Second book in the Detective Nikki Gill series and this book is just as good if not better the the first book. Grips you from the very first page and keeps you hooked!

A good read from start to finish. This is the 2nd book in the serious and it doesn't disappoint. I like Nikki's approach to solving the case as it throws twists and danger her way. Highly recommended. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Very interesting read! Dive back into a murder case with Nikki Gill.

When a young woman is found dead, it seems that those around her have a lot to hide, including her own family. Nikki is trying to solve the case, but with so many questions, it may take more than she can give, and a detective who doesn't seem to want to work with her, to solve the case for good.

What an engrossing story! Silent Girl mixes past and present explaining why characters take the actions they do. It's a story of a lack of love and respect among family members, that will lead to a string of crimes and murder. The story is fast-paced, easy to read, and well-written and got my attention from the beginning.
I thank Ms. Rose, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Silent Girl
by M.L. Rose
Pub Date: 26 Feb 2024

Many thanks to #SilentGirl #NetGalley and #StormPublishing for an E-ARC of author M.L. Rose's book: Silent Girl, Detective Nikki Gill Book 2.

The story had some great twists and turns, it was a totally addictive crime thriller and a solid addition to the Detective Nikki Gill series which I highly recommend!

Short Synopsis:

Her blonde hair was carefully arranged, forming a halo around her head. The young woman’s eyes were open, the blue of her pupils just about visible, fading in the wintry morning light. She looked stunned: as if she couldn’t believe this had happened to her.

This is the second book in the Detective Nikki Gill series and was just as good as the first. It was fast paced with short chapters that kept you turning the pages and the plot kept you guessing to the end. All the characters from before were in this book and it was good to be back with them and see them develop further. You could read this as a stand-alone but I would highly recommend starting with Stolen Souls. I look forward to reading more books in this series. Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for letting me read and review this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley & Storm Publishing for an eARC ♥️

"Silent Girl" is a bone-chilling crime thriller that will freeze your blood. From the opening scene, the atmosphere is heavy with dread, like a winter's fog that clings to your skin. Charlotte Winspear's lifeless body, arranged with a macabre precision, seems to whisper a haunting warning: "this is only the beginning".

As Detective Nikki Gill investigates, the truth unfolds like a cadaverous finger pointing at the darkest corners of human nature. The Oxford manor house, a bastion of privilege and power, conceals rotting secrets that threaten to consume everyone in their grasp.

With each page, the tension tightens like a noose, squeezing the air from your lungs. You'll feel the cold sweat of fear trickling down your spine as Nikki uncovers a web of deceit and corruption that leads to the highest echelons of society. And when another woman falls prey, the sense of urgency becomes a frantic scream in your mind.

I thought this was a good police procedural story.
It’s fast paced with a strong female lead character. It’s full of twist and turns certain to keep your attention to the end. It’s another good book by this author.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion

I had not read any books by this author before but that's the joy of reading ARCs in that you get introduced to new authors

But sadly this one wasn't for me. I found the book didn't hold my interest at all. I found it very slow and hard to read - and perhaps it was just me but I found the content slightly mysogynistic - which I found unnecessary and sad.

This was a book that I skim read in the end because I wanted to know why what happened did happen
But not a book or author for me.

We can't all like the same all the time.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the advance copy of this thrilling read. This is book 2 in this new series featuring Detective Nikki Gill. It is based around Oxford. This is shaping up to be a very good series with lots of backstory about the main characters included as well as the current case being dealt with. I love that we are thrown straight into the action from the start. I look forward to carrying on reading this series and can't wait to see what comes next ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Charlotte Winspear young vivacious and a mind of her own. Her father is into politics but Charlotte is the rebel of the family the complete opposite of her father's views. She is also having an affair with a married man a college tutor and Charlotte will give anything a go even drugs drink etc.
But somebody clearly is sending a message as her body was discovered and Detective Nikki Gill is on call and as she digs deep into this girls past and background she finds to her amazement that her parents really hardly knew her at all.
As with M L Rose his books are brilliant and I have read the Arla Baker and Rohan Roy series but Nikki Gill is a new one for me and as true to form Rose has done a superb job of keeping the reader in suspense.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Storm books for a ARC copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of Silent Girl by M.L. Rose; the publication date is February 26, 2024. I recommend that you get it as soon as possible if you enjoy a good suspense-filled story that will keep you turning the pages late in the night. . It is the second book in Rose's Detective Nikki Gill series, and I hope that there will be many more.
DI Nikki Gill has recently left London following a personal tragedy, as well as being weary and frustrated by the ugliness and violence. She has only been serving in her new position for six months when she is notified that a young woman has been strangled, and while left in a posed position, there is no phone or identification with the body. As Nikki tells her team, the first forty-eight hours are critical to the success of solving the crime.. Lo and behold the name of the victim is released on social media, despite the police department's efforts to keep it quiet. The victim is Charlotte Winspear, a beautiful twenty one year old college student and the daughter of Beatrice and Jacob. Jacob is a wealthy and privileged man campaigning to become a member of Parliment. Charlotte's views lean toward communism, and she is outspoken and a bit radical in her beliefs, much to her father's disappointment and chagrin. The list of suspects include former boyfriends, her instructor and tutors, her flatmates, her dad- an extensive list for Nikki and her team to investigate.
Silent Girl is a fast-paced paced thriller full of suspense and many twists and turns. The characters are believable and relatable; the storyline is very well crafted.- a very satisfying read. 4 stars

