime books which I enjoyed.

Nicky is a very talented writer and I found it easy to read the book from start to finish without getting frustrated. In regards to the story as much as I enjoyed it I only rated it 4 star because there was little things in the book that contradicted its self or wasn't needed. Like Jack going on about her fitness maybe due to the athleticism of climbing compared to being at the gym could of been dealt with a bit better.

The front cover is beautiful and well suited

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an arc copy of this book

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book. This is a first from this author. I would rate this a 3/5.

Silent Fall is the first book in the Detective Jack Kent Series.

Jack is a climber as well as a detective. This come in handy when a case comes up where the perpetrator is accessing apartments several floors up by climbing the outside.

Jack, like us all has baggage. Her friend Hannah was killed on a climb as well as her own father. I hope we will read more about her father's accident in future books. I suspect we will, as there are unanswered questions. I'm really interested in learning more about that particular situation.

Not as gritty as some books but a good one all the same. I will be looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks to netgalley and Storm Publishing for the arc.

Detective Jack Kent is a mountaineeer and a detective. She has successfully closed a rape case, the perpetrator being the son of a prominent politician, and is assigned to a burglary case.
She is not happy about what she considers a demotion, but the thief robbed apartments that were in tall buildings, and accessed them by climbing.
She is also mourning the death of her lover, who was killed by an avalanche, and battling to cope with the grief she is experiencing, but is refusing to see a therapist. She is also struggling to come to terms with the death of her father, who was killed in a solo climb. She feels that his death is suspicious, but it was ruled as accidental.

The thief kills the resident of an apartment that he robs, and Jack is now investigating a homicide, not realising that the thief is trying to get her attention, and is hiding in plain sight.


This is the first in a new series for this author. I am a lover of a strong female lead in a Police Procedural, but Jack falls short for me.
It is a police/mystery, and has pages and pages of mountaineering.
For fans of climbing, it is probably very interesting, but it bored me to tears. I skipped those pages eventually, concentrating on the investigation instead.
The thief turned murderer has a POV as well, ranging from their childhood in 1993 to the present. The death of the woman in the apartment was clearly not the first caused by this person.


Yes, these characters have a life and a passion away from their work, but their hobbies and interests are not described in minute detail.
Just my personal opinion.
The characters in the book, like the team Jack has, have not been developed at all. The relationship between the team members and their boss also seems to be lacking.
OK, this may be developed in subsequent books, but it makes the characters very real for me. The only character that had a personal development in this book was Nadine.
I am not sure that I will read any more of this series. It didn't grab me in the least.
There was something 'off' about the writing as well.
Perhaps I should read Nicky Downes DI Amelia Barton series before I make a decision not to read this authors future works? I will do so soon.

Sorry, this was a washout for me, and I can only award two stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book so much. It hooked me in. Took a few days for me to read. It wasn’t the best thriller but very much enjoyed it. Thanks to netgalley for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Detective Jack Kent was recovering from a terrible climbing accident where her best friend died. Hannah continued to live in her dreams while Jack didn't forgive herself for living while Hannah died. A specialist climber, Jack and her team were working a rape case, bringing all the evidence together to arrest the rapist. When they were notified of a series of high-rise break and enters, Jack was the best person to lead the team as it looked like the culprit entered after scaling the walls. But it was when the body of a doctor was discovered that had Jack deep into investigation mode. Was it all connected? Would Jack discover who was tormenting her before someone else lost their life?

Silent Fall is the 1st in the Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Kent series by Nicky Downes and we see a woman who is a mountaineer as well as a detective, who has plenty of baggage which goes back to her childhood, when she followed in her father's footsteps, learning the art of climbing from him. Set in Birmingham, UK, the plot was twisty and a little convoluted; it didn't grab me as I expected it would. Nicky was a hard character to like, and I'm hoping the 2nd in the series will bring more clarity.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This is well plotted and intriguing crime thriller that features a real locked room mystery as there's a locked room with a corpse inside.
Jake is a strong character with a huge baggage but she's also an excellent investigator
A well plotted, gripping and twisty novel that kept me guessing and entertained
Can't wait to read another story
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I would like to thank Netgalley and Storm Publishing for an advance copy of Silent Fall, the first novel to feature DI Jack Kent, set In Birmingham.

When a woman is found dead in her luxury apartment Jack thinks it might be linked to a series of strange burglaries she is investigating. The burglar is climbing multiple storeys to get in to the flat and that is a skill few people have and Jack should know as she’s an elite mountaineer herself.

