Fifteen year old Hayley DaSilva came home from a party to find her mother, twin brother, and his friend brutally murdered.
Sixteen years later, Hayley, now married and living in America, receives a phone call. Her younger brother's bones have been found, casting doubt over her father, Leonard's confession that he killed the family.
This is a new detective series featuring DI Seb Locke. I liked him as he was a relatable character. Bringing up a teenage daughter Tilly with the help of his mother-in-law.
We find out more about the family dynamics and what happened to Tilly's mother. I'm sure there will be much more revealed in book 2.
This is Locke's first case in charge. He's capable and hands on, this is reflected by the way his team work with him.
I thought Jackie, his boss, a very feisty character. Think 'bark worse than their bite'. I am already looking forward to reading the next one.
With thanks to Netgalley and Hera Books for the ARC in return for an honest review.

What would you do if you came home from a party to find your mother and twin murdered, your baby brother is missing and the cops get a confession from your dad? You would move away and start over, right? Until 15 years later they find your baby brother and your dads confession is no longer making sense. Is he really the killer? The twists and turns make up for the slow start and I can’t wait to see more of Detective Locke

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were well developed and the story was engaging. I recommend that others try this book as well. Well done!

The first book I've read by this author and it's a great one! The start might be a bit slower, but once you've gone through that, you're drawn more and more into the story and the characters.

15 years ago something awful happened, a family killed, a son missing, the daughter found them and the father was the killer. That's the start of the book. But now, the body of the missing brother is found and the confession of the father starts to fall apart. What if he didn't kill his family? What if the killer is still out there, after 15 years?

It started out a bit slow but once the story really started, it was a terrific read. The story itself is quite interesting and compelling. The characters were likeable and relatable which is great for a book.

4/5⭐

The Quiet Dead by N.J. Mackay is a good police procedural that kept me guessing.

I really liked Seb and Lucy and how they worked together and their banter and interactions. I did feel some empathy for Leonard and how he tried to protect his daughter. I also liked Tilly, Val, and Faye; they were nice character additions to the story.

Hayley DaSilva makes a new life for herself in the United States after her twin brother, mother, and her brother's friend are brutally murdered. Her younger brother, Ethan, went missing and was never found. Hayley fled her dreadful past in Thamespark until the call from Detective Sebastian Locke. Little bones uncovered in a shallow grave belong to Ethan, and the investigation reveals holes in the case that prove Leonard’s confession was false.

This was an intriguing and hard-to-put-down police procedural. I liked getting to know these new characters, and I liked the author's writing style; the scenes flowed nicely, and the characters were interesting and all different.

Lots of secrets, lies, and feelings that are hard to control and make the characters vulnerable. A good introduction to this author. I would read more by this author and hope to see more of DI Locke and his family and colleagues.

#TheQuietDead #NetGalley @HeraBooks

A slow burner. Good story and a different writing style than I'm used to. But I did enjoy the story will look out for this author again

Riveting. At first, I thought the switch up of first person vs. second between a few characters would be a terrible mix, but it actually made the book more enjoyable. Plot was well written and characters were relatable. It’s rare that I cannot figure out an ending ahead of time, and this was that case.

One area I thought was odd was a character being presented a couple times….then gone until the end. I kept wondering if that character’s plot would ever be finished or touched on again. Otherwise, it was a great read that near the end, I had to tear myself away from to go to bed.

This book had a bit of a slow start, but ended up full of twists and turns. I liked the characters and am looking forward to any future books featuring DI Locke! He was determined and thorough, and that drive really carried the whole book!

A story with many twists and turns. Each layer is peeled back to reveal a new detail that solves the mystery. The descriptions of the characters could have been done better though. Overall not bad.

This is the first novel I've read by the author and I will definitely be exploring her back catalogue after this.
15 years ago Leonard DaSilva confessed to the murders of his wife, sons and his son's friend at their home in Thamespark. The body of his son Ethan was never found. Now, DI Sebastian Locke has reopened the investigation after Ethan's remains are discovered in a shallow grave. Leonard's surviving child Hayley who discovered the bodies of her family 15 years ago returns to Thamespark to find that Locke now believes that her father's confession was false. So who did murder the DaSilva family?

This is an excellent combination of police procedural and psychological thriller and hopefully what will be the first in a series featuring DI Locke. I love a good police procedural and this is an excellently plotted and well paced example. I really enjoy investigations into historical crimes and the author skilfully reveals secrets from the past. There's great characterisation and I loved the character of Locke, he's a young police officer with a complex history and I feel that the author dealt with this sensitively and believably. I liked his colleague Lucy and the relationship between them. The dual narrative worked well and this made it into more than just a police procedural.

A gripping, compelling and well written novel that I would recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

A trophy wife to her affluent American husband Sean, British transplant Hayley Marriott is living the life of her dreams in America. And if she is not entirely satisfied with her life of leisure, and the fact that her husband has a roving eye, at least it is better than the nightmare of her previous life as Hayley DaSilva. A life that her husband knows nothing about.

Fifteen years ago, teenage Hayley walked into her family home after a night out, only to find her mother, twin brother Matt and his friend Ryan brutally murdered in their home. Her little brother Ethan was nowhere to be found - declared missing, presumed dead.

Hayley's estranged father Leonard was convicted of the killings. As the sole survivor of the massacre, Hayley was desperate to start a new life, which led her to the other side of the Atlantic.

But now, well over a decade later, Ethan's remains have been found, and there is reason to believe that Leonard DaSilva may not have committed the crimes. So why did he confess to them? And who then is responsible for the deaths of four people? And does that mean that the killer has gone scot-free all these years?

Hayley returns to the UK to lay Ethan to rest, and meets DI Seb Locke - a fascinating character created to kick off this new series - who's determined to make up for past police incompetence, get to the bottom of things, and deliver justice for the DaSilva family...

A terrific read, engrossing and peopled with relatable characters from Hayley and Leonard, to Locke and his sidekick Lucy. Enjoy!

3.5 stars

I felt it was slow to start, but picked up.
Locke is a good character, and one I'll enjoy as the series progresses, complicated home life and TONS of baggage. He's going to be great.

One plot line in particular had me struggling to believe... but I didn't let it get in the way of the story.
Secrets and lots of lies and a few surprises.
Pretty much what you'd hope for in this type of book.

Definitely worth picking up.

Detective Sebastian Locke is a young detective chosen to head a cold case when the bones of a young boy are found. The boys mother and brother were brutally slaughtered 15 years before and the boy disappeared without a trace. His father, Leonard was arrested for the murders, and confessed.
His sister, Hayley changed her name and emigrated to America.

Can Sebastian prove himself by solving the killing of the youngest child?

A terrific police procedural. Crimes that are solved by the right questions and speaking to the right people.
I found the beginning a bit slow, but as the book progressed became more and more immersed in the lives of the characters and trying to guess the killer.
Needless to say, everyone I suspected was not the killer!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.