Very interesting police procedural, where you will keep changing your mind as to who the villain is. There is an unexplained fake alibi near the end, which lost a star from me.

I’d like to thank Storm Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Silent Girl’ written by M L Rose in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The body of university student Charlotte, daughter of wealthy businessman Jacob Winspear, is found in woods off the A4 in Oxfordshire. Her boyfriend Benjamin Henshaw has disappeared and is immediately considered a suspect but DI Nikki Gill and her team need to investigate the other men Charlotte was involved with.

‘Silent Girl’ is a well-written addictive crime thriller, the second in the Detective Nikki Gill series, that’s had me hooked from page one. The plot is centred around the universities of Oxford with a convincing story that goes back in time to twenty-five years ago and a number of believable characters. There’s plenty of suspense, drama and twists and turns that have kept me involved and I’ve enjoyed meeting up again with Nikki’s team including DI Monty Sen, DCs Nish Bhatt and Kristy Young. I’m looking forward to reading more of this very enjoyable series in the future.

This really is a gripping read!! I was on the edge of my seat throughout!!! Huge 5 stars, great story.

A gripping and intense police procedural exploring the death and the many lives of a young student at Oxford, and the motivations behind her murder. DI Nikki Gill is a strong and relatable protagonist who is easy to root for, even when she makes decisions that have everyone screaming at the movie screen not to do it. Charlotte Winspear has lived a charmed life as the daughter of a wealthy politician, but when she is found dead after a party with a secretive and debauched campus drinking group her life is put under a microscope. "Lottie" was determined to make a difference in the world -and her father was not crazy about her communist beliefs. DI Gill navigates dealing with insular college culture, wealthy and standoffish families, students with things to hide, her team dynamic, and her own complex relationships with thoughtfulness and compassion. If not always with common sense.

When the daughter of an aspiring Oxford politician is found dead, DI Nikki Gill is called upon to investigate. An investigation that leads through the colleges of Oxford, protests against slavery and events that happened over 20 years ago.
Fast paced and engaging I really was engrossed in the book and can thorough recommend it.

The second book in the Nikki Gill series and I have enjoyed reading both. I love the Oxford setting and the opportunities that provides the author with. Dual time lines are well used and the social comment conveyed by the street drugs is well made. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Storm Publishing for an advance copy of Silent Girl, the second novel to feature DI Nikki Gill of Thames Valley Police.

A young woman’s body is found posed on a hillside outside Oxford. She has been strangled, but with no identification Nikki’s first task is to identify her and not without trouble they name her as Charlotte Winspear, an Oxford student and wild child with a budding politician as a father who doesn’t take kindly to her lifestyle and activities.

I thoroughly enjoyed Silent Girl, which is an absorbing read with plenty of twists, turns and misdirection. It also takes time to reflect on upbringing and the damage a parent can do. The novel is mostly told from the investigative point of view with some chapters flashing back to the events of Danny’s childhood. Who Danny is is not revealed until the last few chapters (and no, I didn’t guess) but these chapters are more illuminating than the usual backstory in crime fiction and worth a read.

The plot is interesting as the team need to focus on Charlotte’s life to get something to progress the investigation. There are no forensics so they need suspects. They end up with several possibles and each of them has enough shady behaviour to warrant suspicion. There seems to be a lot of chases as their suspects attempt to evade arrest - I was exhausted thinking about it! Gradually, however, they get to the truth, not fast enough to prevent a tense final showdown where everything is explained.

Chases aside there is plenty to occupy the reader. As I said there is plenty of shady behaviour, whether it’s Jacob Winspear’s machinations to get selected or the secrecy around the drinking club parties and what goes on at them and that’s before Charlotte’s murder and the death of her friend. It’s entertaining and I read it in one sitting.

Silent Girl is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

My introduction to this author was a pleasant experience.

I enjoyed the writing style and found it to be a four-star read with a great premise, well-developed characters, and a suspenseful plot that kept me guessing.

I look forward to reading more from the author. Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!