I enjoyed Silent Fall, which is a relatively straightforward police procedural with an interesting protagonist and a well concealed perpetrator. It is told from bother points of view, Jack in the third person and the burglar turned murderer in the first, which makes sense as this narrative ranges in timeline from 1993 to the present day. I didn’t find it particularly convincing or logical and it seems to me that the author defined the crime then went looking for a motive. That’s not necessarily a bad thing in a procedural where the emphasis is usually on the investigation and finding the perpetrator, rather than the why of it all. In that it works well.

As this is the first novel in a projected series there is quite a bit of scene setting and character introduction. It’s no surprise that the independent minded Jack doesn’t get on particularly well with her boss as that’s almost a staple in the genre, but what happens after that is quite shocking on so many levels. Her no. 2, DS Nadia Begum, also has secrets and the fallout from them has a big impact, which I hope will be followed up in the next novel. Jack is an interesting character. Can she actually be one of the world’s top mountaineers and hold down a job as a detective? It doesn’t sound likely to me, but it allows the author to over share descriptions of climbing and give her a unique burden - her best friend and love of her life died on a climb with Jack in the Himalayas.

The novel has a lively style and plenty of incidents, so there is never a dull moment. It invites the reader in and holds their attention from start to finish. Therefore I can recommend Silent Fall as a good read.

3.75

I’ll say that I read it fast. But I’m not sure if I’m invested in the series. I didn’t feel much for the characters. I can’t put my finger on it. But I just wasn’t satisfied at the end.

A very slow start with a lot of information about mountain climbing which didn`t interest me in the least so was a difficult read, and I just couldn`t relate to the main character Jack Kent, I think she needs to change jobs to mountaineering instead of being in the police force.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

A really intriguing book. Jack Kent is a detective who is also quite a renowned climber. But still gets flashback from when her partner Hannah died I. The Himalayas. I’ve never read a book concentrating so much on climbing and quite enjoyed it. She is called to a murder inside a locked flat and it seems a climber is to blame. Jewellery is stolen but then the money is left at deserving causes. Giving the perpetrator the nickname of Robin Hood. Then there’s problems in rape case which impacts on one of Jacks colleagues
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really good there’ll be more in the series.

Silent Fall by Nicky Downes
Detective Jack Kent is a professional mountain climber as well as her police job. A case lands on her desk about killings connected to a climber who doesn’t go in the usual way of doors and climbs high rise block of flats instead. Jack does everything in her power to find the killer but she gets suspended along the way because of politics in the area. Finding her strength in climbing and takes a few days away from her work, comes back to find the killer. Great twists in this book. I didn’t even have the person who killed, down as the suspect ! Thank you Netgalley and Storm Publishing

Silent Fall is a crime mystery with a fresh twist. It's about a police detective who is also a climber, giving a completely different perspective on the crime and on her life. Instead of the hard drinking male who can't hold down a relationship, which we so often see in this genre, Nicky Downes has given DI Jack Kent a unique character, as an LGBTQ+ climbing fanatic. With a tragic back story of her own, DI Kent finds her unique skills very much needed as a series of high rise robberies develop into something far more serious.
Silent Fall creates a world that very few of us inhabit, where climbing is part of your DNA and thrill seeking is all about the next vertical challenge. With a back story for DI Kent that we're only just beginning to uncover, there's going to be plenty more in this series to intrigue readers.

Silent Fall by Nicky Downes

When the body of a beautiful and wealthy doctor is discovered in her high-rise apartment – all alone with the doors locked from the inside – nobody can understand how or why her life has been cut short.

Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Kent may have never worked a murder case before, but that’s not going to stop her trying. It seems Ana’s murderer may have scaled the ten-story building to get in – and Jack should know. As an elite mountain climber herself, it’s a set of skills that only a handful of people have. This can’t be their first victim, and if Jack doesn’t act fast, it won’t be their last.

Jack throws herself into the investigation, determined to beat the twisted climber at their own game. But the crime scene prompts harrowing memories for Jack, who’s still haunted by the death of her best friend Hannah, killed on a mountain only months before. Jack lived that day while Hannah died beside her. Night after night, she relives her friend’s final moments in her dreams.

When another victim is found, it’s clear that someone is trying to get Jack’s attention. Could the killer be one of her own close circle of climbing friends from childhood? As the lines between her personal and professional life blur, Jack must confront the demons of her own past to stop them from striking again.
A great read and a brilliant character in Jack Kent. As I live in an area that mountain climbing is a fairly popular hobby it's interesting to read about a character that has this as their hobby also , bringing the sub plot into climbing is also an added bonus as well.
Lots of twists to make you feel you are getting close to guessing the end but it then takes you in another direction.

So many secrets revealed to keep you reading till the end with an unexpected twist. Enjoyable read wanting you to find out what happens. I would recommend.